HR Internship at Miraka
Last year when a University of Waikato student – Grace Spencer was in her final year of studying her Social Sciences degree majoring in Economics, Industrial Relations and HR, she spent four months working with the HR team at Miraka. The internship involved completing a defined project as well as gaining work experience. The project was to investigate the HRIS solutions on the market and make a recommendation to the Miraka HR team. Grace spent one day a week at Miraka alongside the HR Coordinator – Aleesha Price, and then carried on working on her project in between time from Hamilton.
The partnership between Grace and the HR team at Miraka was a mutually beneficial one. Miraka gained an additional resource for a fixed term to complete a piece of work, had the opportunity to contribute to the development of future students and continue their valuable connection with the University of Waikato. Grace’s internship program allowed her to differentiate herself, and gain valuable practical experience in her field of study where she could apply some of the knowledge she had learnt in her courses to a practical real-life setting. Grace’s research report and final presentation was extremely thorough and well done. Because of the research and work Grace did, Miraka is now currently implementing a new payroll and HR Information System ahead of schedule.
While Grace was at Miraka her experiences included; attending meetings and recruitment interviews, reviewing policies, exposure to recruitment and other HR processes, a ride in a milk tanker and a tour of the Port of Tauranga. Grace got involved in all aspects of ‘life at Miraka’ including attending haka and waiata practice. The internship was completed by Grace on a voluntary basis. Grace described some of her learnings and personal development in her final presentation as; Confidence is key, understanding the impact of culture and connectedness, gaining independence and making connections.
The partnership really worked for Miraka and was a great experience. This was a project that required outcomes at the end of which Grace delivered to an extremely high standard, but there were many other benefits too. The experience gave Grace the opportunity to come inside the business, become part of the whanau and learn more about the field of HR. It was also a personal development opportunity for Aleesha – to take on the role as Grace’s mentor. This was a different type of leadership opportunity for Aleesha, one she relished, and showed a high level of capability.
Grace finished her studies at the end of 2018 at the time she completed her internship and she successfully gained employment in the role of HR & Communications for the Tumu Group in the Hawkes Bay. Here’s what she had to say:
From Grace: “I can confidently and satisfyingly say that my internship and experience with Miraka helped me get my full-time job with Tumu. The fact that I could express my experiences and learnings in my interview and explain how I would apply them in my new role made the nervousness of job interviews disappear. An example of this was when the recruiting manager asked me if I had read the position description and what my thoughts were. I could confidently reply saying that I would be more than capable of fulfilling it because I had been achieving most things with Miraka. I am very grateful for Miraka and especially Aleesha for providing me with such exposure and allowing me to get my feel for the real world in terms of full time work. I thrive at any opportunity to share my story with others in the hope that these types of partnerships continue to happen no matter what profession.”
Grace is pictured here at Miraka and the quote she used in her presentation sums the experience up nicely.
