Global South business students: utilising internships to develop graduate capitals and employability

Global South students are increasingly studying internationally, yet limited attention has been paid to their transition to the workplace at the end of their studies. Our goal was to investigate the strategies that graduating business students from the Global South employ in finding future employment post-internship. For this study, 234 business students studying at an internationally accredited university in Australia participated in this research. Participants nearing internship and degree completion outlined actions that they planned to take to aid their employability and career goal achievement. These results were then analysed within the context of the graduate capitals model. Students highlighted the importance of social capital and cultural capital for successful workplace transition but indicated that building identity and psychological capitals were not a priority. The implications, particularly for universities as they seek to assist graduating students, were discussed.