Orange County employers are facing a widening workforce gap as retirements rise and hiring needs accelerate, yet most high school graduates have minimal workplace experience. Nationwide, fewer than 2% of high school students complete an internship, leaving businesses without early access to talent and students unprepared for the demands of today’s jobs. High school internships are among the most direct, proven ways for companies to strengthen the local talent pipeline while helping students build the skills employers say they need most.
Internships should be expected, not the exception. And it’s up to our communities, schools, nonprofits and businesses to collaborate and make them possible.
Career Ready Teenagers
We often hear that students need to be “college- and career-ready,” to succeed, and internships are one of the few tools that make that happen.
Internships bring learning to life, exposing students to actual work environments and helping them explore interests, build soft skills, and apply what they’ve practiced to the real world. Students learn how to communicate, manage their time, solve problems, and collaborate in the workplace. These are critical life skills, regardless of the path they choose. Internships often spark passions that traditional academics can’t uncover.
Employers benefit, too. About 86% of employers believe high school interns strengthen their talent pipeline. Programs across Orange County continue to show that high school internships deliver real results, and the demand is growing. As workforce needs evolve, Orange County United Way’s United for Student Success initiative is expanding internships beyond Garden Grove Unified School District and Anaheim Union High School District to include Santa Ana Unified School District and Huntington Beach Union High School District, reflecting a countywide need that spans all student backgrounds. Programs such as Youth Career Connections help students explore careers, build networks, and gain work-based learning experience by connecting them with employers in fields including healthcare, IT, engineering, business and digital arts media. Since 2016, we’ve facilitated more than 13,629 work-based learning experiences with the help of over 2,800 volunteers and Orange County-based corporate partners including Edwards Lifesciences, Automobile Club of Southern California and Razer.
Barriers to Overcome
However, many students still face significant barriers to obtaining internships, especially those from underserved and low-income families. Internships could be a pivotal opportunity for this population and be the key to opening doors for future success.
We need help from all the different players to make this goal a reality. Schools can offer academic credit and accommodate student participation. Businesses can prioritize internships while nurturing relationships with future employees. And nonprofits can continue to make connections count by serving as the conduit between education and industry.
If we are serious about closing opportunity gaps and preparing all students for life after school, internships need to be scalable and accessible to every student. Students and families must be informed about the benefits of internships early on in high school, and aware of partnerships among schools, businesses, and other community organizations that facilitate these opportunities.
College students already know the value of internships. A 2019 study by the National Association of Colleges found that 70% of interns received job offers. There is no reason high school students should wait until college to gain those same advantages. It’s time to make them the norm.
We have hundreds of high school students looking for internships this Summer. Let’s work together to make that future a reality for all students.
For more information, contact Yahaira Ortiz at yahairao@unitedway.org or (949) 263-6142.
