While a college degree offers the opportunity for increased income, a degree alone does not guarantee a student’s successful entry into the workforce. Work-based learning, such as internships and apprenticeship programs, has become an increasingly popular way to help students build workforce skills and experience and gain real-world exposure to a career in the field of their interest.

For employers, such programs provide labor while also building a talent pipeline, which many have argued is lacking in the current U.S. workforce. But despite their potential and popularity, a lack of consistent standards for internship programs has led to much variability in their quality and structure, with many providing less-than-ideal work experiences.

A large proportion of internships are unpaid, making it difficult for low-income students to participate and creating inequities between their career experiences and those of students who can afford to work for free.

One recently created internship program is exploring how to address these challenges. In 2015, Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation awarded $12.2 million to selected four-year colleges to develop semester-long paid internships for college juniors and seniors with financial needs.

Read the full article by Elizabeth Zachry Rutschow and Jessica Taketa at MDRC