THE IMPACT OF INTERNSHIP ON COLLEGE STUDENTS' LABOUR MARKET PERFORMANCE

Abstract

The internship experience is considered crucial in helping college students transition into the labour market. Using compulsory internship modules of study programmes and faculties at a large university in Singapore as an instrument for student internship experience, this study analyses the causal effect of student internship experience on their labour market performance after graduation. We employ the Graduate Employment Survey data and find that although internship experience has no impact on helping the graduate obtain a full-time permanent job, for students who find a job, internship experience secures higher salaries and a smoother transition from school to employment, while it also increases the time of job searching. The benefits of internships are particularly pronounced for female students and students with lower academic grades. The empirical analyses demonstrate that internship participation and experience help bridge the university and employment and improve students’ labour market performances when seeking jobs.