Aspects Influencing the Provision of Internships by Czech Firms to Future Economists during Their Studies

Abstract

Internships have an irreplaceable place in professional education. Theoretical and practical education is being more interconnected and strengthened with emphasis placed on high-quality preparation of graduates for internships. From a scientific point of view, there are contradictions between companies’ attitudes towards the employability of future graduates. Therefore, the main aim of the article is to investigate the interest of Czech companies in providing internships to university students studying economic programs as well as the companies’ willingness to employ these students after graduation. The primary data were obtained from 83 valid questionnaires answered by companies experienced in providing internships to these students. The Mann–Whitney U test was used to determine the differences in the attitudes of companies towards the provision of internships in terms of size and duration of the company’s existence on the market. Correlation relationships between variables were determined using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. It was found that large firms will take on students after graduation for a certain period of time, and this is contrary to small businesses. Students must possess work and soft skills when entering internships. In the given context, there was no connection found between the evaluation of the student’s work performance and the required competencies by the company. Therefore, students can also be assigned to internships in order to meet the setting of the study program or the needs of employers. Moreover, internships need constant care, especially in the area of relationships between a university and an application sphere.