Key Reasons Why Organisations Should Give Internship Opportunities To Graduates And Undergraduates

Barely three days after my article titled “Gaining Valuable Work Experience Through Internship: My Advice for Graduate and Undergraduates” was published on various online portals in Ghana, including 3News.com, ModernGhana.com and ghananewalert.com, I have received a number of emails from graduates and undergraduates expressing their appreciation for the advice. Some of these graduates and undergraduates also wrote to me to express their frustrations regarding the difficulties they have been facing looking for organisations to do internship with. In the case of one young graduate, his search for opportunity to have internship with some organisations have been rebuffed so much so that, he nearly gave up on himself. And this has been after having difficulty getting a job after graduation from the university. It is as a result of such stories and those that are untold, that I am writing this follow-up article to articulate the benefits to organisations for giving internship opportunities to graduates and undergraduates.

In today's tight labour market, where there is a continuous war for talent, offering internship opportunities for students and graduates can be a significant way to attract new talents. In addition, interns can meet short-term needs of companies for extra assistance and bring enthusiasm and innovative ideas to the companies. Certainly, we live in a knowledge-based economy where businesses with the best talent win. And since more and more companies are relying on internships to recruit talents at the entry-level, there is an ever-increasing need to be part of an internship programme that can evaluate a candidate’s true potential. In terms of both today's workload and tomorrow's workforce, internship is an excellent way to facilitate success at your business. Research indicates that 67.7% of interns were offered fulltime positions after their internships. Eighty three point six percent (83.6%) of these offers were accepted. Again, it is estimated that 35.3% of employers' fulltime, entry-level college hires came from their internships. Specifically, here are six key reasons why organisations should give internship opportunities to graduates and undergraduates.

Increased Cost Efficiency
A survey of 250 companies by the University of Cincinnati and the Mead Corporation showed that: Internships prove to be 73 percent more cost effective over the first 21 months of full-time employment, saving more than $24,000 per Intern hired. Again, fringe benefits often consume 25 to 35 percent of personnel costs for employers. These costs can be greatly reduced by using interns in appropriate positions. I believe the situation in Africa and Ghana will not be too different. Usually interns take up placements mainly for the experience; thus organisations are not necessarily required to pay them. Further, as was earlier reiterated, internships give organisations access to enthusiastic, highly motivated and knowledgeable labour pool at no direct cost to the organisations.

Reduced Recruitment Costs
In many instances, the process of recruiting and hiring is a drain on a company’s resources. Internship offers organisations a cost effective means of recruitment as they could recruit from their interns to meet their future vacancy requirements without spending money on advertisement, recruitment fees, and other related costs. Certainly, it is more cost-effective to hire an intern than it is to hire a part-time or temporary employee. But in this case, your organisation benefits from these interns without any direct cost. Internships also provide an opportunity for organisations to evaluate and screen interns prior to making a full-time offer to them. This can save organisations some money. Internships have also proven to be an excellent way to evaluate and recruit potential employees and provide employers with a flexible, cost-effective work force that does not require a long-term commitment.

A High-Quality and Motivated Employee
A study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), USA showed that more than two-thirds of employers who hire predominantly college graduates prefer to try them out first before offering them permanent employment. Seventy percent (70%) of employers are using internships to create a pool of quality job candidates. Interns are generally enthusiastic and eager to learn. Again, internship offers organisations the opportunity to benefit from added manpower, while more accurately assessing candidates to ensure that they get the best talent. Businesses have reported converting more than half of eligible interns into full-time hires. If hired in a permanent position, previous interns assimilate faster to their new roles and have shorter learning curves than external hires.

Assisting Organisations to Address their Business Needs

Interns are potential candidates who can fill both entry-level and short- term job positions of organisations. They can help with projects and reduce the workload both as short-term employees or part-time employees. More precisely, they can assist a company to complete some special projects, which would otherwise go undone if they were not available. Interns in an organisation can provide freedom for existing staff to pursue new or more creative projects.

Opportunity for Organisations to Evaluate, Select and Develop their Future Talents

Research indicates that about four out of every five businesses using internships as a recruitment strategy report a ‘good’ to ‘excellent’ return on investment. Internships give organisations the opportunity to assess their interns to make sure they are good fit for their organisations. If an intern is performing satisfactorily, an organisation may consider hiring them in the future. The reality of recruitment is that a potential employee may make a solid impression at the interview, but may not fit into an organisation’s culture or current team. Because of this, internships are an effective way to evaluate potential employees as suitable fulltime employees for an organisation, why giving them the benefit of the additional manpower of interns.

Assisting in Bridging the Widening Gap between Industry and Academia

That a gap exists between industry and academia is not in doubt. My interactions with CEOs and Captains of industry across the country generally show they have concerns with the performance of graduates. They bemoan the seeming mismatch between skills required by industry and the skills most graduates demonstrate on the job. In my article on “Bridging the Gap between Academia and Industry: The Role of the HR”, I indicated that industry can help to bridge the gap between itself and academia by making it a policy to accept a number of undergraduates for internship every year, and ensuring that such interns are given the needed training for the world of work. Since industry seeks the kind of labour force that will “hit the ground running”, they should be willing to assist in ways that can improve the quality of graduates they receive. One major way to assist in bridging the gap between industry and academia is by providing internship opportunities to graduates and undergraduates.

Let me conclude with a call on organisations and captains of industry to give internship opportunities to graduates and undergraduates for the mutual benefit of both the organisations and the interns. Let me also sound a word of caution to graduates and undergraduates seeking internship opportunities that, their focus should not be on monetary gains; but rather on gaining valuable work experience and developing the key skills that would make them employable. Both industry and academia must work together to bridge the gap between them through internship opportunities.

The writer, Mrs Patricia Abena Kissi, is an HR and business consultant, Career and personal development coach, an author; and the CEO of SEDAT Consult Limited. SEDAT Consult provides business support in the areas of recruitment, staff and HR outsourcing, training and development, HR advisory, and business development services (business plan preparation, proposal writing, and business advisory), to meet the business, staffing and training needs of start-ups and SMEs, as well as well-established companies in the country. We also provide personal and career development coaching. Our mission is to ease the business burdens of organisations through the provision of innovative, practical training, research, and human resources and business solutions using proven techniques to address the business needs of our clients. You may contact us on: +233 (0) 24 4629245 / +233 (0) 50 8913333. Or send us an email via [email protected].