Engineering our future: internships delivering returns for business

By Emma Flanders 23 October 2026 4 min read

Key points

With youth unemployment more than double the national rate, internship programs help businesses prepare and train Australia’s next generation.
CSIRO internship programs (Generation STEM Links and NSW Skills for Net Zero) provide NSW-based businesses access to high-quality tertiary candidates, which often lead to ongoing employment. 
Generation STEM Links Cost-Benefit Analysis highlighted an $11.0 million in economic benefit for industry – an economic return of $6.13 for every dollar invested.

Lucas Lane was studying mechanical engineering at Macquarie University, desperately searching for workplace experience to meet his study requirements.

“Getting a placement was actually pretty difficult. Even just getting interviews was hard,” shared Lucas.

After many attempts applying for industry experience, Lucas came across a placement facilitated via Generation STEM Links – a CSIRO-delivered internship program that connects industry with tertiary STEM students through paid placements across NSW.

Generation STEM Links (the program) introduced Lucas to LDG Engineering, and he was put straight to work as a project coordinator.

“For a 200-hour internship, I feel like I was given a lot of responsibility and I learnt very quickly,” said Lucas.

LDG General Manager, Luis Omeros said Lucas was the perfect fit for the business, so they offered him ongoing employment post-internship.

“Lucas already had a lot of technical knowledge; he picked up drafting and other duties quite quicky,” said Luis.

“So innately, he was already contributing to our business in that way.

“Deciding on offering him a role after his placement was easy for us because he was part of the team straight away, fit in very well and he had all the skills that we needed.

“He had the personality, he had the technical ability, and it was not even a thought, it was just obvious that he was going to continue with us.”

Lucas (left) talking to laser machine operator (right) about a job he was coordinating/managing.

Internship programs that create connections and get results

The financial value of the program has now also been established.

The Generation STEM Links Cost-Benefit Analysis reveals:

$11 million in economic benefit for industry
An economic return of $6.13 for every dollar invested
76% of interns were offered employment, with a 91% offer acceptance rate
students gained $1.3 million through the analysis by earlier entry into paid STEM employment.

Industry participants surveyed for the analysis reported the program:

made recruitment easier
helped fill workforce capability gaps
improved productivity through project support and
provided access to high-quality STEM candidates reducing hiring risk.

With youth unemployment more than double the national average, programs – like Generation STEM Links – help businesses secure strong tertiary talent, which benefits our economy.

The report also showed the program improved access to meaningful STEM workplace experience for underrepresented groups.

Making internships easier for businesses

CSIRO’s internship programs are tailored to companies’ needs and provide support throughout the internship.

The Generation STEM Links Cost-Benefit Analysis showed that 80% of surveyed businesses were first time intern hosts and 86% were SMEs. Participants shared their positive experience with 94% of students stating they would recommend the program to their peers and 98% of industry partners would recommend the program to other businesses.

Luis shared how much the program helped to guide LDG.

“We wanted to find an intern, we just had no clear direction of how to do it. But Generation STEM Links helped us,” shared Luis.

“The best thing was when it first started, we got three candidates recommended to us that were all relevant and they were all about right for what we wanted.”

Sally Townsend and April Ridge connect for the internship experience at Blackmores

The Blackmores Group participated in our NSW skills for Net Zero internship program, delivered by CSIRO and funded by the NSW Government.

Sally Townsend, Head of Sustainability for the Blackmores Group echoed Luis’ sentiments.

“Without the NSW Skills for Net Zero program, we would have had to approach universities, design a role, advertise, manage recruitment — the list goes on,” said Sally.

“There are so many hurdles within a business to be able to develop our own internship program, whereas this was offered in a way that made it very easy for us.”

And for the interns?

Lucas believes the program advanced his experience and job prospects ten-fold.

“This internship really kick-started my career,” Lucas said.

“I feel like I'm already a couple years out of uni. I have learnt skills such as project management that I could take anywhere.

“This internship has really given me a lot of confidence and without this experience there's no way I could have started in this role. My internship was pretty much my training for this job.”

Generation STEM Links is delivered by CSIRO Generation STEM, a 10-year initiative aimed at diversifying the STEM pipeline in NSW.