universities to consider a Work-integrated leaning scheme

The Australian, 2 April 2008

Universities Australia (UA) will shortly release a report that proposes that work-integrated learning be offered to all university students. The report will suggest that work placement opportunities be offered to arts, social studies and science students, as well as medicine, law and engineering students.

Under the proposed plan, all students will be able to undertake a workplace internship during the first semester of
their final year. Work placements will be credited to students’ degrees and participating students will be paid a
minimum wage.

UA Chief Executive, Mr Glenn Withers, believes that a ‘national internship will have multiple benefits…including to
help address the skills shortage, improve productivity and social inclusion, by lifting income support for students’.

The project spokesperson for the first ‘large-scale’ study into work-integrated learning, Ms Carol-Joy Patrick, believes
that the proposal will be supported by business and industry. She says that both students and the business industry are looking to universities to provide an ‘education that turned out job-ready graduates’.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) supports an internship-based, work-integrated learning programme. Ms Mary Hicks of the ACCI believes that the business industry is ‘ready to pay student interns some sort
of minimum wage’. She states that ‘some employers would be interested in paid interns, while others would be
motivated by giving back to the community’.

Ms Hicks also likens the proposal to work-integrated learning already in place in secondary schools’ vocational education and training programmes, and believes that a similar programme should be implemented at university level.

 

 

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