Employability Skills

One definition of graduate employability is the “ability to find,

create, and sustain meaningful work across the career span” (Bennett et
al., 2020, p. 340). Whether students acquire all of the abilities they
need for career success while at universities has been disputed by many
employers. A lack of employability skills is often cited as a problem
(Finch et al., 2013; Succi & Canovi, 2020; Webb & Chaffer, 2016).
Employability skills are often referred to using different terms, such
as generic skills, soft skills, core skills, key skills, key
competencies, transferable skills, transverse skills, 21st-century
skills, cross-disciplinary skills, life skills, and work-ready skills
(Holmes, 2013; Kenayathula et al., 2019; Suarta et al., 2017;
Weligamage, 2009). A United States survey of nearly 900 executives found
that 92% thought soft skills were equally or more important than
technical skills (Davidson, 2016). Moreover, 89% of those executives had
difficulties recruiting employees with the required soft skills.

The researchers found that most employers emphasized soft skills

when recruiting for entry-level positions and complained of a general
lack of interpersonal skills among business graduates. A survey of
employers across four European countries found that they were not
confident that business graduates had developed acceptable levels of
soft skills during their time at university (Azevedo et al., 2012).
Abbasi et al. (2018) found that employability skills of business
graduates were less than the expectations of managers in the banking
industry in Pakistan.

Results from a study of Scottish employers showed that when

recruiting new business and management graduates, employers valued
trustworthiness, reliability, communication skills, and willingness to
learn (McMurray et al., 2016). A survey of executives in the UK found
that 54% of employers were satisfied with graduates’ technical knowledge
(i.e., discipline-specific knowledge) but perceived that they were
lacking in soft skills, which resulted in vacancies not being filled
(Smith, 2015, as cited in Succi & Canovi, 2020).
 In contrast to discipline-specific knowledge and skills,
employability skills are applicable across a wide range of jobs,
careers, and sectors (Chamorro-Premuzic et al., 2010). Employability
skills include not just higher order cognitive skills (i.e., problem-
solving skills, critical thinking, creativity, analytical skills, etc.),
but also behaviors, attitudes, and educational and non-educational
experiences (Finch et al., 2013; Jackson, 2012). Saunders and Zuzel
(2010) evaluated United Kingdom student perceptions of employability
skills and employer expectations. They found that employers generally
ranked personal attributes and core skills more highly than
technical/subject-specific knowledge.

According to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Memorandum

Order 2017-104, Article III, defines internship as the practical
application of classroom learning to the actual in a regular work
environment. In Article I, Section 1, it states that the internship
program is meant to provide students with an opportunity to complement
their formal learning with practical knowledge, skills and desirable
attitudes and to gain hands on experience in recognized Host Training
Establishment (HTF). A college internship is a sort of experiential
learning outside the classroom that serves as on-the-job training for
various professions. These are typically temporary occupations that may
be compensated or uncompensated, with or without college credit. Due to
a lack of uniformity and control of internship programs across colleges
and universities, the term "internship" remains subjective. While
internships are typically reserved for college seniors as a capstone
educational experience with an organization related to their major field
of study, some students begin as early as their freshman or sophomore
year to explore and determine their interest in a particular career,
earn college credit, and connect with potential employers for paid
permanent employment (Capek, Klein, & Gassman, 2017; Cates-McIver, 1998;
Getzel, Briel, & Kregel, 2000; Giles & Ryan, 2002). Employers profit as
well from this relationship because experienced interns frequently
require little or no training when they begin full-time employment. Over
the last several decades, the critical nature of internships in finding
full-time employment following graduation has become a reality and more
of a requirement than an opportunity (Baert, et al., 2021; Haire &
Oloffson, 2009).

Internships are a popular method to combine classroom learning with

real-world experience. These opportunities are meant to boost students'
classroom learning as well as their job marketability after graduation.
The internship procedure involves three parties: the university, the
students, and the employers. However, the curriculum format differs
between institutions and even within institutions. Thus, understanding
the best structures for undergraduate student internship programs is
crucial to their overall success. Student internship programs are
offered as an academic component of learning by institutions of higher
education as an efficient strategy to provide students with hands-on
practical experience while also increasing their career marketability
upon graduation.

Employability, as defined by Hillage and Pollard (1998) and

Crossman and Clarke (2010), is the graduate's ability to obtain a job,
maintain a job, or obtain a new job if necessary; being employable
entails possessing the characteristics necessary to maintain employment
and advance in the workplace, whereas being employed entails simply
having a job. Thus, from an institutional standpoint, employability is
about educating graduates with the capability and competence to obtain
starting job. This requirement has ramifications throughout all aspects
of university life, including academic programs and extracurricular
activities. Employability training is critical for academic programs in
terms of general education and discipline-specific information and
skills necessary for future employment. To establish a good internship
program, it is critical to consider the student's learning environment.
Institutional administrators must commit to this process and persuade
academicians to incorporate employability skills and traits into their
teaching, not just in terms of what we teach, but also in terms of how
we teach it.

Curriculum creation for employability should begin with a

curriculum plan that includes goals and learning outcomes statements. If
the major does not require job experience, typical workplace duties
should be established during the course of study. Academic preparation
of interns enables them to apply theoretical knowledge, abilities, and
essential concepts from their major or subject of interest in the
workplace.

Collaboration between institutions and employers is beneficial for

fostering work-related learning and increasing interns' future
employability. Employers and universities should agree on a standard set
of skills and characteristics for interns. Institutions must be aware of
what employers expect graduates to know, think, and do in order to adapt
to workplace culture and be able to connect this to the educational
process within the institution. Preparing students in this manner
enables them to have a more realistic, productive, and fulfilling
internship experience.

The second study was aimed a difference in the opinions of

employers and Business Administration graduates regarding employability
skills' importance. There are many reasons for going to university,
including – naturally – a love of the subject to be studied, and the
opportunity to experience a different way of life. Higher education is
much more than a production line for work-ready graduates. In 2010, 73%
of the students who took part in the Sodexo University Lifestyle Survey
1 said they went to university to improve their job opportunities. As we
say in our strapline, there are many paths to success. We value higher
education every bit as much as apprenticeships, further New
qualifications such as Foundation Degrees have broadened the appeal of
higher education, and made it easier to access through further education
colleges as well as old and new universities. Nevertheless, they help
students develop analytical, synoptic and presentational skills which
are highly valued in the modern economy. But is that enough? Some
graduates and their employers say more could be done to develop
students’ wider skills and attributes, including team-working,
communication, leadership, critical thinking and problem solving in
education and adult and community learning.

These are known collectively as employability skills. According to

Harvey et al, (1997 cited in Holden and Jameson, 2002), most employers
are looking for graduates who are proactive, can use higher level skills
including ‘analysis, critique, synthesis and multi layered communication
to facilitate innovative teamwork in catalyzing the transformation of
their organization’. The view that employers particularly value generic
skills and analytic and reflective abilities that promote flexibility
and adaptation emerges in the literature, surveys and feedback from
organizations representing employers and Higher Education, for example,
the Council for Industry and HigherEducation (CIHE) and CBI. A study by
Kubler and Forbes (2005) suggested that employability comprised certain
levels of cognitive skills, generic competencies, personal capabilities,
technical ability, business/organization awareness, and critical
evaluation, reflection and review abilities. A study by Archer and
Davison (2008), considering the perspectives of employers on graduate
employability, provides a contrast between what some universities are
promoting and what is required by industry. Employers were in agreement
about what were considered to be the most important skills that they
look for in graduates.

Archer and Davison (2008) found that regardless of the size of the
company, ‘soft skills’ (eg communication skills and team-working) were
perceived to have more weight than technical or ‘hard skills’ (eg a good
degree qualification, IT skills). Indeed, Glass et al (2008) found that
a minority of employers in their case studies recruit individuals from
universities specifically for the technical skills that they hope they
will bring to the organization. Rather, most employers see a degree as a
proxy for achieving a certain level of competence that represents the
minimum standard that they are seeking in a new recruit. Archer and
Davison (2008) stress that such findings convey a strong message. Some,
such as Lees (2002), suggest that there are fundamental differences in
the understanding of employability between employers and HEIs which has
impeded progress in promoting graduate employability measures.

