Evaluating the role of internships in shaping lifelong learning trajectories of technical vocational education and training undergraduates

Purpose The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of internship in shaping lifelong learning trajectories of technical vocational education and training undergraduates. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a descriptive survey design. Structural equation modelling was used with the extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to evaluate the role of internship in shaping lifelong learning among Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) undergraduates. The study group comprised 365 third- and fourth-year TVET undergraduates from higher institutions in Lagos State, Nigeria, selected through a multistage sampling technique. Data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) through SmartPLS 3.0. to analyse data collected for the study. Findings The result of the study shows that internship have a significant relationship with attitude, self-efficacy, subjective norms and behavioural intentions, but subjective norms only have significantly relationship with lifelong learning. Originality/value Students’ participation in internship gives them real work experience which will be beneficial to employers and complement technical vocational education programmes, as they are exposed to real-life situations.