Internships: The Key is 'Future History'
vol.1775
At our company, we hold internships in multiple job categories for one month in August, and this week we are conducting them in the marketing planner section.
We had them come up with a promotional plan assuming an actual commercial facility, and this year it was one of the highest levels in our history.
While listening to the final presentation held this evening, I was simply impressed, thinking, 'It's amazing that they are just university students.'
I was very inspired.😊
Many companies likely conduct internships during summer vacation like this.
Therefore, this time, I would like to introduce recent trends.
The keyword is, quite simply, 'the future'.
Commonalities of popular internships
First, there is the company's awareness regarding internships.
Gakujo Co., Ltd. conducted a survey of human resources personnel at companies and organizations regarding internships for 2028 graduates.
1-day and other open company programs account for the majority of companies, and when including those considering implementation, the figure rises to 80%.
〈ORICON NEWS / August 5, 2026〉
"We thought it would be easier for students to participate than work experience programs, which would increase the application rate."
It seems many companies prioritize the ease of student participation. On the other hand,
internships of 5 days or longer that can be linked to recruitment are also being implemented or considered by over 40% of companies, who are positive about them, with over 40% of companies being positive about implementation.
Incidentally, regarding the linkage between internships and open company programs and recruitment selection, 60% of the companies that conduct them responded that they perform early selection.60%
This is 10 percentage points higher than the survey from the same period last year.
It can be inferred that the trend of companies using programs that are easy for students to join to build a candidate pool and then connecting them to subsequent work experience and selection is becoming the mainstream flow.
Now, what about the students' perspective and awareness?
Rikunabi conducted a survey of 2026 graduates and found that
"To deepen understanding of industries, companies, and job types" (85.2%)
was ranked first.
This was followed by
"Feeling that it would be useful for recruitment selection" (65.4%)
as the result.
Conversely,
● One-sided company presentations
● Programs that end with just classroom lectures
● Content that doesn't make you feel like you've actually worked
are said to be unpopular.
"Companies may use evaluation information of students who participated in internships of 5 days or more for recruitment selection (such as issuing job offers)"
—since the 2023 fiscal year when the revised rules of the three-ministry agreement were applied, students have also been focusing on content that leads to a "job offer".
By the way, regarding the first-place reason, "What kind of company do you want to work for?", something I found interesting recently is "local pride".
Last month, a Aomori City "Internship Study Session for Prefectural Companies" was held, and Job Cafe Aomori Center Director Tomoshige Toda said
"(Today's students) place great importance on how a company contributes to the local community."
they commented.
<RAB Aomori Broadcasting / August 1, 2026>
Local companiesmight want to beespecially consciousof this 🤔
Popular programs where growth and the future are visible
So, what kind of companies are actuallypopularasinternship destinations?
Port Inc.group companyMinshu Inc.conducted the"2027 Graduate Internship Popularity Ranking"in whichNitorishined at1st place.
Mynavi/Nikkei "2027 Graduate University Student Job Popularity Ranking"also ranked them1st place for 4 consecutive yearsin theliberal arts category.
1 in every 3.5job seekersappliesto them,showing just how much excitement there is.
The secret to their popularity is theirdedicationtocareer education.
Last year,AERA dot.featured the details in an article, but
<AERA dot. / October 31, 2025>
Students can procure raw materials through product development, logistics, and advertising, experiencing the same business processes as Nitori which covers everything in-house, firsthand.
The sales of the products developed depend heavily on how they are displayed, and sales figures can change dramatically.
By experiencing the real thrill of the job where a single clever idea can boost sales, participants all seem to take it seriously and gain a great sense of satisfaction.
Also, another thing I found interesting was the program called writing a 'Personal History'.
While looking back on the past,
● When did your motivation increase? ● When did you feel discouraged? ● Why were you able to keep trying? ● What moved your heart?
are questions you ask yourself.
In a Rikunabi survey, the 4th most common reason was 'to deepen self-analysis' (24.7%), and this program puts exactly that into practice.
However, Nitori didn't adopt the personal history program just to appeal to students; it is something that the company has all employees do.
Mapping out a career until the age of 80
is what we are working on.
Ryuta Amano, Senior Manager of the New Graduate Recruitment Department,Ryuta Amanois
"Nitori does not only support people during the job hunting process. All employees every six months, summarize their dreams until they reach the age of 80 on a sheet, and create a 30-year career plan. There is a corporate culture where each individual sets their own dreams and works backward to achieve them."
he commented.
Regarding Nitori's turnover rate, I heard from an acquaintance before that in the retail industry, where the turnover rate within three years is said to be 30-50%, the company's turnover rate within three years is in the mid-10% range, which is relatively low.
If this is true, then surely the culture of mapping out one's personal history, future history is a culture of visualization, which creates an image of working for a long time 🤔
Are robots also interns?
As I mentioned earlier, internships are trending toward a focus on job offers, and the key to that is "aptitude for the company" and "whether you can map out your future history".
Internships are tough every year in terms of preparation and implementation, but they are an important investment for securing a bright future.
How seriously you can engage is what matters.
Speaking of 'investing in the future', AI era-appropriate new programs are also being conducted.
That is the robot internship.
The robot venture GROOVE X, Inc. is conducting the 'LOVOT' internship, where the family-type robot 'LOVOT' works at companies as an intern.
(Period: July 30th - October 30th)
It seems you can experience the communication that arises while LOVOT spends time in the workplace, as well as the changes it brings to the workplace.
〈ASCII / August 4, 2026〉
By the way, it is said that having a LOVOT present sparks casual conversation and serves as a catalyst for dialogue that transcends the barriers of job titles and departments.
As proof of this, they are active in over 1,200 companies nationwide, including businesses, educational institutions, and welfare facilities.
Incidentally, regarding mental health benefits,
'Stress hormones decrease after 15 minutes of interaction'
has been proven.
Furthermore, LOVOT can take on PR staff as having it appear on social media, and depending on your ideas, it can fulfill various roles.
Since it seems they come for free for a certain period, I would love for our company to try this as a new experiment too~
By the way, in the future, humanoids and other physical AI should be active in the workplace, but it is expected that many employees will initially resist.
First, welcome them as a one-week intern.
And then, if you think they are indispensable to the company's future, offer them a job offer.
I suppose that is how things will go, isn't it?🤔
I will continue to keep a close eye on internship trends, but for now, I look forward to the programs starting next week~
Thank you very much for reading until the end today!