Foxconn is currently the largest exporter in mainland China. The Taiwanese company does OEM manufacturing for some of the largest electronic companies in the world, including Apple, HP, and Sony. However, even a company with 1.3 million employees struggles to keep up with demand for the brand new iPhone 5.
A CNN news story shows just how far they have gone, recruiting colleges in China to have “internship programs” with them at their factories. Foxconn says students will learn “relevant industry experience” and “identify participants in the internship program who have the potential to be excellent full-time employees”. However, many students are complaining that their assembly line work was forced by their colleges and was not helpful in their education.
I can understand why Foxconn would have an internship doing such basic work. The student can learn about corporate culture and one of the largest companies in the world. There is a reason why students everywhere taking entry level jobs at McDonalds is not frowned upon. The fact is that even in these environments there is a lot to learn. Also, Foxconn understandably needs a large number of temporary workers during the launch of the iPhone. Temporary “interns” can be part of that solution.
I do find the universities forcing these students to do these internships is unacceptable. While the students were paid, it does not make sense to pay tuition and then be kicked right back out the door to do manual labor. Also if the college believes internships are essential for graduation they should at least allow students to go out and find their own that might fit their needs better. Overall an extremely poor decision on the colleges part.
Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/11/business/china-foxconn-apple-intern/?hpt=hp_t3
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-09/07/content_15741204.htm
photo : http://www.appleiphonegadget.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Hon-Hai.jpg