Internships bridge the 'Experience Gap' between classroom learning, workplace performance and graduate employability. Clearly, they are win-win-win propositions.

We have long supported the work of The Internship Institute (TII). TII creates quality internships by meeting the needs of students, employers and educational organizations in collaboration to create an effective 21st Century workforce.

The non-profit assumes the role of being the connective tissue to address a variety of interrelated issues including: college affordability, degree attainment, student loan debt, graduate unemployment, return on education, degree pathways alignment, professional experience and skills gaps, labor shortages, career preparation and placement, internship program quality standardization (certification), phasing out unpaid internships, and integrating student learning outcomes, work portfolio, and virtual data record-keeping.

In other words, they help companies to cover all of the required bases.

"Internships put people [back] to work. It's high time for employers to put their actions where their interests lie and take internships more seriously", said Matthew Zinman, Founder of TII. That means making internships an integral part of organizational values and work culture, as well as allocating the resources and commitment to integrate best practices.

For now, The Internship Institute is focusing on "Intern Lunch & Learns" to show interns how to best serve their employers and supervisors how to supervise interns, based on the "Blueprint for Internship Success" best practices model and proven materials.

Human Resource professionals can rely on the Internship eToolkit System® and its technical assistance to assure the quality, integrity and value of their internship programs. TII also established a national "Certificate of Internship Quality" and a compliance training program to help employers adhere with United States Department of Labor guidelines, including those for unpaid internships.

Wise corporations understand that, like many other relationships in life, internships are an exchange of value. Information and education are exchanged for work product. TII offers one way that employers may stay in compliance and give their interns a proven training program. What are the employers' rewards?  Happy interns who understand their culture and want to work there after graduation. It's a natural talent pipeline that is a must-have for successful employers.

For more information, visit: www.InternshipInstitute.org

© Copyright 1998-2013 by The Herman Group of Companies, Inc., all rights reserved.  From 'The Herman Trend Alert,' by Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurist. (800) 227-3566 or www.hermangroup.com

The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group of Companies, Inc. Reprinted with permission.