JOURNAL OF SOUTHWEST JIAOTONG UNIVERSITY
ISSN: 0258-2724, [Link]
THE ROLE OF INTERNSHIP IN ENHANCING EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS OF MANAGEMENT
GRADUATES IN KERALA
Dr. Syamnath R. S.1
Assistant Professor & HOD,
Lourdes Matha Institute of Management Studies, Trivandrum, Kerala;
+91-9447108072; [Link]@[Link]
Ms. Jeny R. J.2
Assistant Professor,
Lourdes Matha Institute of Management Studies, Trivandrum, Kerala;
+91-9074543328; jenyrj173@[Link]
Abstract
Management education in Kerala has gained wide acceptance globally and attracts graduates across the globe
to pursue management graduation in Kerala. Moulding the students employable by developing the
employability skill sets expected by the industry is the objective of management education in Kerala. The
curriculum of management education is developed in such a way to impart theoretical knowledge and provide
practical exposure to the students by experiencing the work culture. Internships, live projects, field works, co-
curricular and extracurricular activities are included in the curriculum to give an opportunity for the
management graduates to experience the real work environment and make them employable. Internships are
included in the curriculum with a view to provide practical exposure to the students and enable them to
correlate the theory to practice. Even after undergoing a period of internships, the benefits of internships are
not resulting in the development of the required employability skills of the graduates expected by the industry.
The broad objective of the study is to examine the role of internship in enhancing the employability skills of
management graduates in Kerala. The study also examines the various benefits gained by management
graduates and challenges faced by management students during the course of internship. This descriptive
study relies on both primary and secondary data. Primary data has been collected from sixty management
students from six state universities in Kerala, who have completed internships as a part of their curriculum.
The study reveals that the benefits sought out of the internship program are resulting in the enhancement of
the employability skills of the graduates. The focus of the internship program needs to be revamped by
industrial academia collaboration in-order to grab the real benefit of internship as the graduates are facing
certain challenges during the course of internship. Proper orientation to the graduates regarding the purpose
and expected results of the internship at the beginning stage may help the graduates to gain the real purpose of
the internship.
Key Words: Internships, Employability Skills, Management Education, Internship Benefits.
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Introduction
Higher education in Kerala is well known for its academic quality and research excellence of teachers and
students. There are 23 universities in this small state (Central University - 1, Institute of National Importance -
6, State Public University - 13, Deemed University (Government) - 1 and Deemed University (Private) -1)
with different specializations to facilitate higher education (AISHE 2019-2020). The socio-political
orientation towards higher education shows a positive sign to modern society, and has resulted in recognising
Kerala as the highest literate state in India with a literacy rate of 93.91% (census 2011).
With a view to mould world class business leaders and professionals in line with the booming corporate and
industrial sector; diploma, undergraduate, post graduate and doctoral level courses are offered in the field of
commerce, management and business administration. In Kerala management and business administration
courses are of great demand at national and international level. Management education in Kerala is offered by
university centres, government colleges, aided colleges, self-financing colleges and autonomous business
schools approved by AICTE. Private participation in the field of business and management education adds
extra value to higher education in Kerala.
The broad employment opportunity in the corporate sector with attractive salaries attracts graduates to join
post graduate management courses, and getting a job before completing management courses is the dream of
management students. Making students industry ready by developing and enhancing the required
employability skills is the prime objective of management education. To make the students industry ready,
knowing the industrial requirements is crucial, and the majority of the institutions fail to understand the
industrial expectations and that is the main reason for the low employment rate even after completing
management education. To make the students industry ready by inculcating the required employability skills,
management institutions need to keep industry in the forefront.
The curriculum for management education is designed in a way to make the students employable by
developing required employability skills. Mere classroom learning or lecturing alone does not result in
making the students industry or corporate ready. Internships, industry academia interactions, live projects,
research works, extracurricular and co-curricular activities will add value in transforming graduates to be
employable as per the industrial requirements.
Internships are embraced in the curriculum with a view to provide practical exposure to the students and
enable them to correlate the theory to practice. Enabling the students to be familiar with the industrial
functioning, the work culture and professional capabilities is the board objectives of internships. Universities
have devised internships as a credit-based programme in the curriculum and it is based on the view that
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ISSN: 0258-2724, [Link]
learnings should not only end up with theoretical and lecturing methods but also provide hands on experience
to management graduates in a real work setting. The industry shows a positive approach to internships by
welcoming management interns as this short period industry interaction program enables the student to bridge
the gap between theory and practice and plays a pivotal role in enhancing and developing the employability
skills of graduates expected by the industry.
