The Impact of Internship on Graduates Employability - Literature review Example

?The Impact of Internship on Graduates’ Employability Executive Summary Is internship program an opportunityfor students and fresh graduates needing employment or a corporate excuse to optimize a cost-effective, pro-active, and eager human resources’ capital without fees and benefits? Is internship program beneficial and relevant for students and fresh graduates to leverage themselves to limited opportunities in a highly competitive market? This is a critical review on the state of internship program which actually take its root as practiced as an apprenticeship system since time immemorial (Haire & Oloffson, 2009, p. 1). This practice is institutionalized in modern times as part of the academic requirements to immerse students to the community, hospital, companies and in multinational organization to provide practical dimension of the theories learned from universities and colleges. Every year, thousands of youths and fresh graduates flock to companies in search for opportunities to hone their knowledge and to gain competitive leverage in the market with limited opportunities for millions of job seekers. This year, there are about 370,000 graduates who will be competing for limited jobs in the market (Grunwald, 2012, p. 1). The economic recession however, became an impetus for companies to accommodate interns to maintain its operation in a cost-effective measure. For the company, the jobless wanting to be registered under internship program is a remedial opportunity in response to economic depression. Recently, youths began complaining that their rights and welfares are abused as unpaid workers of the company. Introduction Internship is an opportunity to gain empirical experiences in a specific career field. This could be an academic requirement, like those who are taking medicine, nursing, and in hotel or restaurant management (Loretto, 2012, p. 1). Others avail of this program to gain personal leverage for employment. Most of those who embarked on this system are fresh graduates of colleges and universities with capacity on communication, organizational management, and good interpersonal relations aside from good academic standing (Loretto, 2012, p. 1). These interns are generally held under a supervisor who would assign them on some tasks and monitor their progress. Those taking internship with credited hours for academic grade, the faculty closely relates with the company’s management to ascertain that the desired outcome of the training is achieved. Those interns with genuine interest to learn may find this experience as a relevant part of understanding the career path they have chosen and hopefully develop a service-oriented culture based on excellence and professional relation with the management and clienteles (Beard, 2007, pp. 207-220). This review will critically discuss the correlation of internship with employability of graduates. Internship and Opportunities In this post-modern period, students and graduates are encouraged to take job placement role from workplaces to value knowledge earned from these on-job trainings that are either paid or unpaid. Experts believed that this is a valuable mechanism for those who are willing to undergo practical training and those who wanted to attain leverage to market’s economic opportunities. Human resource experts have already advised students to make their job portfolio and experiences earlier. They thought that learners shouldn’t be dissuaded from undertaking part-time jobs as an added value of work experience in their respective curriculum vitae. This adds to their credentials as potential employee. Nowadays, there are many universities and colleges that offer internship programs on placements to hone their skills and abilities. This promotes their employability after graduation as companies these days would prefer human resources that have attained positive record and recommendations from internship program (Kadlec, 2009, p. 1). Economically, internship has been adopted as socially acceptable activity because some of this program provides people certain economic reward within a limited period but which could help defray one’s personal expenses while on internship and also allow them to enjoy leisure while providing services in other areas far from their original domicile. This is true for those who are doing internship overseas aiming to make them globally competitive. They also learn from people’s culture and system of managerial operations. The entailing excitement to partake on this kind of internship can help nurture openness to variegated experiences; inspire motivation; and, certain degree of agreeableness to meet the required performance standards for both self, for the served company and for customer satisfaction. Free and Unfair? Other internship program welcomes free and voluntary services for all intern candidates in exchange of certification and recommendations for future job placement in a vast competitive market. Unfair Internship (2012, p. 1) posted the report of the National Association and Employers stating that only 60% 2012 graduates who have undergone internship got at least one job offer than those who 36% graduates who have not undergone internship. Being provider of unpaid services, some economist viewed this as company’s lame excuse of large and small companies who lacked the financial capacities to create full time paid positions. Of course, internship has not escaped the criticism of some sociologist who viewed the work as an academic exercise which freed the company of the liability to pay the services rendered by student volunteers albeit their agility and energetic involvement in institutional operations ranging