Exploring the Role of Internship on Graduates’ Employability: A Phenomenon Inquiry on Undergraduate Business Students in Malaysia

Abstract

Graduate employability requires increased attention across all essential aspects within higher education systems worldwide. Education systems should not only focus on academic teaching and the learning process; they should also shelter a broader range of subjects, such as the progress of a professional identity, supportive economic growth, and, most significantly, improving students’ employability. With the unemployment rate at 3.3 percent, this study is viewed from both employers’ and graduates’ perspectives. Therefore, this study has two objectives. First, to study graduates' employability with the role of internship; second, to identify the roles of internship both from potential graduates and employers' perspectives. The study uses a qualitative approach, and semi-structured interviews were chosen for the data collection process. The selected ten (10) respondents, five from various industries as employers and five as potential graduates or interns, were interviewed. These findings revealed three roles of internship, firstly working experience, secondly, developing soft skills and thirdly building networking. The study proposed using quantitative data for future studies with a bigger sample size.