From Internship to Employment: Investigating Interns’ Career Intention in the Hotel Industry, Malaysia

Many interns decide to work in different fields after graduation has caused challenge in the hotel industry to retain young talents. In this research, Theory of Planned Behaviour provides a structured approach to assess how attitude (pay, work environment and work attitude), social norm (peer influence) and perceived behavioral control (career development confidence) influence interns’ career intention in hotel industry. A quantitative methodology was employed, using online survey to collect data from 200 respondents undergoing internships in hotel industry, Malaysia. The key findings revealed that work attitude, peer influence and career development confidence significantly influenced interns' career intention. The results of this study provide insights for the hotel industry to better comprehend the expectations of interns as well as the immediate need for strategic approaches to internship programs, transforming them into effective pipelines for nurturing long-term talent in the hotel industry.

Internship, Career, Hotel, Malaysia

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