It’s never too early to gain work experience. For high school students, internships offer the chance to ‘try out’ a career before committing to a higher education path that takes them into that field or industry. What’s more, whilst interning remotely with global companies on key projects, students will gain experience that will boost any university or college application beyond their peers - an unbeatable advantage.
Many geographies worldwide are increasing focus of high school systems and educational institutions on work readiness and work integrated learning at a younger age. The UK has the Gatsby Benchmarks and many US States are implementing similar initiatives, such as the Illinois Career Pathways Dictionary.
A Virtual Internship isn't just a checkbox; it's a transformative opportunity that paves the way for professional growth. By immersing themselves in remote internships with global companies, students cultivate essential skills, gain real-world experience, and foster connections that can shape their journey.
The value of undertaking an internship as a high school student are numerous, both for personal development, guidance and insight when making those next step decisions, and long-term career pathway choices.
Networking is another big benefit to be taken from an internship - and it’s great to start early. In an internship it’s possible to create connections that students could have through university/college and into a first role after graduation.
Stepping from the classroom into a professional environment at a young age provides an early glimpse into what real working life could be like. It might answer some huge initial questions about preferred career fields, directing students sooner before deepening learning and skills at higher education level. Seeing what suits as a high school student and getting that tiny taster before university/college may serve as a crucial steering wheel towards finding a dream career.
Remember, not all growth should be with a student's career or future work life in mind. Personal growth and learning, figuring out who they are as individuals, what strengths and weaknesses they have, how they respond to feedback and teamwork at high school age, is extremely important for the next generation of professionals. Soft Skills such as creativity, persuasion, collaboration, adaptability, and emotional intelligence are listed as the top 5 Soft Skills by LinkedIn in its 2020 Skills Report. An internship in high school can offer a plethora of opportunities for individual personal learning for life, relationships, and future wellbeing, not just work.
Taking on an internship shows initiative, and universities/colleges love seeing students who have shown a drive to learn. It shows students are dedicated, before they even arrive on the campus and will help an application to jump out from the rest.