The Relationship between Internship Programs and Employability: With Special Reference to BBA Graduates of Non State University of Sri Lanka

Abstract

Internship program is a strategic initiative which has been implemented by tertiary education institutes to improve the employability of graduates as the graduates’ unemployment has become a critical issue especially in the Sri Lankan context. This study examines the relationship between internship programs and graduates’ employability with the perspective of Business Management graduates who have recently passed out from the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology. The paper has revealed that internship programs have a strong positive relationship with graduates’ employability. Further the paper reveals that technical skills which they have gained through internship programs have the strongest relationship with their employability, therefore their perception is that technical skills have the most impact towards their employability. Also the paper presents that they agree that their intention for lifelong learning has been improved by internship programs. Ultimately the study has been able to reveal that internship programs have a strong relationship with graduates’ employability which is the ultimate objective of the study.