Over the last decades, internships have become an integral part of the career path of most students and young professionals in order to seek real-world experiences, establish networks, and increase employability for growing competition in the job market today. But a concerning pattern has formed: there just aren’t enough internships to go around. Increasingly competitive industries and a corresponding spike in the amount of students vying for these opportunities has left many without that vital experience to help them move forward after school.
Internships Moving from Perk to Prerequisite
In the course of approximately the past ten years, internships have swiftly moved from offering a competitive edge to being downright essential. Whether a student is studying engineering or business, healthcare or the arts, internships have become almost as important to a well-rounded education as traditional coursework. Academic performance can no longer be all that matters to the employer because employers want to know how candidates are applying their knowledge once it has been given to them. Earlier, when we had an internship mentioned in the list of companies you worked with, it was good to have on your resume. Nowadays, they often secure the only employment opportunity that comes your way when you start out full-time. In a recent report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), 60% of employers indicated that they prefer to hire candidates with internship experience, and more than 50% reported that interns convert to full-time employees at a rate they would consider rapid. Given those figures, the impending rush for internships seems inevitable. Regrettably, the supply has not been keeping pace with this increasing demand.
Why the Shortage?
Multiple things are at play when it comes to why there is an internship drought. A big problem is also the rise in graduation and college students, which does not increase as much in relation to internships offered. There are only so many slots in — especially tech, finance, and marketing— and the companies typically will concentrate on you to fill them. On top of that, the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench in the possibilities for in-person internships as companies either paused their internship programs or transitioned to remote internships with reduced headcount. While the workforce is largely accustomed to remote and hybrid models, internship programs are still in recovery mode with limited spots available. Also, smaller businesses that can provide good internship experience may not have the resources for a structured program. In addition, many startups and SMEs are darlings of lean economics, so still a pretty bad job situation where they can’t afford to hire trained interns.
Who’s Missing Out?
That means it’s not disproportionately proving the biggest problem for underrepresented students (who don’t have a network that matters) or those who don’t, because of their jobs and lives outside college, have to be content at a distance from an easily accessible job. The ability to intern is an obvious example of how (for the lower advantaged among us) it seems as if we are all really just at one big starting line, and we don’t even have running shoes. Many of these students do not have the family background or even mentorship that some others turn to for leads, and instead are basically competing in an ever-growing pool. For international students, the adjustments are clear as well. Internships are often difficult to apply for in the U.S. due to visa/work authorization issues, which can prevent them from qualifying for many of these positions by being unable to legally work in a specific country. This is yet another obstacle preventing them from accessing vital professional development.
Forgoing the Internship
Internships are good for finding a job out of college. They miss acquiring experience, the opportunity to network, and skill sets that can run alongside their academic education. In few sectors like tech, engineering, and business, which requires a lot more of the practical exposures, students who don’t get internships are left jobless with serious gaps in their resumes. Also, without entry-level internships, this can additionally help deepen the chasm of inequality in the workforce. As a result, the wealthy often get wealthier by either working in unpaid internships or using parent connections to secure them employment.
Potential Solutions
Solving the internship drought will require a combination of actions among universities, businesses, and government programs. For universities, this can mean putting even more effort towards increasing co-op programs and forging partnerships with local companies that will create additional internship opportunities. Companies can help as well by facilitating additional remote internships so that students from all backgrounds can get involved without regard to location. Additional government regulation and support, such as tax breaks, grants, or incentives to employers to create more internships, can offer some relief from the current shortage. Allowing companies to only have paid interns and ending unpaid/volunteer internships would alleviate much of the economic burden that can prevent students on a budget from taking more internships. This also unlocks the possibility for students considering non-standard internships. Volunteering, project-based work, and freelancing examples provide good pathways to gain experience while building a strong portfolio showcasing versatility.
Going Forward
The gap of internships specifically signals the necessity for broad institutional changes around how we educate and train young professionals to engage with their opportunity set. This one can be a difficult situation, but it is also potential for universities, firms, and policymakers to be creative in closing the gap. Thousands of able and enthusiastic individuals will not be granted the necessary hardware to participate in it, entrenching a growing underclass unable to compete for jobs. Ultimately, securing internships is going to be a difficult uphill trek for the foreseeable future, and students will need to think out of the box if they wish to accumulate experiences and differentiate themselves. Still, there are ways that we can fight to make internships easier for everyone to access and more diverse as well.