In Lees literature review, Lees highlights a number of studies

(e.g. Dunne et al, 2000; Harvey, 2000) which suggest that there is
little common understanding between employers and HEIs over the concept
of relevant skills, and that increasingly, ‘graduate attributes’ are
seen by employers as more important than the degree subject studied.
Indeed, Lees states that Knight and Yorke (2000) have shown that for
some employers, ‘the degree subject studied is not as important as the
graduates’ ability to handle complex information and communicate it
effectively’ and that ‘Graduate recruiters want a variety of other
skills, personal and intellectual attributes, rather than specialist
subject knowledge’.

The literature suggests that academics can be sceptical of

incorporating employability skills into their teaching and can see it as
an attack on academic freedom in terms of content. Gunn et al (2010),
states that while those responsible for Higher Education provision agree
that universities should take into account students’ employment needs
‘including the generic skills and abilities needed in the workplace’ and
reflect this in the curriculum and course design, tensions remain
because of academics’ concerns that engaging with the employability
agenda will lead to a diminution of academic standards and objectives
(Gunn et al 2010). However, this can be addressed by framing the issue
in terms exploring how academics can teach their subject to promote
employability skills and attributes rather than diminishing the academic
content (Coopers & Lybrand, 1998; Harvey, 2000a).

Knight and Yorke (2001) argue that curricula designed to enhance

employability can also be of benefit in academic terms. For example, in
addition to subject knowledge, course content can address specific and
generic skills, self-efficacy and critical, reflective thinking (Knight
& Yorke, 2001). As Lees (2002) states: In their report ‘Graduate
Employability: what do employers think and want?’ Archer and Davison
state that ‘both the reality and perception of the skills deficit in
[UK] graduates’ need addressing (Archer & Davison, 2008:5). They also
found that there is a contrast between what some universities are
promoting and what is required by industry.

In 2008, the House of Commons Innovation, Universities, Science and

Skills Committee carried out an inquiry into skills and training policy.
Their report, “Re-skilling for recovery” (House of Commons, 2009)
identified successful examples of HEIs collaborating with employers, but
reported that employers were reluctant to fund collaboration with HEIs.
This was because they preferred to train employees when they started
work rather than provide universities with money to do this beforehand.
Furthermore, it was felt that the current economic climate would not
help employers view the need to fund training programs any more
favourably. This was described as a “major point of weakness” (pg 86) in
the Leitch agenda, the risk being that the economy will not grow at the
required rate if employers insist on training their new employees
themselves when this could be done during a period of non-paid
employment. If employability is to be tackled comprehensively,
universities have to reflect it in their mission statements, learning
and teaching strategies, course frameworks, strategic documents and
practical guidance. Yet some concern has been raised with regard to how
the development of such skills can be embedded into universities’
practice, considering other priorities that influence their policies.
Frequently, in the case studies, employers, students and graduates saw
placements/ internships and work experience as particularly effective
modes to enhance graduate employability. This was apparent across all
sectors and sizes of employer.

However, a key factor in the usefulness of work experience and

placements was the duration of the experience. Employers stressed that
for the students and employers to acquire the full benefits of this type
of experience it had to be at least six months and preferably longer.
This corresponds to the findings of the Pay and Progression for
Graduates survey conducted in 2005, involving 96 employers from the
Incomes Data Services (IDS 2005), which found that year-long sandwich
placements and vacation work were valued by employers and were an
important factor in gaining a graduate position. Graduates tended to
value the extra-curricular experiences at university and work experience
more highly than their degree’s content (except in specialist areas),
seeing these as adding to their CVs and helping to secure employment.
Employers noted that where course work involved work-related learning7
such as teamwork projects, there was more of an opportunity for the
academic component of the degrees to provide generic skills.
 Employers frequently noted that other than at careers services
level, there were rarely any approaches made to them from course leaders
looking for partnerships and to reflect employers’ needs in their
courses. The need for imagination, initiative and flexibility concerning
the design of more valuable and responsive higher education courses were
themes that employers, students and graduates highlighted. Graduates and
employers in general recognized that the universities were doing a very
good job teaching theoretical content but actual experience was
necessary across most courses to acquire a wider repertoire of
employability skills and attributes.

Employability is “predominantly conceptualized as the skills and

personal attributes considered important by industry and needed by
graduates in order to secure employment” (Rowe & Zegwaard, 2017, p. 87).
It expresses the potential to get a desired job. In general,
employability means a set of skills that are typically divided into
three groups: generic skills (e.g., teamwork, communication skills,
organizing, planning), discipline-specific skills (skills in
engineering, law, social work) and personal attributes (e.g., self-
confidence, resilience, loyalty, integrity). Employability skills are
most often explored through self-assessment, especially in generic and
discipline-specific skills.

Personal attributes represent the individual potential of a

graduate. These attributes can include the components of psychological
capital, such as hope, self-efficacy, optimism, resilience (Luthans,
Avolio, Avey, & Norman, 2007). Psychological capital is related to job
success and deemed a general predictor of satisfaction and performance
at work. Currently, there is no uniform theory of employability. The
reasons for this are complexity, situational factors, the changing labor
market, graduate’s individual interest and attitude, as well as their
professional focus. Clarke (2017) proposes a comprehensive model of
employability of graduates. She states that while graduate employability
primarily deals with aspects of human capital, such as knowledge, skills
and processes, the less specific and wider understanding of
employability refers to individual variables (personality, attitudes,
career-oriented behavior), labor market variables, and current
employment. Therefore, she proposes an integrated model of graduate
employability, recognizing six key dimensions: human capital (skills,
competencies, work experience), social capital (networks, social class,
university ranking), individual behaviors (career self-management,
career-building skills), individual attributes (personality variables,
adaptability, flexibility), labor market (supply factors, demand
factors), and perceived employability.

This model helps identify the areas of individual responsibilities

of students and graduates and those of cooperation between universities,
employers and industry. The model also points to the diverse and
complementary roles of various experts in this field of research, such
as education, career, management and psychology experts and researchers.
Employers’ Expectations The topic of youth employment often resonates in
society-wide discussions at the domestic, European and global level. In
terms of ideas, this contribution is based on the current priorities and
objectives of the European Union, including the increase in employment
of the population aged 20-64 up to 75% in the 2014-2020 programming
period. The “Europe 2020” strategy (Európska komisia, 2010) defines the
key objectives formulated as employment growth, increased investments in
science, research and innovation. The “New Skills for New Jobs”
(European Commission, 2016) initiative, which has become the flagship of
the European Union objectives, aims to predict the changes in knowledge
and skills needed in the future, harmonize competencies for the labor
market and narrow the gap between the world of education and the world
of work (Horný & Ďurina, 2014). In relation to these Europe-wide
targets, the Government of the Slovak Republic also points out the need
for initiatives to support youth employment in the Human Resources
Operational Program (Ministerstvo práce, sociálnych vecí a rodiny SR,
2014). Topics such as promoting youth employability, identifying tools
to facilitate the transition of graduates to work are currently a focus
globally. The employer survey conducted by the Slovak Centre of
Scientific and Technical Information (Janková,2015) on a sample of 2,411
entities in Slovakia showed that more than one third of employers
employed university graduates in the last two years, but most employers
did not employ graduates. The main findings of this domestic survey also
included the reasons why employers refused to take on graduates. They
were doing so mainly due to the lack of practical experience and
disproportionate salary requirements. A third of them also reported
increased turnover and the fact that they did not have discipline-
specific skills. Research studies have long confirmed that the
perception of the quality of graduate employability skills is different
between employers and graduates (Brief, 1982; Fulcher, 2012; Letovancová
& Lisá, 2008; Low, Botes, Dela Rue & Allen, 2016; Janková, 2015; Ju,
Zhang,& Pacha, 2012; Muyako & Seedwell, 2015; Naveed, Jabeen & Ullah,
2014). The lack of graduate essential skills is one of the most common
problems in their employment (AQU, 2015; Clarke, 2017; Messum, Wilkes,
Peters & Jackson, 2017; The Gallup Organization, 2010) or in employment
in general (UKCES, 2016).

Employers’ expectations are connected with societal changes and

therefore cannot be considered immutable. Researchers in the technically
and economically oriented sectors have shown that employers expected
graduates to have less communication skills and more specific technical
skills in the study field (Muyako & Seedwell, 2015). A research
conducted in economic and IT sectors has shown that employers, compared
to graduates, consider generic employability skills more important than
discipline-specific skills (such as punctuality, time management,
responsibility, communication, and a positive approach) (Naveed et al.,
2014). Employers in the UK (UKCES, 2016) regard operational skills
required for the job (solving complex problems, technical and practical
skills) and those necessary for interpersonal relationships (time
management, customer care) as the greatest weakness of their job
applicants.

