It is an accepted fact today that internships are a critical component of development in various careers of any sector. The way that internship programs operate and their purpose have changed remarkably over the years. For instance, if you happened to be alive before the bustling 1980s era, you are not going to be an intern. This has led to some queries over the origin of internships, and how they have evolved to become an integral part of the job-seeking sector today.
Researchers have reached a consensus that internships stemmed from the professional apprenticeships that started with the trade guilds based in Europe as far back as the 12th century. Tradespeople and expert artisans adopted younger apprentices interested in learning their assigned tasks like keeping the records. The tradition then was for the apprentice to serve the masters for several years, and after the service, they can graduate to the next level and get better pay. In most cases, the apprentices choose to remain with the masters.
The principal aims of apprenticeship in those days include training, supervision, and the filling of job openings. Even though the apprenticeship system back then seems to share a lot with the internship system today, the one we have today is a lot more flexible. Back then, the main benefits of being an apprentice were pretty clear for everyone to see. Nowadays, it’s expected to get a graduate internship out of your undergrad course. You can easily belong to a guild or even get absorbed into the union, and that was because the system had a lot more organization and structure than the one present today.
It was the apprenticeship system of those days that led to the industrialization era, and the system itself later became training in academic institutions. For example, the apprenticeship that was done in the medical sector soon gave way to standardized training of internships. By the beginning of the 20th century, internship had evolved to a point where interns were mainly coffee boys or errand boys, especially in the business sector.
It was not until the late 1960s that the system of internship in the modern world started to take shape. One of the factors that promoted the importance of internship as we know it today was the rise in the demand for workers. Soon, recruiters started placing more value on those who had internship experience, and this was seen in various fields.
With time, internship expanded as it became a good way for people to establish networks and get a good experience with the areas and jobs they want to handle. In the time before the advent of the Internet, physical networking events by word of mouth or posters were the primary ways for anyone to achieve their career goals. By the 1980s, an internship was so important that universities and other institutions started offering it.
Today, interns are more important than ever, and they are still in high demand. Besides, the traditional benefits of internships, like building networks, gaining professional experience, and increasing one’s knowledge base, are all intact. Internships will only grow in importance with time. And through globalization, the best internships in Australia, will become more standardized with the best of the rest of the world. As technology evolves, there will be more digitally demanding jobs, there are, which opens a whole new doorway of internships to be taken. More and more will grow, giving more people the chance to build their dream career. It all starts with an internship; once you’ve put in the hard work, you’ll find enjoyment soon enough.
