Finding an internship in Morocco
Do you dream of doing an internship in Morocco? The different Moroccan cities offer many opportunities for international students. Given the accelerated economic development and the establishment of new businesses in the country, the demand for labour has increased. To overcome the lack of competence in specific areas, internship opportunities are growing fast.
Good to know:
During your internship in Morocco, you will be subjected to the local labour law. The remuneration of the student is at the discretion of the employer. He has no obligation to pay you unless you have an agreement in this regard. However, there may be a possibility of getting hired at the end of the internship, depending on the needs of the company.
Procedures
To do an internship in Morocco, you may need to apply for a visa if you are not from one of the countries that allow 90 days in the country before applying. You may need to have a certificate proving your internship offer. Note that you must have sufficient funds to support yourself for the duration of your internship in Morocco, and a certificate of support in order to find somewhere to live. It is a good idea to have some kind of written confirmation before travelling to Morocco to start your internship. Here is some more information on visas for Morocco.
If you plan to study in Morocco and then apply for an internship at the end, a student visa is the best course of action.
How to find an internship in Morocco
To find opportunities, the best way is to search online for job and internship websites. There are several programs directed at students who wish to spend a semester in an unpaid internship abroad. Word of mouth is also a great way to find opportunities if you are already living in Morocco.
Keep in mind that it is quite challenging to find internships in Morocco, let alone a paying one, so seek high-end fields where you can add value and where there is a need for skilled professionals. Following the country's recent development in many fields, the ones where you'd have the most chances are notably engineering, media production, marketing, technology / IT / telecommunication and computer science.
You should know that there are two main types of internships in Morocco. Pre-employment internship (stage pre-embauche), and a regular one, which doesn't necessarily guarantee employment at the of the internship. You may check job finding websites for internship ads, or a more direct approach; simply write an internship request and send it to the companies where you wish to work. This is actually the most common way to get an internship in Morocco. The procedure is the same as the one for job finding.
Remuneration for interns in Morocco
You should know that chances are you will secure a non-paying internship, or one with a low salary if you're lucky. However, on the upside, many internships will lead to secure employment after a couple of months.
Good to know:
At the end of your internship, make sure to ask the employer for an internship certificate, which can come in handy if you're not employed at the end of the internship.
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