In the case of already employed workers, employers perceived their

greatest weaknesses in the area of working with people (such as time
management, teamwork, customer care, emotional intelligence, employee
motivation, persuasion of others) as well as comprehensive analytical
skills. Regardless of the job position in Slovakia, fresh graduates were
perceived by employers as lacking customer orientation, loyalty, ethics
and self-reflection (Letovancová & Lisá, 2008). Employers experienced
the greatest shortcomings in relation to high turnover of graduates,
their poor job preparation and inadequate salary requirements. Employers
in the Australian healthcare industry considered integrity and ethical
behavior, interpersonal skills, teamwork, flexibility and open-
mindedness, planning, and lifelong learning the most important skills of
graduates (Messum et al., 2017). Employers in Catalonia in Spain have
identified a responsible approach to work, the ability to learn new
things and teamwork as being the most essential skills, while
negotiation skills and leadership have been considered least important.
The greatest shortcomings have been identified in competencies, such as
solving problems, practical skills and the ability to come up with new
ideas (AQU, 2015). The ability and willingness to learn have been
identified by employers in New Zealand as most important.

While computer skills have been positively assessed by employers,

the greatest gap in importance and current performance has been shown in
the skills, such as customer service orientation, order, quality and
precision, human communication and problems solving (Hodges & Burchell,
2003). Expectations of Graduates and Students The expectations of
graduates, as well as employers need to be considered. If graduates’
expectations are not fulfilled, they can depart early from the
organization. This is another reason why employers and training
institutions should be in contact with students at the time of their
learning and could properly shape expectations for employers (Brief,
1982). Messum et al. (2017) found out that graduates, when compared to
employers, considered networking and leadership skills as significantly
more important. In relation to assessment of the current level of
skills, the research also showed that evaluations by managers were
considerably worse than those carried out by graduates. Graduates
overestimated the level of their skills compared to their assessment by
employers. Graduates’ salary expectations were higher than those
offered by employers, although graduates lacked practical skills.
Employers think that university students should learn more directly in
the field, while students expect the schools to be more in touch with
industry and employers (Fulcher, 2012). The research conducted in
Slovakia has shown that students prefer management positions to
specialist or assistant positions when choosing a job (Letovancová &
Lisá, 2008). However, a comparison with employers’ requirements has
revealed that students lack the necessary managerial skills. In the area
of social competences, the most developed skill of students was the need
for social contact and communication, but their cognitive and
performance skills were not well developed. They lacked leadership and
influencing skills. The low level of self-awareness has increased the
probability of graduates choosing a wrong job. The worse the students
rated themselves in relation to the employer’s rating, the less suitable
job they chose for them. The increased self-confidence of graduates has
also been confirmed by the results of other authors (Hodges & Burchell,
2003), who came to a conclusion that graduates’ attitudes to work, the
reality of their expectations and the openness to further education were
as consequential as the work itself. Based on these research findings,
we can define self-awareness and knowledge of job requirements as
conditions for the development of graduate employability skills. Linking
Higher Education and Practice

In the context of better interconnection between higher education

and the needs of practice, employers expect universities to include in
teaching other methods, such as practical case studies, discussion
groups, presentations of business reports and reports for the client, or
students’ internships (Low et al., 2016). Job offers for students are
the most common form of cooperation between universities and companies
in Spain. Cooperation in developing curricula and study program is the
least common (AQU, 2015; Letovancová & Lisá, 2008). Employers regard the
incorporation of work experience into the curriculum as the best form of
cooperation. Equally, examining employers’ expectations of graduates’
competencies can serve as a basis for the higher education curricula,
thus supporting graduates’ employment and their successful job
performance (Muyako & Seedwell, 2015). The Market Needs Survey in
Slovakia (Letovancová & Lisá, 2008) pointed to several recommendations
for the preparation of graduates: In addition to theoretical knowledge,
professional training of students should also focus on learning
practical skills; Modification of the education system so that it
reflects market needs and could flexibly adapt to them; Involvement of
universities in practical projects for the labor market, which enables
better professional training for the graduates; Focusing attention on
undergraduate students so that they become more aware of the labor
market and better understand job requirements; When working with
students and employers, it is advisable to focus on specifying job
positions and appropriate competency profiles; these competencies should
be further developed through education or career guidance services for
students.

The present study is based on the contemporary notions cited by Hore and
other management experts in research play a critical role in enhancing
employability. Graduates are more likely to be required to rely on their
own initiative and abilities to manage themselves into employment in
what is now a highly competitive workforce, rather than gain employment
because they can and want to work. The study of employability in modern
societies is important because it concerns individuals, the education
system, employers, and society.

It contributes to the competitiveness of individuals, helps

individuals in acquiring skills and qualities needed for career
development, and helps them find a job that meets their goals and
interests. From an educational standpoint, the study of employability
helps to enhance the quality of teaching and improve educational
methods, so as to ensure that students graduate with the skills required
by the labor market. From the perspective of corporates, the study of
employability helps corporations find employees with the necessary
competencies, helps increase productivity and creativity, and helps in
understanding recruitment, training, and retaining of competent
employees.
Whereas, the present study is focused more on helping individuals
find jobs more easily, which helps to increase their employment.
Although some studies have correlated with practices, the present study
gives emphasize on how the respondent’s will enhance their employability
by applying their knowledge on academic and internship. These were of
great of significance in obtaining additional information relevant to
the present research endeavor.

In summary, researchers have identified several employability

skills that employers value. These include oral and written
communication, teamwork, problem solving, interpersonal skills,
numeracy, creativity, leadership, flexibility, adaptability, agility,
critical thinking, time management, willingness to learn, conflict
management, ethical awareness, self-confidence, enthusiasm and
motivation, self-awareness, self-management, working under pressure,
independent thinking and working, organization and planning, initiative,
resilience, proactivity, ICT literacy, positive attitudes and
behaviours, and work experience (Chhinzer & Russo, 2018; Finch et al.,
2013; Osmani et al., 2019; Webb & Chaffer, 2016).

The next statement of the problem focus on what are the benefits of
completing an internship? According to NACE, 2019 Study, an internship
is on most students’ minds — an opportunity to jumpstart their
professional careers and supplement their courses with hands-on
experience. Graduating seniors who applied for a full-time job and
participated in an internship received 20% more job offers than those
without internship experience.

Internships benefit both the student and the employee. On-the-job

learning reinforces what you see in the classroom and teaches invaluable
skills like time management, communication, working with others,
problem-solving, and, most importantly, the willingness to learn. For
employers, you can build relationships and prepare future employees. No
matter which field or industry you’re interested in entering, having an
internship reaps various benefits. As an intern, you’ll have the chance
to grow core competencies, such as teamwork, decision making, problem
solving and communication skills, in a professional setting. You’ll
learn how to handle and overcome challenging work situations specific to
your role or field. Throughout the daily trials of an internship, you’ll
be able to recognize your strengths and weaknesses, giving you better
insight into which skills you’ll need to continue to grow. Lastly,
you’ll have the chance to meet and work alongside many individuals
already positioned in the field. Forming real connections during your
internship will be advantageous, as you’ll never know what opportunities
they could bring. In addition to these three key advantages, going
through an internship also boosted students’ confidence. From testing
their knowledge and skills to receiving feedback from a trusted mentor
on their strengths and weaknesses, they felt more prepared and had a
better sense of what’s next.

Numerous experts concur that an internship is an essential

component of job growth (Spradlin, 2009). Internships evolved from
professional apprenticeships that began in the 11t and 12th centuries
with The Trade Guilds of Europe. Master craftsmen and tradesmen took on
young apprentices who worked for them for the majority of their
adolescent years before graduating as journeymen and earning a living
wage. Frequently, apprentices chose to continue working with the masters
who trained them. Eventually, the guild system succumbed to
industrialization and the expansion of formal professional education
(Sides & Mrvica, 2007). Reginald Bray's 1911 book, Boy Labor and
Apprenticeship, discusses the apprenticeship's primary purposes, which
included monitoring, training, and filling job gaps. While these
objectives are comparable to those of contemporary internship programs,
the framework of apprenticeships was more defined than that of
contemporary internships.