Statement of the problem
The curriculum for management studies is designed in a way to provide practical exposure to the graduates
with a view to mould them industry ready by developing the required employability skills. Management
graduates are required to undergo a period of internship to make them aware of the functioning of an
organization and also to provide a practical exposure to relate the theory and practice. Even after undergoing a
period of internships, the employability of the graduates is a big challenge, as the graduates are lacking
employability skills expected by the industry is the research question addressed in this study. A scientific and
systematic examination of the effect of internship on the employability skills of management students is
highly relevant as there is a huge gap between the industrial expectations of management graduates.
Objectives of the study
The broad objective of the study is to examine the role of internship programs in developing the employability
skills of management graduates in Kerala.
The specific objectives include:
● To examine the benefits gained by management graduates by undergoing internships as a part of
academic curriculum.
● To examine in detail the employability skills developed among management graduates as part of the
internship.
● To examine the challenges faced by management students during the course of internship.
Methodology
This descriptive study relies on both primary and secondary data. Primary data has been collected from the
management students in Kerala, who have completed internships as a part of their curriculum. Sixty MBA
students are identified as the sample from a population of MBA students in Kerala from various institutions
affiliated to state universities. Six state universities providing MBA courses in Kerala (University of Kerala,
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Mahatma Gandhi University, Cochin University, Calicut University, Kannur University and APJ Abdul
Kalam Technological University) were identified for the study, and a google sheet is shared among 10
students from each university who are selected as per the convenience of the researcher to gather primary
data. Secondary data needed for the study was gathered from research articles, magazines, university
curriculum, websites and research thesis. A five-point scale is extensively used to gather data, and the data
collected is analysed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).
Benefits of Internship in Management Education
After undergoing a period of internship, the students gain certain capabilities and talents which are required to
be industry ready. Internships provide an opportunity for management students to experience the theories to
practice and also to realize industrial practices that are not in theory and cannot be learned from the
classroom. In this study the various benefits gained by management graduates as a part of undergoing
internship as a part of their curriculum is categorized as knowledge about work culture, knowledge about
industry, problem solving capabilities, professional capabilities and professional networks.
Table No. 1
Descriptive Statistics - Internship Benefits
Internship Benefits N Mean Rank Order
Work Culture
Right work attitude 60 4.43
Communication 60 4.30
Work ethics 60 4.18
Leadership style 60 4.25
Work culture Total 4.29 3
Knowledge about industry and Organisation
Industry Knowledge 60 4.37
Organizational functioning 60 4.37
Organizational structure 60 4.38
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Functional departments 60 4.20
Knowledge about industry Total 4.33 2
Problem solving capabilities
Awareness about issues in the industry 60 3.38
Awareness about problem solving process 60 3.75
Ability to see things in an unbiased manner 60 3.05
Apply theories to practice to solve work related problems 60 3.17
Problem solving capabilities Total 3.33 4
Professional capabilities
Self confidence 60 4.30
Interpersonal skills 60 4.33
Team work 60 4.43
Time Management 60 4.48
Professional capabilities Total 4.385 1
Professional Networking
Personal networks for employability 60 3.85
Gain better access to career resources 60 3.82
Get ahead in a competitive job market 60 4.15
Get career advice and support 60 4.33
Professional Networking Total 3.001 5
Source: Survey Data
The various benefits gained by management students as a part of undergoing internship are highlighted in
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table no. 1. The Analysis shows that based on the mean score professional capabilities is the top benefit
gained by management graduates and the least benefit gained is professional networking. Knowledge about
industry stands second position followed by work culture and problem-solving capabilities.
Role of Internships in Enhancing Employability Skills of Management Graduates
The aim of undergoing a period of internship is to get practical exposure and also to be familiar with the
industrial happenings. Internships enable graduates to be industry ready by identifying the skill gap and
supports management graduates in developing the required skills expected by the industry. After completing
the internship program students are expected to be employable by enhancing the required employability skills
expected by the industry. In this study the employability skills expected to be developed were communication
skills, ability to work with a team, interpersonal skills, problem solving skills, leadership skills and self-
confidence.
Table No 2
Descriptive Statistics
Employability Skills N Mean Rank Order
Communication Skills 60 4.38 1
Team work 60 4.37 2
Interpersonal skill 60 3.09 5
Problem solving skills 60 3.21 6
Leadership skills 60 3.15 4
Self confidence 60 4.23 3
Source: Survey data
The table portray the various employability skills enhanced as a result of undergoing a period of internship.
The analysis reveals that internship support management graduates in enhancing the above-mentioned
employability skills. Internships were effective in enhancing the communication skills, ability to work in a
team and self as the mean score is satisfactory. The effectiveness of internships in enhancing the leadership
skills, interpersonal skills and problem-solving skills were not satisfactory as the obtained mean score is just
average only.
