From guidance to growth: Mentorship as a human resource development practice in graduate internship programmes

Abstract

Orientation: Mentorship is examined as a developmental mechanism within graduate internships, focusing on how embedded practices support interns’ professional learning and employability development.
Research purpose: This study explored how mentorship processes within a graduate internship programme support employability development.
Motivation for the study: Although graduate internship programmes are promoted as employability interventions, limited research examines how mentorship practices shape interns’ developmental outcomes.
Research approach/design and method: Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, the study draws on 34 in-depth interviews with interns, former interns, mentors, and line managers in a university internship programme. Data were analysed using the Gioia Methodology to develop a process-oriented account grounded in participants’ experiences.
Main findings: Four interrelated mentorship processes were identified: (1) scaffolded skill translation, supporting application of academic knowledge at work; (2) professional identity formation, facilitating transition from student to professional roles; (3) network brokerage, enabling access to professional communities; and (4) emotional scaffolding, fostering psychological safety, resilience, and risk-taking. These processes position mentorship as a multidimensional developmental mechanism rather than an incidental feature.
Practical/managerial implications: The findings guide practitioners, higher education institutions, and policymakers seeking to strengthen internships.
Contribution/value-add: The study contributes to human resource development scholarship by explaining how mentorship operates within graduate internship programmes in a high-unemployment setting.