Today's internship program has little resemblance to the Middle

Ages' apprenticeship program, despite the fact that both aim to
cultivate potential new workers for entry into the labor force (Haire &
Oloffson, 2009). According to the English trade guilds, a worker would
pay to learn from a master trainer who could teach in any field of
skilled labor in the 11th century. This instruction may span several
years and may begin as early as age 16, and the apprentice may rely on
the master for food, clothes, and shelter in many circumstances. In the
18th century, with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, this
practice gradually ceased, and a new tendency toward universal factory
employment necessitated the establishment of vocational schools (Haire &
Oloffson, 2009). Apprenticeships revived in certain areas during the
twentieth century, governed by trade unions and legislation. The
National Apprenticeship Act of 1937 resulted in the founding of the
Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training under the United States Department
of Labor, which collaborates with employers, labor organizations, and
educational institutions to promote apprenticeship programs (Haire &
Oloffson, 2009).

Following World War I, a medical school was no longer considered

adequate preparation for practice. As a result, the word "intern" was
coined to refer to a person in the medical profession who is currently
pursuing a degree but does not yet possess a license to practice (Haire
& Oloffson, 2009). Later on, the term was used in politics to refer to
persons interested in learning about careers in government, in place of
the term apprentice. Meanwhile, cooperative education initiatives
developed in colleges and universities. These programs allowed students
to work for an extended length of time at a corporation while studying
college. In the 1980s, when the average private college tuition hit
approximately $9,000, co-ops provided students with an opportunity to
earn money while receiving hands-on experience (Haire & Oloffson, 2009).
Between 1970 and 1983, the number of postsecondary institutions offering
cooperative education expanded by more than tenfold, from 200 to 1,000.
(Haire & Oloffson, 2009). In the United States, the University of
Cincinnati was the first postsecondary institution to offer cooperative
education in 1906, followed by more than a dozen others within two
decades, including Northeastern University (1909), Kettering University
(1909), University of Pittsburgh (1910), University of Detroit (1911),
Georgia Institute of Technology and Rochester Institute of Technology
(1912). (Cerdercreutz & Cates, 2010; Weible, 2009). Co-op programs were
originally created to allow students to work in a firm for a specified
period of time throughout the school year, allowing them to explore
careers while earning money to cover their tuition (Haire & Oloffson,
2009). The program required an additional year to get a bachelor's
degree. Cooperative education did not gain popularity until the 1960s.
Similarly to co-op, internship programs did not begin until the 1960s
and were initially uncommon.

Initially, internship programs were marketed as a way for students

to stay connected to their academic program while exploring career
choices (Haire & Oloffson, 2009). While the internship has become the de
facto standard for students seeking important on-the-job experience
prior to receiving their diplomas, today's internships are a long cry
from their forerunners. Internships provide a platform for academic
students to blend theoretical knowledge with real-world working
situations and put it into practice (Sahrir, et al., 2016). Students can
put what they've learned in class to use in real-world circumstances
thanks to internship programs.

As aresult, individuals must participate in well-planned and

supervised programs that address their future goals (Muhamad et al.,
2009; Alexei et. al., 2013). By having such internship programs,
students will get practical skills that will improve their grasp of
issues relevant to a specific job (Hughes, 1998; Furco, 1996) and
increase their readiness in employability. Researchers across the world
have conducted research in various aspects of internship programs in
various disciplines of study. Alpert, Heaney, and Kuhn (2009) conducted
a study on the goals, structure, and assessment of undergraduate
marketing internships in Australia. Batool, Ellahi, and Masood (2012)
conducted a study in Pakistan's Punjab province on the consequences of
the National Internship Program (NIP) for graduates from 2006 to 2010.
Katyal and Arora (2013) conducted a study in the same region of Punjab
to examine graduate employability and students' labor market
orientation. Phoebe (2010) did a study on the variables of internship
effectiveness for university students in Hong Kong. Chen, Hu, Wang, and
Chen (2011) conducted a study in Taiwan on the effect of internship
experience on the behavioral intentions of college students majoring in
leisure management. Bukaliya (2012) did a study on the issues of
internship in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) programs in Zimbabwe.
All these studies highlighted the positive effects of university
internship programs to the employability readiness of students from
various disciplines.

According to Phoebe (2010), internship is an effective mechanism

for developing university students' preliminary job knowledge and
experience in order to increase their employability in a competitive
labor market. This study examined the factors of internship success in
order to assist colleges in improving their placement programs in order
to increase graduates' employability. It investigated and assessed three
individual and four organizational elements that influence internship
effectiveness, as well as the amount to which student intern traits and
company policies affect intern success. It was concluded that the four
organizational (employer) factors of job challenge, effective
supervision, task clarity, and compensation were all significantly
associated with the effectiveness of the internship program, and that
the three individual factors of self-initiative, academic preparedness,
and positive attitude of the intern were all significantly associated
with success.

In 2010, NACE surveyed businesses and educators to determine how

frequently approved experiences such as internships were evaluated. The
study's objective was to discover whether the educational value of the
identified internship experience was the most essential aspect, as well
as the effect of money on such internships. NACE found that career
services professionals and businesses may collaborate to ensure that any
experiential learning fulfills and conforms to a set of established
standards that allows it to be regarded a valid internship and offered
ethically to students. In their review of the benefits of internships at
business colleges, Knouse and Fontenot (2008) identified several
benefits for students who choose to participate in internships: students
increase their chances of finding work, may receive an offer for a full-
time job position from the companies that hired them as interns, and
acquire experiences that may motivate them to choose a particular car.

According to the aforementioned findings, a recent review by

Sanahuja Vélez and Ribes Giner (2015) identified three distinct types of
benefits for graduates: "(a) those related to the enhancement of
employment opportunities, (b) those related to the development of skills
and competencies, and (c) those related to the effects on career
exploration" (p. 123). Similarly, multiple studies indicate that
students are increasingly viewing internships as a practical tool that
will pave the way to work (Cannon and Arnold, 1998). Young graduates who
participate in internship programs are more likely to be offered a
continuation of their employment with the internship provider company
(Zhao and Liden, 2011), earn on average more money and receive more job
offers (Callanan and Benzing, 2004; Coco, 2000; Gault et al., 2000),
land their first job more quickly (Gault et al., 2000; Knouse et al.,
1999), and improve their future prospects (Gault et al., 2000). (Chen et
al., 2011). It is not uncommon for recent graduates to struggle under
the pressure of work-related issues (Wang, 2002). Prior to the
interview, university graduates who participated in internship programs
appear to be more potential job candidates than those who did not
complete internship (Divine et al., 2007). Negotiating acceptable and
meaningful projects to be completed during the internship period might
be difficult.

By definition, each project is unique, and the amount of work

required to accomplish the desired result may be difficult to estimate
and vary from project to project; boundaries must be clearly specified
(Weisz and Smith, 2005). Finding the correct balance will require
skilled university staff facilitation. Creating an optimal learning
environment for internships can be challenging and complex, as, unlike
in the classroom, the student is not always the primary focus of
attention, and learning experiences are frequently unique and
unanticipated (Billett, 2006). As a result, establishing a tightly
defined program of workplace learning is challenging (Flinders
University, 2009). Employers, too, must grasp the student's educational
expectations, and the university's role in the learning experience.

As a result, personal characteristics, and a willingness to learn

are critical for acquiring knowledge and developing skills. As Verney,
Holoviak, and Winter (2009) stress that employer evaluations of student
interns during the internship can be an effective technique of
monitoring student learning and reviewing and amending program quality.
This indicates that institutions that offer a well-designed and managed
internship program not only position their students upon graduation, but
also validate their curriculum in real-world contexts. If employers are
content with their interns, it is presumed that the university's
curriculum fulfills or surpasses the standards of the employers. Thus,
employer evaluation of the intern is critical for determining the
program's overall efficacy. Because internship programs require the
integration of the goals and expectations of three parties the
institution awarding the internship, the student seeking the internship,
and the employer providing the practical training maximizing the student
experience can become challenging, even more so when assessing the
program's activities, outcomes, and overall success. Several of these
obstacles can be overcome by establishing standards and rules that
promote consistency in practice (Kelley, 2004; Young & Baker, 2004). To
apply information constructively in field-based settings, all students
should encounter in-depth questioning from faculty, staff, and other
mentors regarding their assumptions, analyses, findings, and actions.

