This article uses a case study of the internship program at LaGuardia Community College in NewYork City to explore the crucial issue of employer participation in work-based learning programs. Using a unique data set that includes information on over 17,000 internship placements occurring between 1984 and 1995, we explore how the nature and goals of the program have changed in response to the difficulties encountered in recruiting and retaining employer participants. A primary conclusion is that the program has shifted its focus from occupational training to career exploration and the acquisition of generic workplace skills.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.