Making apprenticeship vision work for the youth
To enhance our graduates’ readiness for productive employment, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 recommends that the skills and expertise our students acquire in higher education institutions must be made to match those demanded by the emerging job market. Unfortunately, limited practical experience and the incapability to use theoretical learning in problem-solving situations have led to the impairment of graduates for future career opportunities. In addition, our graduates need to gain soft skills such as interpersonal communication, the ability to work in teams and work-life balance. Higher education institutions (HEIs), industry and the government must work together to enhance graduate employability. A critical impetus to this arrived when Budget FY25 proactively announced providing internships to 10 million youth over the next five years, offering a monthly allowance of ₹5,000 and a one-time assistance of ₹6,000. The top 500 Indian firms will provide these internship openings. For the first time in India, and as part of implementing NEP 2020, this partnership among HEIs, internship providers, and the government can enhance the number of employment-ready graduates through internships. In NEP 2020, the most crucial and primary framework that enables students to take internships during their degree programmes is the Curriculum and Credit Framework for Undergraduate Programmes. HEIs can lay out numerous provisions to bridge the gap between theory and practice through internships, apprenticeships, projects, and field studies through this framework in the four-year undergraduate programmes. We often associate internships with business, engineering, medicine and similar disciplines. However, students studying disciplines like science, commerce, sociology, history, political science, or psychology should also be provided with internships. For instance, a sociology student might work with an organisation involved in child immunisation to understand social dynamics. Likewise, a history student could intern at a museum, or a psychology student could work with organisations dealing with public health initiatives, policy development, and community mental health services. Such experiences help the student immerse themselves in the culture and norms of a profession and gain a deeper understanding of real-world situations, enhancing their employment opportunities. Internships need not be confined to only technology firms. The University Grants Commission (UGC) internship guidelines encourage students to intern in research laboratories, social organisations, government offices, small-scale industries and a courthouse. However, internships must occur only at approved sites, under approved supervision so that the HEI can assess the learning during an internship, and the credits for the internship are credited through the Academic Bank of Credits platform. The government’s decision to ensure that only those at the margins will be eligible for this internship scheme is a welcome move. Internships are a critical pathway for developing a skilled workforce. By including marginalised groups, we can broaden the talent pool across the socio-economic spectrum, which is essential for meeting the diverse needs of the economy. Access to internships for students from the marginalised sections can reduce their unemployment rates by providing hands-on experience and networking opportunities. This increased economic participation boosts our country’s overall economic activity and productivity. While the details on how these internships will be operationalised for the students will unfold in the coming months, some factors must be considered. I assume that this internship programme will be implemented with the participation of HEIs and regulators such as the UGC, who can reach out to the HEIs to raise awareness about this scheme. To begin with, HEIs must ensure that, depending on the organisation where the student will intern, learning objectives align with the student’s career goals. HEIs must also provide pre-internship training sessions to the students to prepare them for internships outside the academic environment so that they have positive experiences. Students must clearly understand the nature of the tasks they are expected to perform during their internship. They must refrain from ending up doing menial labour as a substitute to the regular employee of the organisation to the exclusion of doing primary meaningful internship work. There is more to internship than merely providing experiential learning. The internship is an opportunity for a student to understand the societal responsibilities of a profession and the ethical obligations one must uphold. This experience can be invaluable in shaping a student’s understanding and expectations of a future career. It is erroneous to believe that if a student is majoring, for example, in economics, an internship should be in an area related to economics. On the contrary, it will be beneficial if the student interned in a different area, e.g., media and entertainment. What has to be in place for an internship programme to be successful? Two interconnected factors will decide: How much effort the organisation puts into the internship programme and the student’s effort towards the internship. Organisations must ensure that the interns are helped in being able to harmonise within the organisation’s culture and the prevailing team dynamics. They must know that the intern’s academic training may not match operational needs and workflows and, therefore, must put extra effort into the programme to make the interns perform their best. It is time for Indian firms to open their doors to interns and actively participate in the internship scheme. Their diligent participation can shape the future workforce and foster inclusive growth for a brighter and more prosperous India’s future.
THERE IS MORE TO INTERNSHIP THAN MERELY PROVIDING EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING. IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A STUDENT TO UNDERSTAND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A PROFESSION AND THE ETHICAL OBLIGATIONS ONE MUST UPHOLD