Learners also need both supervision and feedback, from mentors and
peers, as they examine the facets of a complicated subject and evaluate
their own discoveries against both theory and the experiences of others
(AAC&U, 2007). Additionally, critical thinkers and problem solvers are
generally inspirational and pleasurable to work with. Because they
evaluate their own biases and consider opposing viewpoints, they are
typically receptive, respectful, and rational. These abilities are
especially critical for college hires. Interns and entry-level employees
that can think critically and solve problems require less supervision
and can provide new perspectives and ideas. At the same time they are
adaptable and receptive. While obtaining job experience, the internship
enables students to develop their generic and specific abilities.
Numerous categorizations exist in the literature for work skills or
employability abilities.

O'Neil (1997) divides them into four categories: fundamental

academic abilities (listening and speaking); higher-order cognitive
abilities (reasoning, problem solving, and creativity); interpersonal
and teamwork abilities; and personal qualities and attitudes (self-
esteem, motivation and responsibility). Gault et al. (2000) conducted a
review of the literature to determine the most important skills for
hiring criteria used to select new graduates: communications skills
(oral presentations, proposal writing, and written communication),
academic skills (analytical skills, computer applications, creative
thinking, information search, and problem solving), leadership skills
(leadership/teamwork, and relationship building), and jovial skills.

Recent research by Chhinzer and Russo (2018) on the talents

required by hiring businesses demonstrate that "generic skills (time
management, teamwork, attention to detail), general mental capacity,
subject-specific knowledge, willingness to work, and attitudes and while
some studies emphasize the value of soft skills over academic
credentials, e.g. academic repute, other research emphasize the
relevance of soft skills over academic credentials (Finch et al., 2013)

In a 2016 Looksharp study entitled, State of Millennial Hiring

Report, 21,000 students responded to questions regarding hiring by
industry, location and business size. New entrepreneurial companies are
beginning to realize the allure of interns while mid-size companies
between 50 and 500 employees remain most popular for intern sites. Some
other findings are listed below:

• Internships are a critical element in determining career success.

There are strong correlations between having at least one internship and
improved job prospects after graduation and finding employment in the
respective field of study.

• Expectations after graduation may be unrealistic. There’s a

$9,000 gap between college seniors’ salary expectations and actual
starting salaries.

• Demand for internships is higher than supply. Among the 31.5% who
said they had not completed an internship to date, more than 70% said
they had searched unsuccessfully.

According to this research, there is also a correlation between

multiple internships and job placement. Graduates who fulfill the
internship requirements for 3 or more sites are more likely to receive
full-time job offers. Slightly over 81% of the interns responded that
these experiences helped them either shift the focus of their
majors/classes or adjust their career plans. NACE published a 2016
Internship & Co-op Survey, that encompassed 20 industries and 271
different organizations. Key findings from the program section indicated
that internship work responsibilities remain relatively unchanged and
employers still prioritize analytical and problem-solving duties first
with project management and communications following. For outcomes in
this portion of the study, employers’ singular goal is to hire interns
as full-time employees. The conversion rate currently is higher now than
in more than a decade at almost 62%. A further article by Salticoff,
(2017) affirmed the positive correlation between internships and
employment. Referencing a study conducted by the Endicott College
Research Center, 327 / 1680 surveys were completed by internship
supervisors between 2011 and 2016. The results were definitive, stating
that from the 2015 graduate pool, 98% were employed in various
capacities, both full and part-time and 53% indicated that their current
jobs had a direct connection to their internship or contacts obtained
during their internship.

Mount Holyoke College in conjunction with the NACE Center for

Career Development and Talent Acquisition (Townsley, Lierman, Watermill,
and Rousseau, 2017) revealed that the number of internships combined
with a students’ grade point average are the keys to positive early
career outcomes either in securing an initial job post-graduation or
entering a graduate program within 6 months. Compared to those who did
not secure an internship, students who participated in 2 or more
internships, were also twice as likely to find employment within 6
months of graduation. Relevant work experience is also key for hiring
managers. By analyzing resume audits, Nunley, Pugh, Romero, and Seals
(2016) found that internships can improve a candidate’s ability to
acquire an interview at a rate that is by 14% higher than those who did
not choose an internship. “Door openers’ was the term used by Saniter
and Siedler (2014) when referring to these potential placements. Again,
this research confirms a positive relationship between some industry-
related experience garnered from internships and the next step in career
progression.
 In a study by Cappelli, (2014), he asserts that there is little to
no evidence of a skills gap, but rather there is a skills mismatch or
even that candidates may be over-qualified with more education than the
requirement for the position. Internships may even support the notion
that any skills mismatch may be minimized with on-site, experiential
internships. Work - based learning or learning at a job site seems to
correlate to enhanced job prospects, specifically immediately following
graduation. This paper seeks to understand the impact of internships on
students’ job opportunities and employability post-graduation.

Internships as voluntary, temporary work placements, often

undertaken by students at the university and college levels, have been
hailed as win-win situations for both employers and internees (Coco,
2000). Employers do not have to commit to actual employment, and
internees can further their (future) career. Clearly, internships
feature prominently when it comes to the employability of graduates from
higher education (e.g., Gault, Redington, & Schlager, 2000), and in
recent years universities across the Western world have increasingly
acknowledged the importance of career-furthering measures (Bridgstock,
2009; Smith, McKnight, & Naylor, 2000). Yet, the exact benefits of
internships, and how these are brought about, remain a matter of ongoing
debate (Narayan, Olk, & Fukami, 2010). The present work aims to add to
this debate by focusing on the academic value of internships and their
direct effects on study outcomes.

There is little doubt that internships can have a direct and

positive effect on a number of career indicators, at least under the
right circumstances (for recent reviews, see Knouse & Fontenot, 2008;
Narayan et al., 2010). Studies specifically relating to business
education and training have shown that, compared to no such experience,
internships are associated with greater perceived attractiveness of job
applicants to recruiters (Taylor, 1988), with graduates obtaining a job
more quickly and more easily (Knouse, Tanner, & Harris, 1999), and with
higher salary levels as well as increased job satisfaction (Gault et
al., 2000). In contrast, less emphasis has been put on internship
outcomes within higher education. In a recent synthesis of the existing
literature, Narayan et al. (2010) have drawn up an integrative model of
internship effectiveness, which addresses academic preparedness as an
antecedent variable, but omits any academic benefits from student
outcomes. This is supplemented by students’ own perceptions, who have
been shown to attribute substantial social and career-related value to
internships, but no academic value that would feed back into their
studies (Cannon & Arnold, 1998; Cook, Parker, & Pettijohn, 2004).
Empirical studies conducted in educational contexts so far suggest,
however, that an internship experience directly impacts on final grades
and degree classes (Gomez, Lush, & Clements, 2004; Mandilaras, 2004;
Mansfield, 2011; Rawlings, White, & Stephens, 2005; Reddy & Moores,
2006).

For a thorough investigation of the internship-university link, a

number of student demographics are considered that are well known to be
associated with study outcomes, namely gender, ethnicity and scholastic
aptitude. Some studies (e.g., Gomez et al., 2004) have controlled for
some of these factors in order to obtain a good estimate of effect size.
In the present work, we are more concerned with interactions between
internship experience and background characteristics in order to
estimate internship effects for different student groups. This can then
indicate, for example, whether internships are more or less effective
for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Another area of inquiry
concerns the stability of effects across different academic disciplines.
Studies so far have thrown a spotlight on individual degree courses
(Gomez et al., 2004; Mandilaras, 2004; Mansfield, 2011; Rawlings et
al.,2005; Reddy & Moores, 2006), and most studies concerned with career
indicators have been conducted within business schools (Narayan et al.,
2010). These findings, however, cannot capture the full variation in
terms of gender composition, ethnic diversity and scholastic aptitude to
be found within a full-scale university, let alone the variation in
standards and learning climates on different courses. Lastly, we are
concerned with the problem of self- selection. Where research has
focused on optional internships, clear a priori differences have been
documented between students with and without internship experience. As
in all field settings, this weakens any argument that assigns a causal
role to internships in raising academic performance. But what about
effects on academic achievement? Anecdotal evidence suggests that
excellent students come with excellent references, including internship
experience. Past research has shown that brighter students, those with
better grades, are more likely to get into an internship (Knouse et al.,
1999; Knouse & Fontenot, 2008; Taylor, 1988). We find the opposite
causal direction, however, to be of much higher practical relevance.
Improved academic performance owing to internships could have a
substantial indirect effect on students’ value on the job market, given
that study outcomes are routinely treated as central predictors of
employment (see Smith et al., 2000). Roth and Clarke (1998), in their
meta-analysis, found an overall correlation of .20 between academic
performance (grades) and starting salary, as well as correlations
from .20 to .30 between grades and current salary.

