Internship and employability prospects: assessing student’s work readiness
- 20 February 2019
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Emerald in Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning
- Vol. 9 (4), 538-549
- https://doi.org/10.1108/heswbl-08-2018-0086
Abstract
Purpose Changes in the workplace have raised serious concerns about the future of work and the effectiveness of undergraduate academic programs to sufficiently prepare students for business. The purpose of this paper is to address this concern by exploring how internship employment (placement) is implicated in the young business graduates' employability prospects. Design/methodology/approach This research explored the students' perceptions regarding their degree of "work readiness" after completing an internship program. The concept of "work readiness" is conceptualized in terms of role clarity, ability and motivation. An institution of higher education in Greece provided the sampling frame for this research. Online survey data have been used. Findings Students who attend internship programs assessed positively all aspects of the work readiness construct. They knew what it was expected by employers from them to do at work. They were able to effectively apply basic academic skills, high-order skills and professional skills required by employers on the job and placed greater importance to the intrinsic rewards than the extrinsic ones. Originality/value The integration of scattered pieces of literature on graduates' employability through the lenses of "work readiness" is a novel theoretical approach to explore the effectiveness of internship programs on employability prospects in the Greek context.Keywords
This publication has 31 references indexed in Scilit:
- Student Perceptions of the Importance of Employability Skill Provision in Business Undergraduate ProgramsJournal of Education for Business, 2013
- Graduates', university lecturers' and employers' perceptions towards employability skillsEducation + Training, 2010
- Effects of business internships on job marketability: the employers' perspectiveEducation + Training, 2010
- Graduate Employability, ‘Soft Skills’ Versus ‘Hard’ Business Knowledge: A European StudyHigher Education in Europe, 2008
- Hospitality internships in Cyprus: a genuine academic experience or a continuing frustration?International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 2007
- Student Perspectives on the Quality of Hotel Management InternshipsJournal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism, 2006
- On the Use of College Students in Social Science Research: Insights from a Second-Order Meta-analysisJournal of Consumer Research, 2001
- Student Expectations of Collegiate Internship Programs in Business: A 10-Year UpdateJournal of Education for Business, 1998
- Student Expectations Regarding Collegiate Internship Programs in MarketingJournal of Marketing Education, 1986
- Managing customers as human resources in service organizationsHuman Resource Management, 1986