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gained employability skills, and whenever need be, we appraise them for their outstanding performance. We try to be friendly and to create a conducive environment in the workplace.”
ICT Academic 4:
“No, there is a similarity for around 30%; there is a 70% gap that we are still to change. They need effective communication skills and other soft skills. They have the theoretical rather than practical skills, such as students too should have exposure to clients and to practice what they have learned.”
These views on learning during the internship confirm that the major focus on learning during the internship is that of developing competence in the soft skills needed for employability. I place little attention to learning hard skills appropriate to the workplace needs. The reason for this bias in learning is perhaps that employers assume that the hard skills (and knowledge) have already been developed in the student/graduate whilst at university and that their competence has been assessed by the university (They have the theoretical rather than practical skills). I could relate another plausible reason for this focus on soft skills learning during the internship period to industry-specific needs (e.g. in the hotel industry, hospitality is vital for the industry).
Hence, the way the student/graduate interacts with clients has implications for the survival of the industry (on how to communicate with clients because we are in a business environment). Some employers use internships for training students/graduates for specific workplace competence and to respond to innovations within particular industries.
Hotel Employer 6:
“Since we are in the hotel industry, there is a top competition. The techniques are strengthening, and they need many high skills.” He further added that: “This allows us to contribute to teaching skills to youngsters with a structured programme and we seize the opportunity to recruit future employees at very little HR costs.”
ICT Employer 4: “graduates learned the same software in the university. But they need more practice sessions to become at the required level of standard demanded by employers in a substantial work environment.”
These excerpts from the employers suggest that the learning within internships is more confined to the worksite needs and within an evolving working context. The intended learning is,
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therefore, specific to the respective worksites that also requires the student/graduate to be prepared for innovations, evolutionary developments and to know and understand what they require in a substantive work environment.
The students/graduates also confirm this substantive component of learning during internships.
ICT Graduate 3 elaborates on the learning gained during the internship:
“I undertook that placement because I wanted to learn what real work-life was, so whatever I learned at the university, be it the employability skills found in our curriculum. I wanted to know how it was in the work environment. They told me that the conditions of work are not the same as at a university. Also, I wanted to commit myself to personal excellence, and know how to solve problems because we were very focused at the university on how to solve problems. I wanted to become more skilful and knowledgeable.”
“The internship at the workplace is where I applied theories learned at the university, but I have learned more practical skills and other technical skills on site. I feel that my behaviour has changed and I am more responsible now. I have learned how to work better in a team, and I have learned how to become proactive. How to find solutions to problems and how to meet clients. So, the outcomes were positive, and I am very grateful to the persons with whom I have worked at the company. They taught many things outside the theory. From the internship programme. I learned how to behave with clients. I enjoyed the way experienced staff counsel clients. I developed my communication skills and presentation skills.”
Finance Graduate 2:
“Moreover, in each department, I have a different mentor. I work under the supervision of an employer there… The supervisor carried out an induction programme on the company to new interns on the first day… telling about the culture of the company and job prospects…. also showing then the organizational chart… prospects. In each department, I have a different mentor.”
Not all students/graduates were exposed to relevant learning during the internship programmes.
I often assigned menial tasks to them.
Finance Graduate 2:
“Maybe having a proper guideline or agenda of the internship would help better, because, during our work placement, we did photocopies, filing, and dispatch. So, it does not relate to our
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programme itself, to our field of study. So, if a proper agenda, a proper schedule of a work scheme of duty which may improve our experience.”
This suggests that relevant learning related to their field of study is limited sometimes. This may be expected as some companies use interns as additional human resources for their needs, or it places them in sections in which there is a perceived shortage of staff. The intention here is that they do not use an internship as a learning space for employability. Rather, the intention is to use an internship for the additional supportive work that they need at a minimal cost.
Employers recognise that workplace learning differs from university learning; and that the worksite is the place in which specific and futuristic industry learning takes place.
Hotel Employer 6: “the real work environment differs quite a lot from that of the university in this field. Here, interns have to practice as employees and that soft skills are a must when dealing with clients. Once a graduate is on an internship in a hotel, the intern has to perform as a fully fledge other colleague’ workers.”
Hotel Employer 5:
“Because the theory is not the same as on-the-job training. In theory, they are just learning and maybe a plan, maybe how to start a basic. Ok, but they learned it from the staff, on how to deal with clients, how to do marketing, because we are in a growing environment, especially for placement work. Within our organization, employees have to update their knowledge of the services we offer.”
Finance Employer 1:
“They lack adaptation because they were academic when exposed to the work environment.”
ICT Employer 4:
“We try to build for the long term while developing these youths as young as they are. We will be about in two years; these youths can help us look for fresh markets.”
Drawing from these excerpts, the learning that employers intend to engender in the students/graduates is futuristic (growing environment; They lack adaptation), suggesting that they recognise that the academic learning that the students/graduates were exposed to whilst at
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university is knowledge and skills of what was and what is rather than what could be within a dynamic and developing working context.