Further benefits of increased academic performance include a

reduction in stress and improved adjustment to new life circumstances
(Chemers, Hu, & Garcia, 2001). Our theoretical understanding, then,
distinguishes between two causal paths from internships to career
indicators, one direct and one indirect by means of influencing academic
performance. This helps to further highlight the importance of
investigating links between internships and academic outcomes. So far,
studies that have included information on both internships and study
outcomes have been struggling with resolving the inherent confound
between the two variables (Gault et al., 2000; Knouse et al., 1999;
Taylor, 1988), in part due to the level of rigour in the statistical
analyses. Although several studies have hinted at academic benefits to
date (Gomez et al., 2004; Mandilaras, 2004; Mansfield, 2011; Rawlings et
al., 2005; Reddy & Moores, 2006), there is little stringent evidence for
a causal link between internships and study outcomes.

Another factor that has received considerable attention in the

literature on academic outcomes and graduate careers is gender. While
research on gender and academic achievement was historically concerned
with an academic disadvantage for female students (Rudd, 1984), more
recent studies have moved away from a uniformly negative view on female
educational attainment (McNabb, Pal, & Sloane, 2002), with some
reporting an overall reversal of this gender gap (Buchmann & DiPrete,
2006). Females tend to show both higher study motivation and higher
study outcomes (e.g., Harackiewicz, Barron, Tauer, & Elliot, 2002), with
the exception of science subjects and related disciplines (Mellanby,
Martin, & O’Doherty, 2010; Steele 1997). Studies on internships have
mostly used gender as a control variable (Gomez et al., 2004; Rawlings
et al., 2005), but Mansfield (2011) reported a reduced benefit from
internships for female students as compared to males. This emphasizes
the importance of further investigating interactions between internships
and gender. Finally, the level of academic aptitude needs to be taken
into account. As stated before, brighter students are more likely to
gain access to internships (Knouse et al., 1999).

This means that studies on internships run the risk of focusing on

elite support while neglecting lower achievers. As with some other
background characteristics, studies documenting an internship effect on
academic outcomes have routinely controlled for prior achievement. An
exploration of internship effects at different levels of academic
achievement, however, is still missing. In sum, we propose that taking
into account central student characteristics, ethnicity, gender, and
academic aptitude, both as control variables and potential moderators of
internship effects will further increase the relevance of findings in
current debates in the higher education sector. General and Stable
Internship Effects? Having discussed the relevance of an internship
effect on academic achievement and the main variables investigated in
this study, we briefly address factors that speak for and against a
general effectiveness of internship. At first, the generality of effects
may well be questioned on the grounds of the potentially moderating role
of student characteristics identified so far. On the other hand, small-
scale studies so far have found support for internship effects in
disciplines as varied as economics (Mandilaras, 2004), bioscience (Gomez
et al., 2004), surveying (Mansfield, 2011), information systems
(Rawlings et al., 2005), and psychology (Reddy & Moores, 2006). Of
course, all these benefits could stem from general maturation in
students (Devlin, 1996).
 However, given that academic achievement is multi-factorial (e.g.,
being influenced by prior knowledge, intelligence, social support and
external pressures), we find it more fruitful to speculate on
overarching motivational processes. Although this work is not directly
concerned with student motivation, the consideration of motivational
constructs helps to formulate the expectation that internship effects
will be robust across different academic disciplines and at the same
time will show some variability for different types of students.
Internships have been shown to lead to a higher fit between business
students’ instrumental values and job characteristics (Pedro, 1984), to
a greater crystallization of a vocational self- concept (Brooks,
Cornelius, Greenfield, & Joseph, 1995; Taylor, 1988), and to improve the
cushioning of a graduate’s reality shock (Cook et al., 2004; Taylor,
1988). These findings point to processes independent of specific
academic fields and suggest that, overall, internships may be related to
changes in intrinsic motivation (Deci, Vallerand, Pelletier, & Ryan,
1991) as well as social-cognitive processes leading to increased self-
efficacy and interest (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994) and higher-level
career aspirations (Nauta, Epperson, & Kahn, 1998). Based on these
speculations, we expected to find positive internship effects on
academic outcomes, and for these to hold across disciplines.

At the same time, research on perceived barriers (Luzzo &

McWhirter, 2001) indicates that such effects may vary across student
background characteristics, with particular reference to ethnic minority
status and being female, due to group-specific anticipation of
inhibiting factors on the way to educational and career goals. A
systematic comparison of internship effects across different sub-groups
in the student population, something which has not been undertaken so
far, is therefore essential. Research aims in the following, we present
findings from a large longitudinal data set on internships and academic
achievements covering the years from 2001 to 2008 for all completed
undergraduate student cohorts at one of the largest universities in the
UK. Internships were all integrated with degree courses and took place
during an additional year sandwiched in between year two and year three
of a three years B.A. or B.Sc. degree (hence the commonly known label
‘sandwich placement’ in the UK). Internship duration typically falls in
between eight and eleven months, depending on university policy. In a
further step, we attempted to maximize the practical relevance of our
analyses by comparing different ways of scaling academic outcomes,
namely degree mark and degree class. Within the English-speaking world,
there are a number of approaches to grading and awarding a particular
level of outcome to a student’s degree (Sadler, 2005). In the UK, a
degree mark is often awarded as a grade point average with a value range
from 0 to 100. Specific ranges on this scale represent different degree
classes (see Yorke, Barnett, Evanson, Haines, Jenkins, Knight, et al.,
2004, for the particulars in matching class to mark). For both academic
and career purposes, degree class solely carries importance, and in
recent years strong concerns in the UK have been raised regarding
mounting pressures on students to obtain the top-most classes in order
to gain access to qualified employment (Burgess Group, 2007).

In addition, the relationship between levels of prior

achievementand undertaking an internship, although significant, was
again weak. This finding, although supportive of previous research
(Knouse et al., 1999; Knouse & Fontenot, 2008; Taylor, 1988), indicates
that internships were not only undertaken by brighter students, but by
students at all levels of academic achievement. It is related to the
issue of academic aptitude discussed above, our findings show that self-
selection plays a secondary role at best. Our comparison of degree
courses with mandatory and optional internships showed no differences in
terms of an internship effect. Of course, it is impossible to rule out
self-selection effects entirely. Students’ choice to enrol on a
particular course with or without mandatory internship may be influenced
by wider career goals, school grades, levels of confidence and so forth.
In the same manner, students may have to decide prior to enrolment
whether they wish to join a 3-year version without or a 4-year version
with internship. Still, whatever the modalities of particular courses,
our analyses demonstrate that across courses and disciplines the
benefits of an internship are persistent.

