Industry instructors' perspective on internship implementation strategy

Abstract

PurposeThe perspectives of industry instructors from a case enterprise were adopted to analyze various contexts of internship implementation and to examine feasible strategies for incorporating internships in the human resource development process.Design/methodology/approachA Taiwanese enterprise stationed in China was selected for case study. This study focused on the 2019 summer internship program. Interviews were conducted with 23 industry instructors.Findings(1) Units should effectively employ interns by guiding them to learn by doing tasks. (2) Provide training and assign personal industry instructors to guide interns in learning by doing, thereby establishing workplace relationships in advance. (3) High-level leaders and senior managers must pay close attention to internship results and inspire industry instructors and interns to perform internship tasks. (4) Managers of internship units must participate in interviews to select potential employees that satisfy unit requirements. (5) Opportunities for university teachers to interact with enterprises and recommend interested students who learn knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics (KSAOs) that fulfill enterprise requirements should be increased.Practical implicationsEnterprises must systematically plan internship tasks, recruitment and selection, as well as practices and reports if they wish to employ interns as potential human resource.Originality/valueThis study used the practical perspectives of industry instructors to establish the contexts and strategies of intern training for human resource development. The results of this study are expected to provide a reference for enterprises in planning internship workplaces and increase their willingness to employ interns.

How attractive are internship advertisements to prospective applicants? A mixed-method examination through the lens of employer branding

“…When hired, former interns quickly adapt to the company and help in maintaining corporate culture, so companies save not only on recruitment and selection but also onboarding of new employees. Additionally, strong partnerships between companies and universities create a favorable corporate image for companies and their visibility in the community (Lan, 2021;Maertz et al, 2014). Virtual internships allow companies to tap into talent nationally and internationally at a lower cost than their face to face counterparts.…”

“…Additionally, companies could provide virtual internships to students with disabilities, thus widening their recruitment pool while diversifying their workforce (Kraft et al, 2019). Companies that treat internship programs as a source of talent recruitment include internships into their strategic HR plans (Kraft et al, 2019;Lan, 2021).…”

“…Companies that treat internship programs as a source of talent recruitment include internships into their strategic HR plans (Kraft et al. , 2019; Lan, 2021).…”

“…Surprisingly, researchers have almost neglected understanding internships from the standpoint of the third stakeholdercompanies (Alpert et al, 2009;Narayanan et al, 2010;Zopiatis et al, 2021), which is evident in very few studies on benefits, roles or practices of companies as internship providers (e.g. Kroon and Franco, 2022;Lan, 2021;Zhao, 2013). This discrepancy is regretful because a better understanding of internship programs as an employee attraction and recruitment practice could assist company recruiters, employer brand specialists and university career advisors in making their efforts more effective.…”

The Influence of Industrial Work Practices on Employability Skills of Vocational High School

“…Another factor that can be done as an effort to optimize industrial work practices is by coordinating with companies where students carry out industrial work practices. There are several efforts that can be made by companies where work practices are carried out so that vocational high school students are optimal in carrying out industrial work practices according to (Lan, 2020) as follows: 1.…”