From Training to Talent: Why Employers Value Internships and Externships

For adults preparing for industry certifications in health care, manufacturing, technology, the skilled trades, and other in-demand fields, classroom instruction can establish knowledge and technical competence, but work experience requires learners to use that knowledge under real conditions, alongside experienced professionals, and within the pace, expectations, and accountability of actual work.

Internships and externships provide different forms of work-based learning that can round out competency-based training. Internships are generally longer and place the learner inside an organization with defined responsibilities and sustained exposure to the work. Externships are often shorter and may emphasize observation, guided practice, or the application of specific skills. Both can strengthen occupational learning by giving learners the opportunity to practice what the work actually requires.

Workplace (or work-based) experience can be especially valuable. The period of study is often concentrated because learners are preparing to enter a new field, advance in their current work, or qualify for a specific occupation. An internship or externship allows them to apply what they have learned in a workplace and gives an employer a direct view of how technical knowledge holds up in practice.

Employers can co-create these opportunities with universities and their workforce development divisions, building internships and externships directly into credential pathways. They can identify appropriate assignments, determine which skills learners should demonstrate, and establish expectations for supervision and feedback. The partnership also introduces employers to people who have already chosen an occupational direction and completed focused preparation for it.

How an internship is structured also includes the question of compensation. Paid internships have become the preferred approach across many higher education and employer partnerships. Compensation recognizes the work interns contribute and reflects an employer’s investment in developing prospective talent. For organizations using internships as part of recruitment, pay becomes part of the design of the experience and the broader talent strategy.

Internships and externships also give employers a practical way to evaluate potential employees before making a permanent hiring decision. During a placement, an organization can observe reliability, judgment, technical ability, adaptability, and workplace performance. Learners also have the opportunity to understand the occupation, the workplace, and the employer before making a longer-term commitment.

For organizations facing recurring shortages in high-need fields, internships and externships can be a useful part of workforce planning. They allow employers to identify and develop prospective employees earlier and give learners a direct connection between occupational preparation and employment.

Employers interested in undergraduate programs and work-based learning opportunities can connect with Cleveland State University's Talent Hub at talenthub@csuohio.edu. 

For employer partnerships involving short-term credentials, workforce training, or externship opportunities connected to noncredit programs, reach out to Nancy Pratt, Executive Director of the Division of Lifelong Learning and Workforce Development, at n.pratt@csuohio.edu.

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