We wanted to achieve improving the transition of IT-skilled adults into the labour market by addressing the lack of structured and high-quality internships in SMEs. Specifically, we aimed to investigate the factors undermining internship quality, identify best practices from the IT sector and research, and facilitate dialogue between SMEs and IT graduates to understand their needs and expectations and finally we developed a comprehensive methodological framework that defined all key components of quality internships, including learning objectives, roles, monitoring, and evaluation processes and many more. In addition, we aimed to strengthen the capacities of SMEs, educators, and career support professionals through targeted training (5 days training in Sweden) and practical learning experiences. Ultimately, we sought to enhance employability, support career guidance, and create sustainable, scalable internship models that could be applied across the IT sector and beyond.
We applied for this project because we identified a critical gap in the transition of IT-skilled adults into the labour market, mainly caused by the lack of structured and high-quality internship models in SMEs (mainly in IT related sectors). Through our direct work with IT graduates and companies, we observed that internships were often unstructured, lacked clear learning objectives, legal frameworks, and proper mentoring systems, which discouraged participation for internships and reduced their effectiveness. The needs addressed included the absence of common standards for internships, limited capacity of SMEs to design and manage quality internship programmes, and the difficulty for graduates—especially those with fewer opportunities—to gain relevant work experience. Additionally, we addressed challenges in motivating candidates and supporting SMEs due to unclear internship processes and expectations. Therefore, we aimed to respond to these needs by developing a practical methodological framework (as a concrete final output of this project), strengthening SME capacities, and improving employability pathways for IT adults through structured, transparent, and high-quality internship practices.