I understand that April is Internship Awareness Month. Why is it important to draw attention to internships?

 

· Each April we celebrate the benefits of internships for both employers and students.

 

· While internships often get a bad reputation as unpaid busy work, they are still a great way for young professionals to start their careers through meaningful experience.

 

· There are a variety of studies that indicate students graduating with internship experience, in general, are more likely than students without those experiences to find employment upon graduation.

 

· The Look Sharp 2016 State of Millennial Hiring Report indicated that graduates who complete three or more internships are more likely to secure full-time employment, with 81.1 percent of graduates reporting that the internships helped them shift their career directions either significantly (34.8 percent) or slightly (46.3 percent) by changing the focus of classes or majors.

 

· With regard to employers, hiring interns helps companies recruit for future job openings and to develop a strong pipeline of future talent.

 

· Approximately 70 percent of employers offer their interns full-time jobs.

 

Why do you believe internships are important?

 

· An internship is a good place for students to hone their knowledge base and increase their skillset.

 

· It allows students to apply what they have learned in the classroom to real-life situations which solidified their knowledge and improves performance and accuracy in work tasks.

 

· During an internship, students learn their strengths and weaknesses and develop new skills that they don’t have the opportunity to learn in the classroom.

 

· Another advantage of an internship is determining what types of jobs students actually like, and if they are on the right career path.

 

· Most important are the people you meet during an internship.

 

· Developing a social network as an intern can open a wide variety of opportunities when you are ready to search for a job.

 

How does Michigan Works! help middle and high school age students explore career opportunities?

 

· The Michigan Works! agencies across the state coordinate with businesses and schools in their regions to offer MICareerQuest events.

 

· MiCareerQuest is not your average career fair but instead a career exploration experience.

 

· During MiCareerQuest, students rotate through interactive, hands-on sectors highlighting five high-demand industries: agribusiness, advanced manufacturing, construction, health sciences, and information technology.

 

· Students engage with professionals and participate in activities that showcase various high-growth occupations, opening their eyes to opportunities for great careers across the state.

 

· Over the course of the pandemic, these events have had to be held virtually instead of in-person.

 

· As we begin to participate in more and more in-person events, the MiCareerQuest events are slowly also returning to in-person as well.

 

· Many of our Michigan Works! agencies are holding their MiCareerQuest events this year in the month of May while others are waiting until the fall to hold theirs.

 

· I encourage you to contact your local Michigan Works! agency to find out where and when there may be a MiCareerQuest event in your area.

 

How can our listeners learn more about the Michigan Works! Association and the Michigan Works! network?

 

· You can visit our website at michiganworks.org to learn more about the Association.

 

· On the Association website you will also find a map that will link you to the websites of each of our Michigan Works! organizations.