According to Gault et al. [23], academic internships are a bridge

to link the theory and practice by taking part in supervised and
scheduled work. These internship programs not only improve student
personal skills but also polish their professional growth and
experience. There is concern by employers that college graduates have
job market readiness and have experienced work-related projects
(Fishburne, 2015; Sterling, 2007). In design education, experiential
learning is supported through cooperative or internship programs that
allow students to earn college credit for supervised professional
experience. It is a type of controlled experiential learning in which
the workplace becomes a learning laboratory. Academia creates curricula
to increase students’ employability, seen as the achievement of
competence, skill, and knowledge within a disciplinary field. The
internship is promoted as a way to assess and develop the raw skills
needed for employment (Schoenfelt et al., 2013). Barr and McNeilly
(2002) found that recruiters value internships as solid indicators of
employability. Internships provide a point of transition from a first
work situation to long-term professional success (Schoenfelt et al.,
2013).There is an assumption that students cannot learn all they need to
learn in academia to enter the workforce. An internship extends the
reach of the classroom, which provides the student the opportunity to
smoothly transition into his or her discipline. Di Lorenzo-Aiss and
Mathisen (1996) describe four characteristics of an internship as: 1)
acquiring a set number of work hours, 2) being paid or unpaid, 3)
earning college credit, and 4) having oversight by an organization’s
mentor plus an academic faculty member. Three benefactors of an
internship are firms, schools, and students. Firms highly value the
internship experience Rigsby, Addy, Herring, & Polledo, 2013) or reasons
such as recruitment (Wanless, 2013), job experience (Coco, 2000), and
the filling of a skill shortage (Patrick, Peach & Pocknee, 2008). Other
reasons include to retain permanent hires, to maintain a good
relationship with the school, and to differentiate their firm from the
competition (Brooks & Greene, 1998). Internships help universities with
student placement in industry (Verney, Holoviak & Winter, 2009) and can
attract prospective students to the design program. Faculty may benefit
from equipment donations, student scholarships, sabbaticals, advisory
board members, consultancy work, and joint research projects (Marshall,
2012; Tufenkjian, 1999). Students are the greatest benefactors of
internships. Gault, Leach and Duey (2010) asked 185 employers of
undergraduate interns about the perceived value of the internship in
hiring decisions. Firms with high- performing interns perceived the
value of the school’s internship program higher than firms with average-
performance interns. Interns who were considered high performers were
more likely to receive higher starting salaries than interns considered
as average performers. The variables perceived as most valuable included
the intern acquiring better job skills, learning faster, and being more
productive. The top three most significant predictors of overall on-the-
job performance by employers were the intern’s reliability, consistency,
and eagerness to learn new skills. These findings support earlier
research that undergraduates with internship experience have more full-
time employment potential after graduation (Gault, Redington & Schlager,
2000; Reddan & Rauchle, 2012. Internships expose students to discipline-
specific knowledge.

An internship can help a student develop professionalism,

communication, and interpersonal skills. Additional soft skills, such as
attitude and work ethic, along with the technical hard skills necessary
for a profession, are in demand today (Gale et al., 2017). An
undergraduate education should be balanced between broad knowledge and
disciplinary skills (Hart Research Associates, 2007). Fifty-six percent
of employers believe higher education should emphasize the following:
integrative learning, knowledge of human culture and the world,
intellectual and practical skills, and personal and social
responsibility. Both employers and graduates in this same study agree
that teamwork skills and critical thinking are two important workplace
skills (Hart Research Associates, 2007). Beck and Halim (2008)
identified the most significant internship learning outcomes as personal
and interpersonal skills, with technical skills perceived as important.
Recruiters want evidence of leadership, communication, and interpersonal
skills, which are largely unattainable in the classroom (Barr &
McNeilly, 2002). For four years in a row, the top selection criterion in
the Graduate Careers Australia (2012) survey were interpersonal and
communication skills. An intern’s communication ability is also a
critical skill identified in other studies (Gale et al., 2017; Huber,
2018; Kelley & Bridges, 2005; Ryan & Krapels, 1997).
 Other research has shown that students who are financially
compensated in their internships have a higher level of what McHugh
(2017) calls “developmental value”. This variable is similar to this
study’s definition of preparedness, in which students use an internship
to acquire more skills and develop clarity about future career goals.
Yet, the same study (McHugh, 2017) reported no significant difference
when correlating those with a paid internship and their personal
satisfaction with that internship. Though the national average wage for
an intern is $19.05 per hour (NACE, 2019), it is understood this amount
is for all professions and not just interior design. As the average
hourly wage for a professional interior designer is $25.66 (USBLS,
2019), a less- knowledgeable intern’s rate of $12.85 is comparable.
Gupta et al. (2010) also found no significant relationship between
intern compensation and interns’ satisfaction. Instead, their
satisfaction was more strongly related to the skills they gained.
However, students in other studies have expressed negative concerns
about internship compensation, time commitment, and paying for credit
while “working” (Roznowski & Wrigley, 2006; Wexler, 2016).

Ronnestad and Skovholts(2020) stated that practicality of knowledge

depends upon what students already know and how they associate their
information with the situations they face in the real world of the work.
Work-related learning and practical training in the form of internship
programs are vital for business students for their personal and
professional development and to build their strong connections with the
leading business organizations. However, most of the research works
until recently have focused on the advancement of student knowledge and
advantages of an internship program after its completion. There is
limited amount of research work on how internship programs assist in
professional and personal growth and skills of business students
especially in underdeveloped countries like Pakistan. Much attention is
paid on knowledge of facts in formal educational classes. If a student
works hard, pays attention in class and learns the classroom material by
heart, he will definitely pass the examinations. In formal classes, the
major focus is on what students know, but in an internship program, the
major focus is on what students do.

Raskin (2020) indicated through an empirical research that there is

a huge gap between the linkage of classroom knowledge and practical
work. Students and academic faculty members pay very little attention on
gaining full benefit from internship opportunities. Sometimes, students
just observe the internship work environment without applying their
classroom knowledge to the situations they encounter there, and
sometimes, educational advisors or faculty members do not properly guide
their students to get full advantage from the internship opportunities.
Harrison and Kennedy believed that an internship program can be made
successful for students through proper recognition of internship plans
and relevant industry participants, picking out motivational student
interns, internship program evaluation, monitoring and feedback. They
also identified that educational institutes and academic advisors should
play a vital role in the implementation of an internship program. Many
previous studies have proved that internship programs improve the
academic and professional performance of the business students who
follow an internship program during or after the completion of their
institutional degree. Internship programs provide the opportunity to the
business students to gain fruitful experience by implementing their
classroom concepts in the real work settings.

Internship experience then has an impact on the professional growth

and success of business students and helps them to receive good
financial earnings in their first job. Students also learn required
skills acquired for their professional success. Moreover, internship
helps business students to develop good personal qualities and working
habits as well as appreciable confidence level. Internship opportunities
make the students able to receive high-quality job offers sooner. They
help them to directly interact with corporate professionals and thus
build a strong network for their first job. But different studies have
shown that to achieve all the above-mentioned advantages related to
internship, appropriate feedback is needed from both the corporate
supervisor and the institutional supervisor of the student. As feedback
is considered as a vital element in upgrading and maintaining the
performance, quality of internship programs and professional learning of
the business students, a proper feedback should be provided by company
and academic supervisor to check the intern’s progress.

Corporates usually favor the job applicants with work experience

and practical knowledge. Therefore, they sometimes have an eye on their
interns to select them as their future employees. In this way, companies
also save their hiring and training costs [5]. Interns provide part-time
help and innovative ideas and exchange other knowledge with the business
firms. On the other hand, the major disadvantages of internships for the
organizations are that they have to provide guidance, extensive support,
training and feedback to the interns at every stage in order to make
them productive for the organizations.

According to Esters & Retallick, 2013 since educational

institutions are obligated and responsible for maximizing chances for
the intellectual growth of students, academic professionals in higher
education increasingly offer undergraduates plenty of opportunities to
engage in experiential learning. Activities focusing on developing
specialized workplace skills and transferring work-related knowledge
will become less relevant as the skill sets required of “higher-level”
employees evolve and grow. Individuals are increasingly demanding to
recognize and develop the skills necessary for their present and future
positions (Lester & Costley, 2010). Underdeveloped countries frequently
encounter significant unemployment rates, particularly among the younger
population. Work-based learning programs, such as internships, can be
beneficial in decreasing unemployment rates by providing individuals
with the proper skills for their careers. The fact that young people do
far worse in the job market is a sign of the widespread disparities in
the workplace across several nations. With a worldwide youth
unemployment rate of around 14% in 2022 (ILO, 2023), the likelihood of
young unemployment in the labor force is three times greater than that
of adults. In recent years, there has been an increase in students
seeking internships, with colleges and institutions offering them as
extracurricular activities or incorporating them into their curriculum
(Margaryan et al., 2020). A qualified education background does not
ensure employment, especially considering the effects of automation and
the current state of the economy. However, university curricula must
include prerequisites and courses to improve graduates abilities for a
competitive job market. In this sense, experiential learning is highly
beneficial, and internships are becoming regarded as a crucial course
choice (Alawamleh & Mahadin, 2022; Margaryan et al., 2022). From the
perspective of Social Cognitive Career Theory (SSCT) (Lent et al.,
1994), internship programs provide individuals with practical experience
that helps them develop a clear awareness of the potential career
outcomes, enhancing their self-efficacy. Moreover, internship
experiences enable students to make appropriate career decisions by
allowing them to use their academic knowledge in professional
environments. Lent et al. (1994) suggested that internships facilitate
exploring occupational opportunities. Also, since internships provide
students with direct practical experience and opportunities to explore
potential careers, they significantly impact individuals’ career
decisions.

