Seeking diversity? Consider virtual internships

Abstract

Purpose The present paper aims to outline the case for diversity gains for employers via virtual internships, while recognizing the role of government and educational support. Design/methodology/approach In the context of Australian employment statistics about people with disabilities, the actors, key issues and barriers to utilizing virtual internships are explored. Findings The results of an online survey with 24 career, access and inclusion service officers at Australian universities suggested that the large majority were unfamiliar with virtual internships, as many shared concerns about what kind of learning and mentoring opportunities such computer-mediated internships may provide to their students. Practical implications Employers embracing new e-HR developments may be particularly well situated to adopt virtual internships and combine these effectively with existing diversity initiatives, many of which already include mentoring and learning opportunities. A closer dialogue with career, access and inclusion services may further support a fruitful knowledge exchange and reduce the concerns of educational representatives about virtual internships and their usefulness to increase the employment prospects of people with disabilities. Originality/value At present, virtual internship programs remain the exception, and are often not connected with diversity initiatives, nor are virtual internships well known among student services. However, virtual internships represent a promising opportunity for employers who wish to access untapped national (or even international) talent pools and thus candidates that would benefit from and contribute to their diversity initiatives.

Simulated Internships in Schools: Engaging Learners with the World of Work to Promote Collaborative Creativity

“…Maintaining this space for students to explore opportunities, openness and ownership yielded rewards as they created collaborative and innovative solutions that reflected their own personalities, contexts and priorities (reporting here on wider observations than those presented in the current chapter). Continuing this thread of contextualisation and personalisation, the feasibility of simulated internships in helping to address priorities of careers education was established, particularly in areas of low social mobility and in widening educational access for marginalised learners (such as those with disabilities; Kraft et al, 2019). The programme overall, and embedded focus on collaborative creativity through the C2C tool, offer a core template and structure for future initiatives.…”

Developing skills in higher education for post-pandemic work

“…Before the pandemic, digital WIL was not widely accepted in Australia (Kraft et al 2019) or globally. Pre-pandemic barriers to the adoption of digital WIL included its demands on participants, plus limited acceptance by employers and higher education providers (Bayerlein and Jeske 2018a), and technological challenges.…”

“…The implementation of technology-based learning in higher education has previously been regarded as a long-term transition (Alexander et al 2019), and the increasing uptake of technology in WIL before the pandemic was relatively slow (Kay et al 2019;Schuster and Glavas 2017). Prior to the pandemic, technology-based work placements were primarily concentrated in particular industries (Jeske and Axtell 2016), and/or regarded as mechanisms to widen workforce participation (Kraft et al 2019;Jeske and Axtell 2018). During the pandemic, the acceptance and use of digital WIL in higher education and beyond has increased considerably, and this acceptance is likely to be driven by the realisation of employers that digitally-based work arrangements can be managed successfully.…”

Guidelines to Establish an Office of Student Accessibility Services in Higher Education Institutions

“…Foster the virtual model for practice and job offers to mitigate access barriers, such as physical, mobility, health and medical assistance, among others [41].…”

“…Register complete profiles of students with disability in university integrating type of disability, skills and knowledge, professional and personal interests, specific needs and requirements, and if possible psychological information, to find the best job placement or internship options [38][39][40][41].…”