Internship as a Catalyst for Workforce Development: A Thematic Synthesis and the Case of “Passage to ASEAN”

Internships are widely promoted as a response to workforce skill gaps, yet they are often examined as isolated educational experiences rather than as components of regional workforce systems. This study addresses this gap by examining how internships can function as ecosystem-level mechanisms for workforce development. Drawing on a comprehensive literature review, the research proposes the Regional Internship Ecosystem Assessment Framework (RIEAF), which integrates institutional capacity, experiential design, and strategic outcomes through a continuous feedback loop. The framework is applied to a qualitative case study of Passage to ASEAN (P2A), using documentary analysis and 18 semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that P2A supports professional identity formation, technological adaptability, and cross-border employability, demonstrating the potential of regional internship networks to generate meaningful workforce outcomes. However, the transition from student mobility to coordinated workforce deployment remains largely informal in the absence of coordinated institutional mechanisms. The study, therefore, highlights the need for system-level mechanisms that capture and validate internship project portfolios and graduate competencies, enabling coordinated talent deployment and long-term workforce sustainability.