When an Internship is More Than an Internship

Equal Measure recently published Key Insights into Talent Attraction and Retention Efforts in Philadelphia. For that report, we interviewed a number of local and national leaders in the fields of education and the workforce, human resources, and economic development. Deborah Diamond, President of Campus Philly, is one of those leaders, and she shares her thoughts in this Equal Measure Guest Blog post.

Philadelphia can justly claim that when you come here for college, an internship comes with it. Consider that while 61% of 2014 graduates nationally report having had an internship or co-op while in college, that figure jumps to 81%  for students attending college in Greater Philadelphia. Several factors contribute to Philadelphia’s ability to offer internships:

  • We benefit from a large and diverse regional economy, with thousands of employers providing more opportunities for internships than smaller regions with fewer employers.
  • One of our largest universities – Drexel – is a co-op school where professional internships are required of most students before graduating. Drexel’s model has influenced other local universities like Cabrini College and Saint Joseph’s University, both of which now integrate full- time semester-long co-ops into their programs.
  • And, Philadelphia has had a decade-long, unique approach to bringing together college students and employers through Campus Philly, a regional nonprofit that partners with 35 colleges and universities to introduce their students to Philadelphia, and encourage them to stay in the region after they graduate.

Campus Philly Creative Event Photo (1)Campus Philly has learned that internships are a key driver for students staying in Philadelphia after they graduate. According to our 2014 report Choosing Philadelphia, 71% of students with summer internships in Philadelphia stayed in the region after they graduated, compared to 47% of students whose internships were outside the region.

However, it is not just the connection to an employer that influences student retention after college. When deciding where to reside after they graduate, students have two needs: a job and a desire to like where they live. This generation of students will not stay in a place they don’t like solely because of a job opportunity. For instance, according to Choosing Philadelphia, 61% rated job opportunity the top priority when deciding where to move after college, but 39% offered some other quality of life priority, like entertainment options and public transportation as driving their decision. And even for the 61% for whom job opportunity is tops, there are now plenty of cities and regions with vibrant job markets for recent college graduates, so a case has to be made for staying in this city.

Campus Philly has learned that making this case to college students has to happen “IRL” (“in real life”), as they say. Students meeting each other, connecting with employers as mentors and advisors, and learning to feel comfortable in their larger city community are critical for developing ties between students and city, and for increasing post-graduation retention. While Campus Philly runs three online platforms – one devoted to internship matching; one devoted to arts and culture access; and one with broader information about getting to know Philadelphia – it is the in-person events where these audiences come together that motivates more city exploration and drives attachment to place.

Campus Philly Healthcare Event Photo (1)So, while Philadelphia has the distinction of being the best college town for internships, the internship is really the launching point for deeper city attachment. Getting to that internship on SEPTA, meeting students from other schools on the job, and finding that awesome spot after work to gather for a great meal…these are the experiences that drive attachment to the city, and get students to choose Philadelphia post-graduation.

Deborah Diamond, PhD, is President of Campus Philly.