Internship programs are widely regarded as highly advantageous

programs that facilitate the transition into the practical field of
business. Education experts acknowledge that internships offer numerous
benefits when discussing the significant involvement of business schools
(Clark, 2003). Internships can facilitate students in obtaining
employment, act as milestones toward permanent positions, provide
satisfying experiences that stimulate specific career aspirations, and
help students develop realistic expectations about the professional
world while clarifying their career objectives (Knouse & Fontenot,
2008). Although many studies focus on internship experiences from the
WBL approach, there are few investigations on how internships affect
career intentions (Ng et al., 2023). Thus, the current body of research
on internships frequently fails to thoroughly investigate the interns'
perceptions and interpretations of their learning and career prospects.
The present study aims to fill this research gap by examining these
interactions. By documenting and analyzing interns' detailed personal
and work experiences, our research highlights aspects of WBL that are
frequently disregarded, such as informal learning, mentorship dynamics,
and the development of soft skills, which are critical in the workplace.

According to SCCT, personal resources such as self-efficacy

influence an individual's task selection, determination, and resilience
when confronted with career-related problems. Interpersonal elements
such as colleagues, mentors, and supervisory support could be crucial
for career success by affecting information acquisition and skill
development and providing emotional support during difficult situations.
On the other hand, technical abilities are frequently the foundation of
job performance, enabling individuals to carry out their
responsibilities successfully. For example, a person's self-efficacy in
learning and using new technology could influence their performance and
relationships in a team context. Similarly, workplace culture and
support as interpersonal variables could have an impact on an
individual's capacity to acquire and utilize technical skills
successfully (Lent, 1999). According to the career resources approach, a
variety of resources, including self-esteem, optimism, knowledge, and
skills, contribute differently to facets of career success (Hirschi et
al., 2018), and these have been proven essential for achieving
professional success (Haenggli & Hirschi, 2020.

According to the modified model of SCCT by Morales and Jacobson

(2019), the internship process is one of the contextual influences that
influence outcome expectations, career interests, career goals, and
career actions. Interns gain practical experience in a realistic work
setting and acquire knowledge about their chosen professions
(Friesenborg, 2002). Interns enhance their sense of security in their
capacity to succeed professionally, supporting their belief in their
abilities. This, in turn, motivates students to pursue their
professional interests further and establish specific career objectives
and strategies (Morales & Jacobson, 2019). In their study, Ng et al.
(2023) investigated how several aspects of the internship environment,
such as the diversity of skills, chances for learning, support from
supervisors, and interpersonal interactions, influence students' career
plans by affecting their reflective thinking processes based on SCCT.
Also, it was seen that positive internship experiences increase
individuals’ career decision-making skills (Yaşar & Sunay, 2020) and
career decision-making self-efficacy (Ramaprasad et al., 2022).

Internships allow students to utilize and enhance their skills in a

professional environment, gaining practical experience in both their
career field and personal growth. The literature consistently
demonstrates that internships are effective in developing both hard and
soft skills (e.g., Garavan & Murphy, 2001; Narayan et al., 2010; Velez &
Giner, 2015). Studies by Narayanan et al. (2010) and Higgins and Kram
(2001) highlight significant improvements in interns' technical and
interpersonal skills, as well as opportunities to build valuable
professional connections. Additionally, factors such as economic
conditions, industry demands, educational institution policies, and
government legislation affect the availability of internships (Gault et
al.,2000). Internships include experiential learning. This element
underscores the significance of interns acquiring practical experience
and developing skills that may be applied in many contexts (Thompson et
al.,2021). Moreover, internships are specifically characterized as
temporary, unpaid job placements often undertaken by students enrolled
in higher education institutions. Internships are perceived as
beneficial for both employers and interns, as they provide a practical
environment where academic information is applied(Binder et al., 2015).
An internship is a closely supervised period of training in certain
situations, such as undergraduate programs in healthcare. The statement
highlights the dynamic transformation of professional practice through
educational experiences (Bhandari et al., 2022). Internship programs
involve structured and monitored tasks that promote the growth of
students' career related skills and expertise while increasing their
interpersonal competencies (Anjum, 2020). Career development refers to
the ongoing journey of skill development, job engagement, and navigating
life changes, all aimed at progressing toward an individual's self-
determined future (Savickas,1994). It holds significance as it enables
individuals to make accurate career decisions, improves job
satisfaction, and contributes to life satisfaction.

According to Fouad et al. (2023), career development refers to

choosing a job as a person grows from adolescence to maturity. It is
currently accepted that people make many decisions regarding their jobs
and professions throughout their lives, even though this was formerly
assumed to be a decision early in life (Fouad et al., 2023).
Career development depends on various career resources, which include
knowledge, skills, and motivational and environmental resources required
for effective career development. Career resources include many factors,
such as self-concept clarity, career insight, career identity,
transferrable skills, employability, and social support (Hirschi, 2012).
Hirschi et al.(2017) state that fundamental career resources include
soft skills, learning, career exploration, job market knowledge, and
occupational expertise. Students can enhance their soft skills, such as
teamwork and communication, by participating in internship programs.
Furthermore, interns acquire important insights, abilities, and skills
unique to their chosen vocational fields.

Business faculty connect a student’s academic preparation with

opportunities for careers throughout the degree process. The
professional nature of the business curriculum is an important component
of faculty work and student progress. As Maddox et al. (2018) noted,
however, “there is a growing, worldwide clamor for more relevance in
business education at the undergraduate and graduate levels. High-impact
practices provide an avenue to enhance relevance of the learning for
students. Internships are opportunities for students to work temporarily
for an organization, with or without pay, to gain experience in the
field, develop contacts, and apply learning to actual situations. The
internship is a transition from the academic environment to the world of
work (Bayerlein & Jeske, 2018). Learning at work is like learning in an
academic environment but differs in many ways as it is both formal and
informal and the workplace varies in its support of learning (Tynjälä,
2008). Internships require students to live in the profession as they
learn work-related and immersive social skills (Urquía-Grande &
Estébanez, 2020). Work experience may be undertaken as an optional or
compulsory part of a higher education or training course and can be
described using a plethora of terms including work-integrated learning
(WIL), traineeships (as they are often referred to in Europe),
work/field placements, industry attachments, clinical placements or
rotations, and professional practice or practicums (McDonald, 2020.
Internship programs can have several limitations including problems with
finding enough placements in an industry or a given geographical
location (Jackson et al., 2017), experiencing disconnects between
academic learning and work practices (Bayerlein & Jeske, 2018), and
having inadequate access for underserved populations (Kuh & Kinzie,
2018). Scholars also describe a gap between the perceived importance of
the internship and the academic structure provided for the learning
experience to occur (Matusovich et al., 2019).

Vélez and Giner (2015) related three benefits of internships for

business students to include 1) improved employment opportunities, 2)
enhanced competencies and skills, and 3) greater awareness of career
options. The thirty-three articles they reviewed that were primarily
quantitative in nature, empirically supported the impression of the
effectiveness of business internships in improving employment chances
for career positions, enhancing job-related and social skills, and
clarifying potential career paths for participating students. Knause and
Fontenot (2011) also found from a review of literature that work-
related skills and employability improved with internships. In their
scale development work, Nghia and Duyen (2019) identified five
constructs for potential benefits of internships, including 1) applying
knowledge and skills to career situations, 2) developing professional
skills, 3) shaping career options, 4) expanding professional networks,
and 5) enhancing attitudes and professional behaviors. Binder et al.
(2015) found enhanced benefits of internships in comparison to simply
studying for a year in a different academic environment, reinforcing
perceptions of the positive outcomes of the immersion in a work
environment. Gault et al. (2000) found advantages of reduced time to
landing the first career position, higher salaries, and greater
satisfaction with the chosen career. The importance of the situated
learning or immersion in the social aspect of work is emphasized in the
material from clinical rotations in medicine and in the studies that
describe benefits of internships for business students. A challenge may
be in finding enough employers who are willing and able to work with
colleges of business and universities to provide these experiences.