• May 22, 2015
• Newsletter Article

An overview of the 5 year trends AgCareers.com has found as a result of our internship benchmark survey. The survey is an evaluation of students and their internship programs, and it provides the agriculture industry with data in a benchmarking format.

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AgCareers.com Internship Benchmark Survey 5-Year Trend Report

 

For eight years, AgCareers.com has been conducting student evaluations of internship programs and providing the agricultural industry this data in a benchmarking format. Interns are surveyed both at the beginning of their internship and again at the end which develops two different reports for each participating company. Since the beginning of the survey, nearly 30 different companies have utilized this tool to help them pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of their internship programs.

In an effort to identify any major shifts in internship experiences within agriculture, AgCareers.com reviewed the trends over the past five years, from 2009 through 2013. This data was compiled in the Internship Benchmark Survey 5 Year Trend Report which is now available to download at no charge. The report reviews recruitment, expectations and deliverables of intern programs.

Following are some of the key findings of the trend report:

• Campus Career Services have proven to be a key resource for students in discovering internship opportunities.
• The majority of students considered between 1 and 2 internship positions each year, with an increasing number of students considering between 3 and 5 different opportunities each year.
• Interns reported that the #1 determining factor for choosing an internship was the job duties and responsibilities.
• Students reported their main objective for an internship was the opportunity to gain practical, meaningful work experience, followed by insight into a possible full-time career.
• On average, 37% of interns were formally or informally offered another internship or fulltime career with the company at the end of their internship.
• The majority (75%) of interns were provided with a formal review, a practice that has sadly, slightly declined over the years.
• One-third of interns reported receiving academic credit for their internship.

The full report includes more information on salary, areas for improvement, mentoring and more. Download your copy now: AgCareers.com Internship Benchmark Survey 5 Year Trend Report.

For more details on the Internship Benchmark Survey and participation, contact agcareers@agcareers.com.