SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 11, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- For the sixth consecutive year, two annual nationwide surveys, both conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), indicate that performing a college internship not only increases one's opportunities to land a job, but also to keep a job. The 2012 Internship and Co-op Survey and the Student Survey Class of 2012 revealed that 63% of paid interns received at least one job offer upon graduation. In contrast, only 36% of graduates who have no internship experience received at least one job offer.*
"We've found that students who have the competitive edge of an internship (or internship/externship as we at Heald call it) are in the best position to launch their career," said Jennifer Lozada, corporate director of career services for Heald College. "An internship/externship offers a student hands-on, practical work experience which gives them a powerful, unique advantage over other job applicants – especially in today's tough job market. This experience is so beneficial to the student, in fact, that Heald's programs offer an internship/externship component for every program"
The NACE surveys also found that employees who were hired from an organization's own internship/externship program were retained after one year at a rate of 75%, compared to 66% of hires that had no internship/externship experience. After five years, the difference is even more evident, as 62% of hires coming from an internship/externship program were still with the company, compared to 48% of hires with no internship/externship experience.
"It stands to reason that those who performed an internship/externship and subsequently landed a job would be more familiar with the actual responsibilities of the job and better prepared to handle the job," explained Lozada. "In addition, the intern/extern also has a sneak peek into the job prior to being hired full time. These factors combine to increase job performance and stability on the part of the employee, and satisfaction with the employee on the part of the employer."
The NACE surveys also noted that 55% of students in the class of 2012 had internship/externship experience. Over the next year, that rate is expected to increase by 8.5%. "All indicators show that students with internship/externship experience have a definite competitive advantage in today's job market," said Lozada.
About the Surveys
The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) sixth annual Student Survey Class of 2012 was conducted February 15, 2012, through April 30, 2012. A total of 59,063 students at 826 NACE-member institutions took part, including 15,715 seniors earning bachelor's degrees.
The NACE 2012 Internship and Co-op Survey was conducted from November 11, 2011, to January 13, 2012. The survey was sent to 952 NACE employer members; 280 organizations or 29.4% took part. Just over 20 industries are represented. By region, 22.5% of respondents are from the Northeast, 27.5% are from the Southeast, 33.6% are from the Midwest, and 16.4% are from the West.
About Heald College
For 150 years, Heald's mission has been to prepare students for academic, personal and professional success through quality career-focused programs that develop skills to last a lifetime. Since its founding, Heald has evolved into a leading career college that offers a range of programs in the fields of healthcare, business, legal, and technology. Heald College has 12 campuses in California, Oregon and Hawaii and Online. For more information on Heald College, visit http://www.heald.edu. For more information about our graduation rates, the median debt of students who completed the program and other important information, please visit our website http://www.heald.edu/disclosures.
EDITOR'S NOTE: For more information, please contact Susan Good at Catalano Fenske and Associates, for Heald College. Tel: (559) 320-1120; Email: susan@cfanda.com.
*National Association of Colleges and Employers Statistics data can be found at http://www.naceweb.org/intern-co-op-survey/ and at http://www.naceweb.org/s08012012/paid-intern-job-offer/.