Career and Technical Education

Checklist items beneficial to setting up a successful internship might include:

• arranging meeting times
• planning with program coordinator to ensure that academic requirements are met
• signing structured training agreements and training plans
• arranging student work space
• informing students about company policies and procedures

Worksite supervisors may be unaccustomed to the unique challenges of communicating and working with young people.

They may be faced with student attitudes and expectations that may seem unrealistic in the workplace.

Discuss possible scenarios with worksite supervisors and encourage them to provide as many active learning experiences as possible.

Activity suggestions

Worksite supervisors need to be aware of legal issues related to a work-based learning experience.

These include safety, child labor, discrimination, and sexual harassment laws.

The WBL coordinator must ensure that worksite supervisors understand their legal responsibilities and potential liabilities in advance.

For unpaid work experiences, all parties must be aware of federal guidelines related to unpaid work experience. Please see the resources button on the Internship page. 

Students need to be thoroughly prepared before embarking on an internship experience. Preparation includes classwork that focuses on research, career exploration, and skills that will be applied at the worksite. Practical concerns must be addressed as well.

Many districts provide students with an internship handbook that includes the following:

• The first step in setting up an internship experience is finding individuals and organizations willing to take on the responsibility of working with a student.
• Many districts establish a pool of possible worksites via their advisory committees or other community connections.
• Students may also identify possible internship sites.
• Successful worksites are a valuable resource that can be utilized repeatedly.

Perkins V defines Work Based Learning (WBL) as:

• sustained interactions with industry or community professionals in real workplace settings, to the extent practicable, or simulated environments at an educational institution that foster in-depth, firsthand engagement with the tasks required in each career field that are aligned to curriculum and instruction.

• WBL is included in reference to state plans, programs of study, and collaboration among secondary schools, postsecondary institutions, and employers.

Work-Based Learning vs. Lab Practice Examples