Is forcing them worth the effort? Benefits of mandatory internships for graduates from diverse family backgrounds at labour market entry

Markus Klein, Felix Weiss

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

55 Citations (Scopus)
219 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Mandatory internships are implemented in higher education curricula in order to ease the labour market integration of graduates. This article evaluates the utility of mandatory internships in Germany by assessing the effect on graduates' transition from higher education to work. The authors examine whether these compulsory programmes provide extra benefits for graduates from families with lower educational backgrounds. Three different outcome variables are used to characterize the labour market entry: search duration until the first significant job, employment history complexity and wages five years after graduation. The results clearly indicate that compulsory internship programmes neither have a positive effect on labour market outcomes in general, nor are they particularly beneficial for graduates from lower educational backgrounds.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)969-987
Number of pages19
JournalStudies in Higher Education
Volume36
Issue number8
Early online date17 May 2011
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2011

Keywords

  • internships
  • transition from education to work
  • job training programme
  • Germany

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