The internship led to a job

Already half-way in the internship at Inwear, Tanja Thybo Heier, who is studying Fashion Management at KEA Design, was offered a permanent position as Junior Buyer. Not only did she handle tasks such as ordering, commenting and daily contact with suppliers, she also translated the knowledge she has gained in her studies to create products that work in business. She developed her knowledge of materials, but also the structure of the purchase, and how a piece of clothing evolves from idea to reality with the purchase as an incredibly important link.

And then she dared to ask questions about existing procedures that she discovered weren't working:

"In connection with some photo samples for our largest customer, I discovered that the entire official procedure was not working optimally. I spent a few weeks optimising it and it was received really well and is now a regular procedure in the company. I am proud that I held on to the inputs and ideas I had - and that I dared to try to change an otherwise fixed procedure and make it more profitable and efficient," says Tanja Thybo Heier.

And this was certainly noted by the Danish fashion group:

"Tanja has been hugely proactive and has taken a lot of responsibility. She has approached every task that she has been asked to solve in a very serious manner and she has been good at networking across the company in order to be able to solve these tasks. It is great that she has the confidence and the will to learn – which has also made us hire Tanja," says Selma Makacev Thiel, InWear, and continues:

"For us, it is great that our interns think they are getting something out of being with us - both now that they are students and when they are going into the labour market. We aim to give them as much responsibility as they can possibly take. And many of them are very good and really want to learn, and that also makes us very much want to invest in them. We want to use them for something real and hope that we have a future employee – we look at them as potential employees and therefore we give them relevant tasks."

The jury was both impressed by Tanja and by InWear:

"Selma describes how they are strategic about interns, and it's perfectly okay to do it to recruit employees and get something out of it as a company. The internship is a good example of the fact that the internship, in addition to being a learning course for the student, can also be part of the company's search for future employees, which benefits both the company and the student.

Both the company and the student have been very dedicated about the internship. Tanja has been willing to learn, while daring to ask questions and provide new input. She succeeded in making a real change for the better, an appropriate disruption that makes a real difference. She focuses on her professionalism and so does the company, and that leads to development."

And that's why Tanja can hardly wait to get back to the company:

"They have helped and developed me at the same time that they have pushed me just enough to learn a lot. In addition, they have simply embraced me and treated me much better than expected, and I could in no way have asked for a better host company."

Tanja and Inwear are one of five nominees for the KEA Internship of the Year award. We're going to announce all five nominees in the coming days. The winner of KEA Internship of the Year will be announced on 22 April.

Unfortunately, the national competition Business Internship of the Year has been cancelled due to Corona.

The jury consists of:

Hans Henrik Ter-Borch – senior project manager at Rockwool

Lars Kruse, entrepreneur and rainmaker and business developer at Prolike

Asger Halberg Hansen, internship coordinator at KEA

Translated by Camilla Reslet