Abstract
The aim of this research paper is to understand how beneficial work placement experience is to those students that participate in it. There is much research into the benefits of internships but scant research examining the students’ level of satisfaction with their placement and there is also scant research on the career outcomes of the students after they have completed their work placement. There is also little research scrutinizing internships where the findings are empirically based.
Research data was taken from an online survey carried out on students that had completed a work placement in the last round of placements from DBS, DIT and WIT higher educational institutes. Four one-to-one interviews were also carried out with students that had completed placements. To strengthen the research, various journals and literature on internships were reviewed.
The research found that work placements are very beneficial to the students who participate in them. The majority of students are satisfied. They are afforded the opportunity to develop their skills. Their attitudes and expectations are also altered by the placement which ensures their career intentions are clarified and that they have clear expectations of the workplace. They feel they have an advantage over those that have not completed a work placement programme. Author keywords: work placement, internship