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ISSN: 0258-2724, [Link]
Table No 3
Model summary – Benefits of Internship on Employability Skills
Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the estimate
1 .692a .478 .469 6.76579
a. Predictors: (Constant), ES
Source: Survey data
Table No. 4
ANOVA - Benefits of Internship on Employability Skills
Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
1 Regression 2435.844 1 2435.844 53.212 .000b
Residual 2655.006 58 45.776
Total 5090.850 59
a. Dependent Variable: Benefits
b. Predictors: (Constant), ES
Source: Survey data
The role of internship in enhancing employability skills of management graduates is tested and it is clear from
the analysis that there is a positive correlation between the benefits of internships and the employability skills
as the R value is .692. The model is found fit as the F value is 53.212 and the obtained significant value .000
is less than 0.05. The prediction of the role of internship in enhancing employability skills of management
graduates is valid and the model is 47.8% true as the R square value is 0.478.
Challenges faced by Management Graduates as Interns
The management graduates during the internship face certain challenges which adversely affect the benefits of
the internship and which may likely impact the employability skills of the graduates. The major challenges
faced by management graduates during the course of internship were identified as lack of opportunity in
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getting internship in reputed organization, negative approach of management towards interns, constraints to
understand key areas of the functional domain, high work pressure, low duration of internship period,
language, low profile work and lack of recognition for the work done.
Table No 5
Descriptive Statistics – Challenges faced during Internship
Challenges faced by Management Interns N Mean Rank Order
Lack of opportunity in getting internship in reputed organization 60 3.55 4
Negative approach of management towards interns 60 2.42 6
Constraints to understand key areas of the functional domain 60 3.82 2
High work pressure 60 2.37 7
Low duration of internship period 60 3.90 1
Language barrier 60 2.03 8
Low profile work 60 3.80 3
Lack of recognition for the work done 60 2.45 5
Source: Survey data
From the table it is evident that low duration of internship is the critical challenge faced by management
graduates followed by difficulties in exploring functional domain, low profile work, lack of opportunity in
getting internship in reputed organizations, non-recognition for the work done, negative approach of
management towards intern, high work pressure and language barriers in order
Suggestions
The internship programs enable the management graduates to gain certain benefits and those benefits are
significantly influencing the employability skills of the graduates. Mere benefits of internship program alone
do not result in transforming graduates to be employable as there exists a pertinent skill gap, which is
impacting the employability of management graduates. Even after undergoing a period of internship the
students were not at all able to grab problem solving capabilities, which is treated as a critical employability
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skill in the industry 4.0 era. Proper orientation needs to be provided to graduates before the commencement of
internship regarding the focal points and to set internship objectives.
Management graduates lack professional networking capabilities even after spending a period of time with
industry leaders. Relationships and networking with industry people supports interns to be updated with the
industrial requirements and job markets. Graduates need to be briefed about the importance of networking and
relation building with industry leaders before starting the internships.
It is evident that internships enable management graduates to enhance their employability skills. Special
emphasis needs to be provided to such industry connected programs and co-curricular activities apart from
classroom learning to shape management students employable. Inputs from industry and industry participation
need to be ensured during curriculum designing phases and adequate industry outreach programs need to be
included to experience industrial practices.
Addressing the challenges faced by management graduates is vital in order to grab the real benefit internship
program. Management institutions should focus on proper industry academia connections to strengthen better
relationships with corporations. This will help management interns to address certain challenges which they
faced during the time of internship such as constraints in exploring functional domains, high work pressure,
issues in getting permission to do internship, negative approach of industry and non recognition of work done
by the interns. A positive collaborative approach from industry, institution and students is required to grab the
real benefit of internships. Management students need to be properly oriented about the objectives and
purpose of an internship, where teachers can play a crucial role as a mentor.
Conclusion
Employment and career advancements were are the primary consideration for a graduate to opt management
studies. Making the graduates industry ready by enhancing the managerial skills, talents and capabilities is the
core objective of management education. The curriculum specifies certain industry-oriented programs to
enable graduates to realize the industrial happenings. Internships for a period specified in the curriculum
enables management graduates to experience the work culture and gain certain skills by working as interns.
Meeting the core objective of internships is crucial to enhance the employability skills of graduates as there is
a significant relationship between the benefits of internships and enhancing the employability skills. Industry
academia collaboration needs to be strengthened to make internships more beneficial to students and also to
address the various challenges faced by graduates during the course of internships. Teachers can play a pivotal
role in inspiring students to grab the real benefit of internship to enable them to be employable in the
competitive business world.
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