Externship is a necessary area, but I have noticed a lot of employer misuse. A number of smaller employers are using externship as free labor. A school needs to maintain an externship-to-hire ratio spreadsheet for EVERY employer. As long as the school has quality students, the ratio should be between 20-50%. When an externship site drops below this ratio, the school needs to give the site 'a break' for a predtermined number of months to allow for staff attrition.
Using sites that do not hire is a common but terrible trap that externship coordinators get caught in.
Hi Yudelka
True, intern and externships are really important and sometimes required for certain programs. On the job training provides great skills practice and most important can give a student relevant experience to add to their resume.
Thanks, Susan
They are extremely important on helping the students practicing for a job.
Hi Anatoliy
Experiential learning is very important for most training. It has to be carefully structured and monitored so that the student gets an outstanding experience. The experience is really effective when it is real-world, evaluated, and can be used for the grad's resume. Best wishes, susan
