Making Student Internships Work: Navigating Stakeholder Interests and Aspirations at the University Work Interface

Over the past decade considerable focus has been directed towards the role of internships as mechanisms for gaining work experience and securing routes to permanent jobs. Yet internships have also increased in their notoriety for being unpaid, leading to accusations of a ‘new elitism’ where only those who can afford to work for free can gain the experience necessary to access certain professions. In such a context, the role of universities in developing and supporting opportunities that are meaningful, fair and pedagogically informed is under scrutiny. This chapter explores the diversity of stakeholder interests at the university-work interface. Framed around the legal, practical and pedagogic challenges of developing meaningful work experience opportunities for students, it draws as its central case study on the Third Sector Internships Scotland programme. This national initiative sought to offer students across all Scottish universities the opportunity to apply for paid internships, experience work in the third sector, and receive appropriate feedback on their applications to enhance their employability. The chapter reflects on the multiple layers of impact that any effective employability initiative needs to offer, and the challenges associated with meeting the needs of diverse stakeholders.