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The Creative New Zealand National Publishing Internships Initiative

The internship is a structured programme of mentoring for interns, which offers mutual benefit to them and their employers. It gives talented newcomers additional training after graduation to develop their confidence and experience, and it allows publishers to try out a new employee or role in their organisation and can facilitate a one-off project.

Publisher applications for 2024 are now copen.  Applications close at 5pm, Friday 6 October 2024.

Who is it for?

Applications are open to members of the Publishers Association of New Zealand.

Criteria

Applications go through a rigorous assessment process. The primary criterion for selection of publishers is the quality of the role offered, which should do the following:

  • Show evidence of training and support for the intern, including any appropriate cultural support and guidance you have in place
  • Include structured mentoring from a senior staff member
  • Be at an appropriate level for the intern’s existing skills
  • Outline a plan to develop the intern’s skills further

Applications are encouraged from a variety of PANZ members and all geographical regions. Educational publishers who produce a broad range of titles including picture books, early readers and junior fiction and/or books in te reo Māori as well as Pasifika and Asian languages are also eligible to apply.

It is not suitable for a publisher to apply for an intern in successive years for the same role.

Interns are selected by a panel put together by Whitireia (including a representative from PANZ and a Māori panel member).

It is our intention that one of the three intern places will be offered to a Māori applicant who meets the criteria:

Criteria for selection of interns are as follows:

  • Performance and quality of work on the course
  • Quality of application
  • Ability to be flexible and adapt quickly – able to jump in to new environments
  • Skills match with the role and organisation

How the interns are selected

Interns are selected by a panel put together by Whitireia (including a representative from PANZ and a Māori panel member).

It is our intention that one of the three intern places will be offered to a Māori applicant who meets the criteria.

Criteria for selection of interns are as follows:

  • Performance and quality of work on the course
  • Quality of application
  • Ability to be flexible and adapt quickly – able to jump in to new environments
  • Skills match with the role and organisation

Applications

Applications are open to members of the Publishers Association of New Zealand.

To be considered for the intern programme please provide the following:

1)   A letter of application that covers the following points.

  • What skills does the intern need?
  • What skills will the intern gain?
  • What difference will the funding make to the position?
  • What training, support and mentoring will the intern be offered, including any specific cultural support?

2)     A job description for the internship position.

3)   An outline of the six-month programme that shows the structure of the internship and key milestones and specifies which senior staff member will mentor the intern.

4)   Agreement to/acknowledgement of the following conditions:

  • The intern will be employed by the publisher on a temporary, fixed-term contract of six months’ duration.
  • The intern will be contracted under the same terms and conditions as other freelance staff.
  • The intern’s fee will be a minimum of $52,000 per annum.
  • The subsidy the publisher will receive is capped at $19,500.
  • The intern’s fee is based on a maximum 40-hour week.
  • The intern will be regarded as a freelance contractor for the six-month period and their engagement will be on the basis of an individual contractor agreement pursuant to the relevant employment legislation.
  • Interns and publishers will provide feedback to PANZ and Whitireia after one month, ensuring the agreed programme of work is being followed, written feedback after four months, and a final report at the conclusion of the internship.

Send applications by 6 October 2023 to:

Katherine Shanks admin@publishers.org.nz

Key dates

Key dates

  1. Publisher applications open 26th September and close Friday 6th October 2023
  2. PANZ/CNZ assessment process selects three publishers to forward to Whitireia and informs unsuccessful applicants by Friday 20th October 2023
  3. Graduate applications for specific roles before Friday 3 November 2023
  4. Whitireia/PANZ panel selects top contenders, then makes the best match with publishers and roles from these contenders by Friday 17 November 2023
  5. Internship is set up in December 2023 to start work February 2024 or as agreed

Setting up the internship

  1. Whitireia contacts publisher to introduce the intern
  2. Meeting between publisher, intern and PANZ/Whitireia (or conference call)
  3. Publisher and intern sign contract committing to the internship for six months