Since 2004, we have worked with Bad Honnef University to welcome more than 40 students on internships, some of whom have taken permanent roles at Menzies after university and gone on to become senior leaders in the business.

Following a pause during the pandemic, we are delighted to reintroduce the programme. Earlier this year, we welcomed three interns, two from Bad Honnef University and one from Amsterdam University, who have joined Menzies for six months, to support the business in the finance, GSE, and risk teams.

During April and May, Benjamin Rogers joined us at Oslo and Charalampos Moutsios and Jordan Van Benton joined us at Amsterdam. A month into their internships, we asked Benjamin and Charalampos to share their first impressions.

Benjamin Rogers, Europe GSE Team
Benjamin, pictured above left, is studying for a bachelor’s degree in International Aviation and is supporting the European GSE team with the project management and delivery of the EBIS vehicle management system across the Scandinavian locations. “I have been shadowing the GSE supervisor at Oslo to understand the GSE operations and how they do business with third party maintenance providers. I have been given training in digital systems such as EBIS and I have learned so much already.

“I have met some fantastic people during my first few weeks with Menzies, and I am looking forward to the next five months. I hope that I will stay with Menzies after my studies, in a role similar to my internship with the possibility to grow my skill set.”

Charalampos Moutsios, Finance
Charalampos, pictured above right, is studying for a master’s degree in International Aviation Management at Bad Honnef as well as a master’s in Taxation, Accounting and Financial Management of Strategic Decisions at the University of Macedonia. He is working with the finance team on a number of projects including automating processes and reporting dashboards, template management and providing commercial support.

“From my first day I was welcomed by everyone - it’s a very friendly environment. I’ve had tours of different departments at Schiphol airport as well as meetings with the regional and finance leaders. My supervisors have encouraged me to share my ideas and ask lots of questions, which they are happy to answer.

“My goal for the internship, having already spent a month in Menzies, is to try my best and be offered a position to become a permanent member of the Menzies team.”

Corstian Leeflang, Charalampos’ line manager added, “As well as providing opportunities for students to gain practical experience, internships are an opportunity for Menzies to teach them our business and how our company runs. The theoretical knowledge, fresh views and new ideas from students are very welcome and valuable.”

Building talent
Mark Utton, Operations & Quality Support Manager – Europe, a former intern, shared his thoughts on the programme:

“It’s great to see Menzies offering internship positions to students looking for their first exposure to the aviation industry. I was fortunate to experience this back in 2013. I was thrown into the deep end and acquired vast amounts of knowledge that helped me get to where I am today. These placements are great opportunities to find enthusiastic, hardworking people and provide them with a platform to express themselves and hopefully build a long-lasting career within Menzies.”

As well as providing experience for our interns, the placements also benefit Menzies as Stuart Carmichael explains “We are very excited to restart the intern scheme across Europe. It’s a great opportunity for our new interns to gain a greater insight into the aviation sector and significantly supports our teams during a very busy period in delivering some critical projects.”

We are planning another intake of interns later in the year and will continue to work with the universities to find passionate candidates who have the potential to grow with Menzies. To find out more, please contact Jo Harrison.