Internships and Work-Based Learning
Internships and Work-Based Learning
Internships Connect Learning to Real Work
Internships help students, emerging professionals, and career changers gain workplace experience while helping employers introduce people to local career pathways.
Work-Based Learning
What is an internship?
An internship is a short-term work experience that helps a student, recent graduate, or career seeker learn about a job, industry, company, or career pathway.
A strong internship should include real work, clear expectations, supervision, feedback, and a connection to future career growth.
Internships can help:
How Internships Work
Internships vary by employer, school, industry, and role. The best ones are structured enough to support learning and practical enough to support real business needs.
Timeframe
An internship may last a few weeks, a semester, a summer, or a defined project period.
Structure
The employer should define the role, schedule, supervisor, responsibilities, learning goals, and next steps.
Experience
Interns should do meaningful work that helps them understand the workplace, the industry, and the skills required.
Career Connection
The experience should help the intern build skills, references, confidence, and a clearer path toward future employment.
Choose Your Internship Path
Internships serve two audiences: people looking for experience and employers looking to build future talent.
For Students and Career Seekers
Find experience that helps you move forward.
Use internships to explore careers, build your resume, practice professional skills, and connect with local employers.
For Employers
Build a future workforce pipeline.
Use internships to introduce people to your company, your industry, and the skills needed for long-term success.
For Applicants
What to look for in an internship
A good internship should help you learn, contribute, and understand how the experience connects to your next career step.
You should understand what you will be doing, who you report to, and what skills you will build.
You should have someone who can answer questions, provide feedback, and help you learn from the experience.
The internship should help you explore a field, strengthen your resume, or prepare for future employment.
For Employers: Build a Better Internship
Internships are more valuable when the employer treats them as workforce development, not extra help.
Define the Role
Clarify the responsibilities, schedule, pay, work location, required skills, and learning goals.
Assign a Mentor
Give the intern a clear point of contact who can provide guidance, feedback, and workplace context.
Create Meaningful Work
Build the role around real assignments that support learning and contribute to the organization.
Plan the Next Step
Use the experience to discuss future employment, references, career pathways, or continued training.
Common Internship Types
Internships may be structured in different ways depending on the employer, school, role, and career pathway.
Paid Internships
Paid internships compensate participants for their work and can help employers attract stronger candidates.
Credit-Based Internships
Some internships are connected to school, college, or university credit and may have academic requirements.
Project-Based Internships
Project-based internships focus on a specific assignment, campaign, research effort, technical task, or business need.
Career-Connected Internships
These internships are designed to help participants explore a long-term career pathway and potential future employment.
Internship Resources
Use these resources to learn more about internships, employer best practices, student opportunities, and related workforce pathways.
Employer Guide
Florida Chamber Foundation Internship Guide
A resource for employers looking to design, launch, and improve internship programs.
Regional Program
CareerSource Southwest Florida Work-Based Learning
Learn about internship and work-experience support that may be available for eligible participants and employers.
University Resource
FGCU Internships
Connect with internship information and student resources through Florida Gulf Coast University.
College Resource
FSW Handshake
FSW students and recent graduates can search internships, while employers can create accounts and post opportunities.
Local Education Resource
Charlotte County Public Schools Internship Placement
College and university students can review requirements and request an internship placement with Charlotte County Public Schools.
Student Resource
Charlotte Technical College Work-Based Learning
CTC students can access the internship checklist, work-based learning guide, training agreements, and related forms.
Federal Resource
Department of Labor Internship Information
Review federal information about internships and employment standards.
Employer Resource
SHRM Internship Program Guide
Explore employer guidance for developing and implementing internship programs.
Employer Tools
Careers on the Coast Employer Toolkit
Access hiring templates, onboarding tools, mentorship resources, and internship-related support.
Related Workforce Resources
Explore additional Careers on the Coast resources connected to training, hiring, and work-based learning.
Training and Upskilling
Connect with programs that help people build skills for high-demand careers.
Apprenticeships
Explore hands-on training pathways that connect work, learning, and long-term workforce development.
Jobs and Career Search
Find job boards, industry searches, career pathways, and community supports for job seekers.
Ready to connect experience with opportunity?
Explore internship resources, search job resources, or return to the Careers on the Coast hub to find the right next step.
