Universities do lots of good work; but one of the things that they have struggled with is properly housing students and getting them ready for the working world. Many courses, particularly arts based ones, have struggled more than others in this regard; putting highly qualified, well rounded students out into the world with very little in the way of vocational experience. One thing that has led to many of these students gaining invaluable experience in the real world is the advent of internships at major companies.
An internship is essentially a shortened contract that focuses the intern into numerous areas; teaching them and giving them valuable experience in a number of fields. In return the company gets fresh faces, new ideas and potentially a new member of staff with a free trial. Even if the intern doesn’t stay full time it’s another feather on their CV, and a number of successful internships could well provide enough experience in a field to land a full time role.