Young Patterns supports young people who are looking for a job in one of the Belgian fashion and apparel companies. Aiming for a best result for both young people and companies the duo-internship system is a perfect fit used by Young Patterns. Recent graduates who have just registered as job seekers can join the initiative and enjoy a “tailor-made” first work experience.
The duo-internship: a win-win for the company and for the young graduate. Two internships in two different companies, each lasting six weeks. As a job seeker you get the chance to gain extra experience, strengthen your resume and get to know different companies, jobs, and products. At the same time, the companies get to know motivated new employees and are more willing to invest in new emerging talents.
Duo-internship experience: Pavani (25) experience
Pavani has just completed the first part of her duo internship. She is 25 years old and has completed her studies as a Bachelor of Fashion Technology. As a job seeker, she had already checked several job offers, but as she did not quite know what she wanted to do, she decided to do a duo-internship at Young Patterns. Thanks to this initiative, she could try out two different jobs in two different companies and find out for herself what she liked best. Her first 6 weeks internship was with Jo De Visscher, a Belgian fashion label with a boutique in Ghent. Since it is a small company, she was given the opportunity to follow up on various tasks. She made prototypes, cut fabrics, helped preparing the production and did alterations for clients. She was pleasantly surprised by the possibilities of the drawing program Illustrator, which she could not fully excel during her studies.
“When Jo De Visscher asked me to make some technical drawings in Illustrator, I was pleasantly surprised how well I did and how much I enjoyed it anyway.” – Pavani.
She looks back on her first part of the duo-internship with great pleasure and she looks forward to the sequel.
Duo-internship experience: Laurie (21) experience
Laurie is a proud Bachelor of Fashion Technology since June 2020. Since the Covid-19 pandemic caused an early end to her internship abroad, she felt she had too little experience and became uncertain about the path she wanted to follow next.
At that moment, the duo-internship seemed perfect for her! She chose two totally different positions for her internship. At Caroline Bosmans, she focused on the production process, while at Christian Wijnants, she worked in sales and marketing. This experience gave her extra self-confidence that she needed. Soon after her duo-internship, she found her first job. She now works as a sales agent for various labels and is therefore very grateful for the interesting internships she was able to experience.
Laurie and Pavani are just a few of the young people who did a duo internship. If you want to check more information about the duo-internship and experience of particpants, click here: https://youngpatterns.be/duo-internship
If you want to be enroll in the programme, contact Katrien at https://youngpatterns.be/personal-advice
Below a little word from Katrien to have a look on the process.
“In the first place, I will listen to the graduate during an initial advice session. We talk about ambitions, uncertainties, studies, experiences, and wishes, and I try to outline a realistic framework. If a duo-internship is considered, I first ask for a motivation letter and for a wish list of three companies where they would like to do an internship. Then we try to meet the young person’s wishes and draw up a training plan. – Katrien Molenberghs, contact person for Young Patterns.”
Author: Rob Senden – IVOC