Experts in the field of education are of the opinion that the fundamental task of a professional course regardless of whether it is in the field of medicine, engineering, management or any other field for that matter is to groom a candidate for the career of his/her choice.
They also add that internship should be the important part of professional training and even though, it is already the part of some training programs, it is insisted by experts.
Internship is already an important structure in most of the professional education courses.
When seeping into the practices that are currently being followed in India, it is expected that the results from internship programs may bring transparency on changes expected in the job roles of share holders for the enlightenment of the professional education system in India.
The Educational institutions in India
The professional education system in India depends to a great extent on tests, scores and certifications. On the other hand, it overlooks the significance of internship and its practical aspects.
The thing of concern is that both teachers and students in India are not giving enough importance to internship.
The industrial associations:
Industries in India frame strategies that can help them in achieving their market share by creating the best product and by identifying the right target market.
Also, trainers working for these organizations are not provided with any targets when it comes to training interns. This is why most of the corporate employees place the task of providing the right level of training to the interns as the last thing.
This in turn makes the training period like vacation period for interns. In addition, the results of the internship program are not forming part of the education career of the learners in most of the organizations.
The main reason behind the unproductive professional training in the higher education field in India is the unorganized operation of the ‘internship framework’.
Students:
The great thing about internship is that it has the latent to bring an improvement in different skills of students like communication, professional and technical skills.
On the other hand, the lack of sincerity shown by a student towards internships can ruin the entire process of industry and educational interface.
An internship program can effectively prepare a student for career. The following employability criteria can be learnt by students when they are provided with the opportunity to interact with executives of companies through internship programs right at their offices and plants:
- Networking
- Interest and motivation towards excelling
- Corporate attitude
- Performance and
- Practical knowledge
The great advice given to students by career experts is that they should take real steps to understand the importance of internship programs and should make the best of these programs.
It is further added that they should use these programs as their launch pad for a successful entry into the job market. However, how to choose and pursue the internship would be the question most of them have in their minds and here are some tips that will help them in this regard:
Goal before internship:
The first and foremost thing they should do is to identify their objective towards internship. Some students will have natural interest towards some specific industries and they should take steps to gain better knowledge about this particular field of their interest.
Otherwise, they should simply explore the way in which their interested industry works. They can begin by writing down the things they want to learn from an internship program and these goals should be written on their own with their industry and educational interface.
Maintaining a log book:
Here, students can take a note of all their awards, lessons and experiences. Maintaining such a book will be of great help to students in attending interviews and during the resume preparation process as well.
Industry of interest:
Even though, the company that has been chosen by students towards internship program might not be the one they look for, it should be in their area of interest at least.
This should act as the stepping stone for future career and it should be of great help towards achieving career goals.
Understanding the work:
During internship program, it is highly important that students should give real attention to the work and not the people working therein. Their whole interest should be on understanding the working methodologies and practical work solutions.
Politeness and readiness to learn are important:
The important point to remember here is that every person we come across will have the ability to teach us something.
This is why when it comes to creating impression in our minds about people, just relying on communication and qualification can give a false picture.
During internship program, it is advised that students should give attention to work behavior and they should learn how to do things and also how to get things done.
Thought of being a trainee:
During their internship program, students should never forget that they are just trainees and so they should show interest and they should show their readiness towards work and learning things.
They should remember that they are in the program to understand things and they should be ready to ask guidance from seniors and should try to learn a lot of things from them. Sincerity is highly important and it will fetch them great results.
To conclude, reports state that candidates, who complete their internship programs with utmost sincerity and enthusiasm, are able to find good placements as they get through the testing time in the corporate world.
They should never take the industrial interface to be a hurdle towards their professional career, but they should consider it as a stepping stone. They should recognize the gravity of this professional activity and the same should be realized by all share holders to reap great results.
