The impact of industrial placement on BIS graduate employment and further educational advancement

This study followed two cohorts of BIS (business information systems) graduates (one group had undertaken an industrial placement and the other group had not) and explored the impact of such placement on graduate employment and further educational advancement. 18 BIS graduates with industrial placement and 36 BIS graduates without such placement were involved in the study. Both cohorts graduated near the end of 2017 from the same university in Australia. This study focused on two research questions: (a) What are the likelihood that BIS graduates with and without internship experience secure an IT job? (b) Does internship experience influence BIS graduates' future educational advancement along the IT career paths? On one hand, hypothesis testing found a positive association between BIS internship experience and the success of securing current/first IT-related jobs. On the other hand, no association was found between BIS internship experience and the time spent to find the first IT-related jobs (immediately or some time) after graduation, and between having BIS internship experience and pursuing further studies. The results of this study have contributed to the existing body of mixture evidence on the potential benefits of industrial placement. Due to the quantitative nature of this study, the qualitative aspects (e.g., the quality and fit of internship experience with respect to the type of jobs seek) of internships were not covered.