Page 76 - A Handbook for Academia, Industry and Policymakers: Reinforcing the Innovation-Employability Nexus in the Mediterranean

76 REINFORCING THE INNOVATION-EMPLOYABILITY NEXUS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REINFORCING THE INNOVATION-EMPLOYABILITY NEXUS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN 77

Increasingly, internships are becoming part of the curriculum.
Multiple studies have shown that students who undertake an NON-STANDARD FORMS OF
internship during their course of study are more likely to find EMPLOYMENT 73
work within six months after graduating from university . The
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Internships internship also contributes to addressing issues frequently raised The International Labour Organization
by hiring managers as a barrier to employment. For instance, in (ILO) defines this as an umbrella
the Mediterranean region, students – even those with an excellent term for different employment
academic record – lack knowledge of the working world and have arrangements that deviate from
few transversal skills such as soft skills, team spirit, autonomy standard employment. They include
part-
temporary
employment,
and flexibility. According to the Euro Mediterranean international time and on-call work, temporary
internship matching programme HOMERe (High Opportunity in the agency work, and other multiparty
Mediterranean for the Recruitment of Executives of Excellence), employment relationships, as well as
this skills gap is part of the reason that youth unemployment is disguised employment and dependent
oung people increasingly rely on ‘non-standard’ forms of employment high in the region. self-employment. Non-standard
employment features prominently in
to break into a labour market that often paradoxically demands prior This tendency of employers to seek candidates with prior crowdwork and the gig economy.
Y experience even for entry level positions. Internships are a low risk experience creates a barrier to entry for youth in the job market
solution for both graduates and employers to facilitate the transition from and exacerbates youth unemployment. Establishing internship

student to professional68. Integrating internships into study programmes programmes can help reduce youth unemployment by providing
the opportunity to gain work experience and skills to transition
offer clear benefits for students, employers and higher education from higher education to the workforce.
institutions. Therefore, the interchange around organising internships,
including logistics, duration, location, content, and the quality of the Universities can address the skills gap by consulting employers
and aligning academic curricula to current labour market demands.
specialised practice are increasingly relevant aspects of the relationship However, this is a longer-term solution. A more immediate way
between academia and employers . to skill up students in specific areas required by hiring managers
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could be through internship programmes.
Provisions and approaches

Background and context In higher education, there are two main approaches to
academic internships: education systems where the internship
is recommended but not mandatory, and education systems
The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines an internship INTERNSHIP which require graduates to participate in an internship during
as ‘a limited period of work experience which is neither part of a their studies . Countries with mandatory internships may
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regular employment relationship nor a formal apprenticeship’, that A limited period of work experience have support systems and networks with employers to assist
can be distinguished as : which is neither part of a regular students in attaining the internship, however, ultimately, it is the
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• Internships which are linked to a course of academic study employment relationship nor a students’ responsibility.
• Work experience undertaken as part of an active labour Market formal apprenticeship.
programme INTERNSHIP
• Open market internships, that is, work experience in firms or
organisations which do not fall under either of the previous
criteria
These types of internships are offered in many different work
settings, which, although not an academic environment, still
provide important skills, such as industry related knowledge,
teamwork and soft skills. The internship is akin to training with GOAL SKILLS KNOWLEDGE MENTORING
specific learning objectives and evaluation – it must have a clear
benefit for the intern. As such, the employer does not rely on the
intern as a substitute for a regular employee and the intern is not
entitled to a job at the end of the internship. In many cases, interns
are unpaid. Students often take an internship in the summer during
their course of study or right after graduation for six months to a year.
PRACTICE OPPORTUNITY TRAINING