from menial tasks of photocopying, production of documents, customer relations and some tasks relating to cleaning and the like. They frown at interns as a herd of unpaid workers. Intern Aware (2012) argued that graduating and fresh graduates are also abused by employees who offer unpaid internship instead of providing paid quality on-the-job training program (p. 1). They recorded that most of those who are forced to take internship program, within a specific period, are from urban communities of London of which the cost of living is high. Intern Aware (2012) reported that the average lease for accommodation in London per month is ?1000 and hence, interns suffer economic difficulties while providing free services to a company (p. 1). Without salaries, the interns remained dependent to their families and are hindered to enjoy supposed opportunities. Those who came from affluent families are maybe able to gain leverage to the ladder of employment but the rest will lag behind. Youth rights advocates argue that they are subject of hard rules, hard work, and financial debts to attain a degree but need to spend more to compete with the rest in an experience-driven market instead of making themselves academic qualifications (Briggs & Daly, 2012, p. 1). Every year, thousands of youths and fresh graduates from universities need to face this dilemma and economic quagmire. Despite this serious critique on internship, there remained significant values that can be enjoyed under on-the-job training program because it also accord performance measures within the interaction and evaluations amongst students, practitioners, and faculty, at a time when intern services are completed or concluded, to record the level of competencies earmarked from this professional training. Learners will be practically testing their knowledge and theories learned from formal schools and could become creative too in customer management, in data management, and in undertaking some operational activities and progress. Feedbacks generated from intern evaluation will also polish their practices and scale up the level of their core competencies, and thus, shape them to become befitting human resources in companies and institutions needing their services and professional expertise. In the process, the interns are immersed to the nature of the institution, its goals, and the organizational dynamics will also improve the interns’ maturity in dealing with organization and on decision-making. Conclusion Internship, though positively considered as an empirical educative system, is also viewed as an abuse of labour forces who are trading their knowledge, skills, times, and efforts in a work without pay. There is therefore an urgent need for the national government to evaluate its national policy pertaining to internship and must legislate policies that will protect the rights and welfares of learners or fresh graduates undertaking internship program. While it is significant that the government’s human resources should be inculcated of corporate values, principles and culture-based rules through in-depth job-training but it is also equally paramount for this government and for companies to consider providing perks, allowances, fringe benefits and support services for interns to unburden them from financial problems for their sustainability (Shah, 2012, p. 1). The company must understand that improving and acculturating positive behaviours for human capital must be consistent to the company’s philosophy and ethical imperatives or ethical standards. A reputable corporate company sees the needs of its human resources, either full time, part time or under internship program. Although interns are not entitled to wages but company must deal them with motivational measures and a quality learning environment to strengthen them while they are providing services thereof or while contributing to its operational production. On the other hand, if opportunity is too slim for jobseekers because of economic recession, the graduates can pursue micro-entrepreneurial alternatives to generate income and attain economic sustainability (Coughlan, 2012, p. 1). References Beard, D. F . (2007). Assessment of Internship Experiences and Accounting Core Competencies. Accounting Education, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 16(2), pages 207-220. Briggs, L. & Daly, R. (2012). Why internships and placements are popular route to employment. The Independent, London, UK., p. 1. Coughlan, S. (2012). Graduate jobs market ‘better than feared’. Education and Family News. BBC, London, UK., p 1. < http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-19899305> Accessed: 1 Nov. 2012. Grunwald, de T. ( 2012). Ten things every graduate should know before they start job hunting. The Guardian, UK., p 1. < http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/jun/01/graduate-job-hunting> Accessed: 1 Nov., 2012. Haire, M, & Oloffson, K. (2009). Interns. Brief History.Time. Time Inc. , California, US. < http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1913474,00.html> Accesed 1 Nov. 2012, p. 1. Kadlec, D. (2009). Finding a New Boom Amid the Bust. Time. Time Inc. , California, US. Accessed 1 Nov. 2012, p.1. Loretto, R. ( 2012). What is an Internship. Internship. About.com Guide. < http://internships.about.com/od/internshipsquestions/g/internshipdefin.htm> Accessed: 1 Nov. 2012. Shah, D. ( 2012). Young Workers: Never Forget Your Dreams. Business, BBC, London, UK., p. 1 < http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19464117> Accessed: 1 Nov. 2012. Unfair Internship (2012). Unpaid Internships are just not worth it. Unfair Internship: A critical look at the un (der)paid jobs called ‘internship. Accessed: 1 Nov. 2012. Read More