Abstract:

Recently, approximately 70% of universities in Japan have implemented internship programs. The original purpose of internship is to learn about an occupation, society, company operations, and the occupational aptitude of the student, through actual work experience at the work site. However, the points and the scale of effects of the internship depend on understanding, imagination, and the ability of each student to prepare for the experience. In addition the effects of the internship are dependent on the contents of the program prepared by the company. Since there are differences in the effects of internship depending on these conditions, some experts even have a doubt as to whether internship programs serve any real purpose or turn out to be more like a stroll in the park. The phrase, “not to see the forest for the trees,” can be applied to the current internship system. This means that the conditions of the current internship system do not provide university students with role models for work, the workplace, and careers. These programs only expose the students to a small part of the work experience only for a short period of time. They really do not get the big picture. On the other hand, the job shadowing approach lets students accompany role models, like a shadow, which can embody the significance of company's existence, such as managers and executives who are at the top of the organizational hierarchy. This experience enables the students to obtain perspectives concerning the big picture of the business organization. By doing so, the university students are likely to understand that management policies and judgments that are connected with actual work. In this way the student can clearly visualize an image of their role models and continuously pursue the creation of their own careers in a specific organization. We are confident that examining these things can foster a smooth transition from school-to-work.
In this study, we propose that university students participating in job shadowing programs are able to draw experience from professional role models and deepen their understanding of the social significance of a company.
By conducting questionnaire surveys and case studies, we consider that the job shadowing system has greater advantages than that of the internship system.

Keywords:

Internship, Role model, Job shadowing, Career exploration, Workplace trial.