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Keywords
Graduates, Training, Work experience, Career planning, Canada
Abstract
This paper explores student and graduate internships. The roles and motivation of the intern and the academic, employer and professional associations that sponsor internships are considered. An examination of the "Career Starts" Program created by the Public Service Commission of the Province of Nova Scotia, in Canada serves as a case study to consider the application of internships, practical issues and objectives associated with such a program, and the experience of individual interns. This case is interesting, as a "collective agreement" element currently limits intern access to full time employment within the government. The impact of this limitation is contrasted with conventional programs established as a "recruitment pool". Internships are seen as a critical component of individual development and for succession planning for professional and management staff, as well as development of specialized skills. Internships are seen as providing a bridge between academic preparation, and full participation in work or a professional association that provides benefits to the intern, the academic institutions and employers or professional bodies.
Introduction
Bridging the transition from school to work has long been a concern of academic institutions, employers and their associations, and the professional associations that have controlled or contributed to various trades or professions. The attempt to address the provision of learning specific to a workplace or profession is not new. It has long been recognized that training or education without practical application would not sufficiently equip a person to work effectively in a trade or profession. As Herman Schneider (1910) in Barbeau and Stull (1990) state "there are aspects of every profession that cannot be learned in the classroom, but must be learned where the profession is practiced ..." It is with this in mind that students, employers and professional associations engage in the many undertakings associated with internships in their many forms.
Modern apprenticeship programs and professional internship programs strive to address a range of needs of each of the parties involved, including the learner, the academic institution, the professional organization and the employer. Each of these parties takes on their respective role for a variety of reasons, which are not always complementary or indeed compatible, resulting in an inherent level of tension...