“Internships: Meaningful skill development tools or just cheap labour?

How
to best address the growing trend of internships”

Internships have long been a crucial component of successful careers. Taylor (1988) defines
internships as "structured and career-relevant work experiences obtained by students prior to
graduation from an academic program. Through internships, students gain skills that are not
taught in the classroom, employers gain access to affordable labour and lower recruitment costs
(Galloway, Marks, & Chillas, 2014; Holyoak, 2013; Maertz, Stoeberl & Marks, 2014). Interns
gain experience in customer service, professionalism, teamwork, and interpersonal skills.
Additionally, students' self-efficacy, confidence, and communication skills improve. Employers
place a high priority on interpersonal skills, and interns are thought to need less socialization or
training to adapt to the workplace (Holyoak, 2013). IT interns in the
UK state that to acquire technical and problem-solving skills, a combination of formal education
and real-world work experience (Galloway et al., 2014). IT interns found that internships
were useful for developing their communication, teamwork, client service, and
artistic skills (Galloway et al., 2014).

An internship is a form of work-based learning.

While postgraduate study is less likely due to internships, the likelihood of getting work is
increased (Saniter & Siedler, 2014).

Classifications & prevalence Internships

A recent review of analysis on the subject identifies four broad categories: apprenticeships, informal
apprenticeships, internships and traineeships

Earnings are increased by internships (Gault, Leach, & Duey, 2010).

Internships offer employers useful labour at a reasonable price (Maertz et
al., 2014). Employing interns can lower recruitment and training costs
(Dobratz, Singh, & Abbey, 2014). Although there isn't much proof that it
has, internships have the potential to encourage professional networking
and knowledge sharing. If interns who join professional communities are
helped by well-connected mentors who can help them integrate into the
community, knowledge transfer is more likely to occur (Holyoak, 2013).
Interns' skill growth
Internships are helpful for acquiring soft skills and interpersonal abilities
that are typically not covered in the conventional university education
curriculum, such as professionalism, cultural sensitivity, time management,
and integrity (Holyoak, 2013; Shoenfelt et al., 2013). Interpersonal skills,
according to accounting interns, were the most crucial skill they picked up
throughout their internship. Employers rated integrity and professionalism
as their top two skills. Additionally, having the chance to gain knowledge
and experience through internships strengthens self-efficacy, which in turn
improves one's intention to start a business (Shoenfelt et al., 2013, p. 2).
Interns are given additional authority and are permitted to assume control
over the tasks assigned to them.
Companies are actively integrating interns into their cultures, and interns
want to be treated like full-time employees (Hurst & Good, 2010).
According to certain research, medical students' employment performance
is influenced by their interpersonal abilities (Shoenfelt et al., 2013).
Additionally, internships can help develop soft skills like self-assurance and
self-efficacy, which are particularly beneficial for aspiring businesspeople
(Dobratz et al., 2014; Elarde & Chong, 2012). Additionally, experience
internship programmes may improve students' knowledge, attitudes,
perceptions, and intentions about entrepreneurship and small business
activity (Holyoak, 2013).

Employers in particular believed that internships were particularly

successful at fostering communication skills, teamwork, customer service
abilities, and creativity (Galloway et al., 2014). Additionally, technical skills
were enhanced since in some situations, interns were proficient in
programming languages they weren't taught in school. According to Velez
& Giner (2015), employers generally think internships should foster both
professional and interpersonal abilities. The internship, according to
interns, improved their employability.

Employment results
Internships improve the likelihood of obtaining work following graduation;
58% of those who did internships received job offers right away, compared
to 30% of those who had solely academic instruction (Dobratz et al., 2014,
p. 64). Accounting firms believe intern-experienced students make superior
entry-level accountants (Holyoak, 2013). Internships improve graduates'
employability and result in higher salaries, according to a systematic study
of reviews of internship programmes (Vélez & Giner, 2015, p. 123). The
majority of the 185 firms surveyed preferred to hire interns over non-
interns, according to the survey (Gault et al., 2010, p. 83). According to a
regression analysis, employers favour interns because they believe them to
be proactive and dedicated to producing high-quality work.

