Abstract:

Virtual Internships is on a mission to provide global access to the future of remote work. Our programs are designed to provide career-driven, lifelong learning support for before, during, and after their internship placement. With our network of 11,000+ innovative companies across 70+ countries, our edtech platform matches students with an organization that best suits their career outlook and up-skills their competencies with our award-winning professional development courses. Our interns have wrap-around support from our team alongside their internship placement. In fact, 92% of our interns agreed that the remote internship was a valuable learning experience and over a third of our interns are offered a future position with their company.

Utilizing two different case studies, this presentation will demonstrate how Virtual Internships has increased employability and career readiness skills for various underrepresented communities.

Case Study 1: Eihab was one of 50 interns given the opportunity to participate in the Kiron Virtual Internships program, an online learning platform for refugees worldwide and underserved communities in the Middle East. Before exploring remote opportunities, Eihab had limited work experience in his desired career field, digital marketing. He was knowledgeable about the core fundamentals of digital marketing but wished to develop skills as well as gain additional work experience in the field. Whilst searching for opportunities in data research analysis and digital marketing with a tech-based company during his final year at Damascus University, Eihab found Virtual Internships. Through the program, Eihab was granted the opportunity to intern remotely for a tech start-up in India called Dolta, an experience that would expand his horizons in a global working environment. At the end of his internship, Eihab was delighted to receive an employment offer from Dolta. Alongside this, he gained new perspectives on global community connections and a desire to expand his career in the global workforce. Eihab’s experience triumphed over his expectations and demonstrated the possibilities of remote work; he now feels confident pursuing new career opportunities.

Case Study 2: Virtual Internships has partnered with Skills Development Scotland in order to provide a fully funded program supporting women returning to work after a career break. This program is available to women over the age of 25 years old that have been unemployed for at least the last 6 months and are currently living in Scotland. One of our participants, Natalie, transitioned out of work after having 3 children. She found it very difficult to manage childcare and working long hours. Furthermore, she felt a certain stigma against having a career break to raise her children. As a single parent, returning to work seemed almost impossible. Through the Virtual Internships program, she completed a consulting project with a regional host company and received access to our Global Employability Online Curriculum & Coaching. She was able to balance a work-life balance that allowed her to take care of her kids and build the confidence, career competencies, and digital skill sets to create her own remote business as a pilates instructor, with various income streams on the side.

Keywords:

Virtual internships, career development, access to quality education, global education, online learning.