By Mike King
Work-based learning significantly improves the career prospects of high school and college students, but access remains uneven. Research and industry leaders have documented the positive impact of internships and other WBL (work-based learning) experiences on students’ outcomes. However, expanding those opportunities depends on getting far more employers to offer internships and on making those internships scalable. An analysis by Strada Education Network, where I serve as a trustee, confirms that internships produce measurable benefits—yet they are not available equitably. GG4L, an EdTech startup, is tackling this problem by creating a scalable virtual internship model that aims to reach many more students.
In recent years the education-to-career landscape has seen notable innovation. The IT sector, in particular, has led the way in developing clear career pathways. Demand for IT professionals has surged, with especially large needs in areas like cybersecurity. To meet this demand, many IT companies and consortia have developed certification programs that range from entry-level to advanced skills and are often available online. These programs provide sequenced credentials—stepping stones that help learners build employable skills in a structured way.
Because of these programs, learners can prepare rapidly for well-paying roles without necessarily completing a four-year degree. Major employers such as IBM, PwC, and Accenture have publicly committed to hiring people who demonstrate skills through certifications and career-focused training paths. This shift validates alternative routes into the workforce and increases options for students.
At GG4L we use 1EdTech integration standards to deliver a cloud-based integration service for schools and vendors. We’ve formed partnerships with Google, Amazon, Coursera, and other providers to bring IT training programs into high schools. Our platform simplifies deployment for vendors and districts, and we have helped implement programs like Grow with Google and Coursera Career Academy in many schools. Those programs allow high school students to earn badges and credentials in high-demand fields such as cloud computing and IT support.
As we built relationships with district career staff, a recurring need became clear: schools wanted deeper employer engagement. Many companies were willing to participate in career events, mentor students, or offer workplace advice, but far fewer were prepared to host the number of internships students needed. Traditional internship models create barriers for employers: interns require supervision and training, staff time must be dedicated to mentorship, and corporate security around customer data must be preserved. These constraints limit how many student placements a company can realistically support.
We believed technology could enable a different approach. Led by Wally Reeves, former CIO of Houston County School District in Georgia, we designed a virtual internship model intended to deliver the core elements of an internship digitally and to scale across many students and districts. The goal was to provide authentic, employer-informed experiences while lowering the logistical and security burdens that deter conventional internship programs.
The program’s foundation became a credential we defined: Certified School Passport Administrator (CSPA). School Passport is an integration platform used by many EdTech vendors and thousands of schools. The CSPA credential gives students a practical appreciation of enterprise software operations—the kind of responsibilities IT support teams handle when serving hundreds or thousands of users. Students learn about access control, user verification, data management, cybersecurity basics, troubleshooting common support issues, and producing reports for stakeholders. This broader enterprise perspective goes beyond typical consumer-focused technology experiences.
We built the virtual internship on the Coursera Career Academy platform, creating a syllabus that focused on enterprise software management and offering a “sandbox” where students could apply what they learned. Content was broken into manageable modules so learners could progress at their own pace. Activities included configuring software, assigning user permissions, creating reports, and diagnosing simulated customer support calls—tasks that mirror entry-level IT roles.
To add realism, we recorded a series of internal working sessions at GG4L and made them available to interns. Students could observe daily management standups, software development Scrum meetings, and live troubleshooting sessions, becoming a virtual “fly on the wall” and seeing how teams collaborate in practice. This combination of hands-on sandbox work and recorded real-world interactions helped position learning in the context of an actual workweek.
A major advantage of this model is that most activities are virtual and asynchronous, reducing the time burden on host staff while allowing many students to participate simultaneously. Synchronous sessions are used for module introductions, group discussion, and reflection, enabling cohort-based learning and peer exchange. Overall, the virtual internship approach can reach far more students than a traditional one-on-one internship model.
Students are at the start of their career journeys, and unrealistic expectations for work-based experiences often limit participation. By designing scalable, meaningful virtual internships that reflect real workplace skills without imposing heavy operational demands on employers, we can expand access to work-based learning across diverse communities.
Virtual internships should be an additional rung on the education-to-career ladder, not a replacement for in-person experiences. Our aim is to provide every student with meaningful WBL opportunities throughout their academic journey so that more learners gain the skills, context, and confidence needed for successful careers. With creativity, technology, and commitment from educators and employers, we can build models that reach many more students and help them transition into the workforce.
About the author
Michael King applies technology to the challenges of education and lifelong learning. He was the worldwide leader for IBM’s Education Industry, overseeing strategy, marketing, and sales across K–12 and higher education, and later directed IBM’s work on cognitive computing in education, bringing Watson into classrooms and campuses.
Michael serves as an advisor, investor, and board member to several EdTech startups. As a board member at Global Grid for Learning (GG4L), he helped shape a privacy-centered platform designed to modernize K–12 education.
This article was originally published by The Learning Counsel, a research institute and news media hub focused on the shift in education toward digital curriculum.