Benefits of internships for education

The majority of the literature (Dobratz et al., 2014; Galloway et al., 2014;
Holyoak, 2013; Vélez & Giner, 2015) tends to view internships as a crucial
component of the learning and career development processes. Additionally,
internships provide students with knowledge of the fields they will be
working in and assist them in making more educated career decisions
(McManus & Feinstein, 2014). Programs for internships are thought to be a
significant contribution to undergraduate education and are crucial in
preparing students for the workforce (Hurst & Good, 2010). Internships can
give students feedback that can be used to inform their future educational
and professional endeavours (Elarde & Chong, 2012).
Internships have been suggested as a prerequisite for entrepreneurship
students because they combine their coursework with practical experience
and have advantages for both the academic setting and the company
(Dobratz et al., 2014). Internships help academic institutions recruit more
students by improving their visibility and reputation (Vélez & Giner, 2015).

Aspects of success
A effective internship programme needs enough funding to organise and
oversee the programme (McManus & Feinstein, 2014). Furthermore, it's
critical that the interns have a sense of autonomy and control over their
decisions. The programme must include the following elements for learning
to be successful: deliberate learning, self-reflection, question generating,
and metacognitive skills (McManus & Feinstein, 2014). By encouraging
interns to concentrate on specific objectives or themes and narrowing the
scope of the learning, intentional learning is promoted. It is best to avoid
the traditional practise of rotating interns around other departments
because it interferes with the improvement of problem-solving abilities.
Self-reflection must be encouraged because it allows interns to gauge their
own development. The ability to ask questions freely provides interns more
agency and control over their education. Interns need to work on their
metacognition. These are the actions humans take to control and alter how
their cognitive activity develops. The use of notebooks or logs, time
management tools, and self-evaluation activities can all help to speed up
this gradual process (McManus & Feinstein, 2014, p. 134).

A crucial success aspect for interns is their attitude (Galloway et al., 2014).
Successful internship experiences are correlated with high-quality
mentoring, difficult assignments, feedback, and increased autonomy (Vélez
& Giner, 2015). If a committed instructor from the academic institution is
available to supervise the internship, the academic value of internships is
increased (Vélez & Giner, 2015). For the programme to be successful, high
management as well as mentors and supervisors must support it.
Supervisors need to be available and able to mentor interns (Maertz et al.,
2014).

The company must be prepared to cover the costs of hosting interns, which
are typically supervision fees as well as hiring-related expenses like
adhering to laws governing equal employment opportunities, workers'
compensation, and fair labour standards, especially if interns are not paid
(Maertz et al., 2014). Additionally, it's important for employers and interns
to have realistic expectations that line up.

Holyoak, L. (2013). Are all internships beneficial learning experiences? An exploratory study.
Education + Training, 55(6), 573–583. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-02-2012-0024

Galloway, L., Marks, A., & Chillas, S. (2014). The use of internships to foster employability,
enterprise and entrepreneurship in the IT sector. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise
Development, 21(4), 653–667. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-09-2014-0150

Dobratz, C. L., Singh, R. P., & Abbey, A. (2014). Using Formal Internships to Improve
Entrepreneurship Education Programs. Journal of Entrepreneurship Education; Arden, 17(2), 62–
76.

Gault, J., Leach, E., & Duey, M. (2010). Effects of business internships on job marketability: the
employers’ perspective. Education + Training, 52(1), 76–88.
https://doi.org/10.1108/00400911011017690
Maertz, C., Stoeberl, P., & Marks, J. (2014). Building successful internships: lessons from the
research for interns, schools, and employers. Career Development International, 19(1), 123–142.
https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-03-2013-0025

Shoenfelt, E. L., Stone, N. J., & Kottke, J. L. (2013). Internships: An Established Mechanism for
Increasing Employability. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 6(1), 24–27.
https://doi.org/10.1111/iops.12004

Saniter, N., & Siedler, T. (2014). Door Opener or Waste of Time? The Effects of Student
Internships on Labor Market Outcomes, IZA Discussion Papers 8141, Institute for the Study of
Labor (IZA). https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp8141.html

Hurst, J. L., & Good, L. K. (2010). A 20-year evolution of internships: implications for retail
interns, employers and educators. The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer
Research, 20(1), 175–186. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593960903498342

Elarde, J. V., & Chong,F.-F. (2012). The Pedagogical Value of “Eduployment”: Information
Technology Internships in Rural Areas. In Proceedings of the 13th Annual Conference on
Technology Education (pp. 189–194). New York, NY, USA: ACM.
https://doi.org/10.1145/2380552.2380607

Vélez, G. S., & Giner, G. R. (2015). Effects of Business Internships on Students, Employers, and
Higher Education Institutions: A Systematic Review. Journal of Employment Counseling, 52(3),
121–130. https://doi.org/10.1002/joec.12010

McManus, A., & Feinstein, A. H. (2014). Internships and Occupational Socialization: What are
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