Impact of Perceived Value of Internship on the Employability Skills of Students at University Level

Abstract

Internships are a great opportunity for university students to engage in job-relevant activities and enhance their chances of employability. The purpose of thecurrent study was to explore the relationship betweenthe perceived value of internships and the employability skills of the students. The target population for this quantitative study comprisedgraduate level students fromthe government universities of Lahore, Pakistan. This study used a cross-sectional survey design. Its sample was based on 291 students selected through convenience sampling from fouruniversities in Lahore. The data wascollected through a self-administered andclosed-ended questionnaire.Descriptive and inferential statistics were computed using the Pearson correlation coefficient, independent sample t-test,and one-way ANOVA test. The results of the correlation betweenthe perceived value of internship and employability skills showeda significant positive correlation between them (p<0.001).The independent sample t-testshowed that the students with higher CGPA performed better in the workplace as compared to the students with lower CGPA.The results of One-wayANOVA test indicated that the students of Human Resource Management (HRM) and Information Technology(IT) performed better in terms of acquiring employability skills as compared to the banking, finance, and marketing students.These skills are essential for job employment.It is recommended that future research studies should be conducted in other areas of experiential learning. These studieswould help to emphasizethe importance of internshipsin relationto employability skills that are directly linked to the students'job opportunities.