Integrating work and learning helps students make informed decisions about their career. Various educational institutes tie up with various organizations in order to give hands-on experience to their students while they are studying. Schools, colleges and organizations work together, to prepare a curriculum that can help in the overall development of their students. Volunteering, internships, projects etc., are some of the ways used to familiarize the students with the work environment. These ways help the students to get an insight in to the various industries, careers, and the work culture, and thus they are able to decide their career path.
Work based learning not only helps the students but also the organizations. Various organizations all over the world have collaborated with schools, colleges, and technical-training institutes for integrating work and learning.
Benefits Of Integrating Work And Learning For Students
Improves knowledge and skills
In work based learning, the students are required to work on projects in different fields. It helps them to understand and grasp the various theoretical concepts better, by applying them in practice. The students develop different skills by getting exposure to the real work environment. They learn various soft skills like communication, dealing with customers, problem solving, teamwork, time management etc.
Identify interests
It gives them an opportunity to identify their abilities, interests, strengths, and weaknesses. Students also get to know different career options available in different fields. All these help the students to identify the career options suitable for them and give them direction in life.
Better career prospects
Students with work experience are most sought by the employers. The trained students are also more confident and know the expectations of the employers. Thus, work based learning improves the job prospects of the students. The students who undergo such training or internships also get a chance to network with industry people. This helps them to get a job of their choice.
Handle responsibility
When students are exposed to the industry work environment and asked to handle projects, they develop a sense of responsibility. This prepares them for their life ahead.
Benefits Of Integrating Work And Learning For The Organizations
Low cost trainees
The students bring with them a lot of new ideas. They work on different projects that are sometimes very useful for the organization. Thus, the organizations get good trainees at low cost.
Low training and recruitment costs
Some students are selected for the job while they are on training. Therefore, work based training reduces the time and money spent by the organizations on recruiting new people. Since the employers get the new work force that is already trained, this reduces the training costs of the organizations. This also reduces the learning curve of the employees.
In short, work based learning is important to prepare the students for transition from school life to work life. Integrated work and learning programs help students to develop a whole range of skills that are very useful for them in their life and career.