The internship

The ‘jewel in the crown' of the Career Academy model is the internship, which takes place in the summer between the two years of the course. Employers provide a 4-6 week work placement (many of them paid), based on a standard working hour week in a real operating environment and aiming to use the skills and knowledge the student has learned in school/college.

Internships are neither the traditional 'work experience' offered to 15 and 16 year olds, nor mini versions of undergraduate schemes. Still adolescents rather than graduates, Career Academy students may have had less opportunity to develop workplace skills and are likely to need more support and training. Yet - with a year's Career Academy study under their belt - they can make a real contribution to the organisation, especially as the six weeks progress. Host employers also report that working with Career Academy interns enhances staff development or approaches to employee diversity.