ABSTRACT Participation in open market internships by higher education students and graduates has significantly expanded. This has created growing opportunities for intermediaries or ‘brokers’ to organise and charge fees for placing individuals in organisations, either in their home country or abroad. Despite being voluntary, open market internships may be endorsed by universities motivated to confer on their students a labour market advantage. Despite being the subject of significant public concern, no published research has systematically addressed how internship intermediaries operate. This study examined the websites of 25 intermediaries to examine the functions of these businesses and the nature of the internships they offer. The findings show that the majority of firms offered placements in a variety of disciplines, partnered with prestigious universities and organisations, and promised a plethora of employability capacities as a result of participation. None directly promised participants success in acquiring a job post-internship but they did frequently suggest that internships had proven career benefits. The high program fees charged to participants may constitute a significant barrier to participation for those from less advantaged backgrounds. The results contribute to emerging scholarship addressing the patterns of participation in (open market) internships and other forms of work experience.

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公开市场实习：中介机构提供什么？

摘要高等教育的学生和毕业生对公开市场实习的参与已大大增加。这为中介机构或“经纪人”提供了越来越多的机会来组织和收取将个人安置在其本国或国外的组织的费用。尽管是自愿的，但公开市场的实习可能会得到那些愿意赋予学生劳动力市场优势的大学的认可。尽管是引起公众广泛关注的主题，但尚未有公开的研究系统地探讨过实习中介机构的运作方式。这项研究检查了25个中介机构的网站，以检查这些企业的功能及其提供的实习性质。调查结果表明，大多数公司提供了不同学科的职位，与著名的大学和组织合作，并承诺参与将具有大量的就业能力。没有人直接向参与者保证可以成功获得实习后的工作，但是他们确实经常暗示实习证明了职业生涯的好处。对背景较差的人来说，向参与者收取的高额计划费可能会严重阻碍他们的参与。结果有助于形成新兴的奖学金，以解决参与（公开市场）实习模式和其他形式的工作经验的问题。没有人直接向参与者保证可以成功获得实习后的工作，但是他们确实经常暗示实习证明了职业生涯的好处。对背景较差的人来说，向参与者收取的高额计划费可能会严重阻碍他们的参与。结果有助于形成新兴的奖学金，以解决参与（公开市场）实习模式和其他形式的工作经验的问题。没有人直接向参与者保证可以成功获得实习后的工作，但是他们确实经常暗示实习证明了职业生涯的好处。对背景较差的人来说，向参与者收取的高额计划费可能会严重阻碍他们的参与。结果有助于形成新兴的奖学金，以解决参与（公开市场）实习模式和其他形式的工作经验的问题。