Internships are especially important today for students. The small period of practical training permits students to live a beautiful experience in the workplace. The evolution of its internships is increasingly present in particular by numerous changes in the labour market. Internships represent an important for students and their future careers.
Changes in the labour market that have influenced internships
Many employers are looking for candidates who have practical experience in addition to academic qualifications. This has led to an increased emphasis on internships that provide hands-on experience to students and recent graduates. Internships are now seen as a way for students to gain valuable work experience that will help them in their future careers. That’s why internships have a real future during the next few years for students.
There has been an increased focus on diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and internships have evolved to reflect this trend. Many employers now offer internships specifically targeted at underrepresented groups, such as women and people of colour, to provide them with opportunities to gain experience in their chosen fields.
Let’s look at the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a real impact on the way we work. It accelerated the trend towards remote work, and internships have adapted to this new reality. Many internships now offer remote work opportunities, allowing students to gain valuable experience from anywhere in the world. This permits an open internship experience for everyone.
Internships have an important role today and in the future for students who can develop skills, experiences and discover the world of work. This will enable them to develop their professional career and find a good job.
Digital and technology, a new opening for internships
Digital and technology take place important in the workplace today and are increasingly developing. This technology brings new dimensions to internships. That permit to offer new experiences and field of internships to students:
Blockchain:
As blockchain technology continues to evolve, internships may provide opportunities for students to work on projects related to blockchain-based applications or smart contracts. This could include developing decentralised applications or exploring the potential use cases for blockchain in various industries.
Artificial Intelligence:
With the increasing use of artificial intelligence in the workplace, internships may focus on providing experience in fields such as machine learning or natural language processing. Interns may work on projects that involve developing or training AI models, or they may work on projects that involve integrating AI into existing systems.
Internships will need to adapt to these changes and new digital devices by incorporating innovative technologies and providing opportunities for students to gain experience in emerging fields.
Thanks to digital and technology, there are more virtual internships. That is a new experience for students and permits them to learn rewarding new things. Thereafter, virtual internships may provide enhanced learning opportunities for students, as they may have access to a wider range of mentors, trainers, and experts from around the world. This could also include opportunities to collaborate with other students from different schools or countries and to learn about different cultural and professional practices. The virtual internships prepare for future work and for example teleworking.
The trend of gig work, what is it?
Gig work refers to temporary, flexible jobs that are typically performed by independent contractors or freelancers, rather than traditional employees. The term "gig" comes from the music industry, where musicians would refer to their performances as "gigs."
In the gig economy, workers are hired for short-term projects or engagements, often through online platforms or apps, and are typically paid per job or task, rather than on a salary or hourly basis. Examples of gig work include driving for ride-sharing services, delivering food or packages, providing freelance writing or design services, or performing small tasks for people through online platforms.
Gig work can offer workers greater flexibility and control over their schedules, as well as the ability to work for multiple clients or companies. However, it can also come with uncertainty and instability, as workers may not have a steady stream of income or benefits such as health insurance or retirement savings.
Many skills acquired through internships
Today, it’s important to have a lot of skills. Indeed, after completing an internship, the advantage is to be able to practise a job thanks to the acquisition of skills.
Having a lot of skills represent also other benefits:
Flexibility: When you have multiple skills, you can apply for diverse jobs, and that is a great opportunity to find the work of your dreams.
Adaptability: Today, you can change jobs at any moment. So, with a lot of skills, you will be able to get used to it more quickly thanks to multiple capabilities.
Developing your career: Having a wide range of skills is also a way of moving up to positions with more responsibility.
Entrepreneurship: Having multiple skills it’s an opportunity to create your company and set up projects.
Internships are especially important today and are evolving more and more with new technological innovation which can be a real opportunity for everyone to develop his career. However, even though the norms are changing regarding internship types and styles, training will not disappear in the future. Indeed, the EU is strongly behind internships and has increased the funding for this period 2021-2027 to €26.2 billion from the previous period (2014-2020) where the funding released was €15 billion.