Why internships matter for students with intellectual disabilities

An internship is a common way for students to gain experience in a real-world work environment. That first day can bring both nerves and excitement. For students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), the internship experience is far more significant than merely finding a job—it offers the possibility of independence, inclusion, and recognition in a labor market that has often excluded them.

A study by Conxita Folguera Bellmunt, a researcher at Esade's Institute for Labor Studies, explores how supported internships can help students with IDD prepare for working life in typical company environments rather than in segregated workplaces. Folguera evaluated vocational training programs in Catalonia that combine internships with structured support from tutors, schools, workplace mentors, and supported employment organizations.

According to Folguera, with a fully supportive network in place, these internships can not only transform how students see themselves, but also how companies perceive disability, and how inclusion is understood in the workplace.

A labor market that still excludes many people

Diversity and inclusion in the workplace has seen some improvement, but people with IDD continue to be significantly underrepresented in the labor market. A European Disability Form report shows that only 51.3 per cent of active, working-age persons with disabilities in the EU are in paid employment, with women and young people at an even bigger disadvantage.

Folguera’s study focused on Catalonia, where only one in five people with IDD has a job. And over 70 per cent of those employed work in segregated centers rather than regular workplaces.

Supported internships aim to change this reality. Rather than isolating those with disabilities in sheltered environments, the idea is to allow people with IDD to access the same jobs as everybody else. The key is that they receive support from tutors, job coaches, and workplace mentors who help them adapt to new environments and responsibilities.

Helping students integrate more independently and confidently into working life can play an important role in tackling some of the deeper causes of exclusion.

Internships that teach more than technical skills

What emerged from the study was that the value of supported internships extends further than just training students to do jobs. Folguera observed workshops where the students discussed their workplace experiences, challenges, and learnings.

What mattered most to the IDD students was autonomy, such as the ability to commute to work on public transport. Students also valued gaining the confidence to speak to colleagues, ask questions, or navigate new situations.

Folguera found that this process of reflecting on their experiences helped students develop autonomy, self-esteem, and assertiveness. Often, those with IDD find themselves overprotected by concerned colleagues who don’t fully understand their capabilities, but with support, students were encouraged to make decisions, solve problems, and participate actively in workplace life.

As one student explained: “We do the same jobs as other people.” Recognizing this helped students gain confidence.

By opening access to the labor market, the interns also gained an understanding of jobs that may not actually be a good fit. This realization isn’t a negative, as it strengthens students’ self-awareness and decision-making.

As Folguera says, “Internships are a tool that increases their self-determination.” The experience of participating in a real workplace can therefore become a crucial step not only toward employment, but toward greater overall independence in everyday life.

Inclusion changes companies, too

A positive and surprising finding from the study was that including students with IDD changed the culture of the workplace.

In Catalonia in the 1990s, several pioneers introduced supported employment for people with Down syndrome. At that time, some employers viewed workers with Down syndrome as “Very nice, very kind, but not productive.”

But these misconceptions about intellectual disability can be changed. Once the internships began, workplace relationships developed.

One interviewee described how attitudes evolved after companies experienced supported employment directly: “When a person with IDD enters the workplace, a new, more welcoming climate is created.”

Folguera’s findings indicate that companies that rethink how they define capability and contribution will gain huge benefits. The research points to reduced fear, better-balanced support, and more inclusive workplace relationships.

The study argues that internships can be especially effective because they offer companies a structured and lower-risk introduction to inclusion. Employers are not left alone; they receive guidance from schools and supported employment organizations throughout the internship.

Why inclusion has to be collaborative

While the inclusion of IDD students in the workplace has great transformational power for both students and the company, it requires collaboration between many actors. It’s a shared learning process between students, tutors, schools, employers, co-workers, and supported employment specialists. Done well, students grow in confidence and improve communication skills, and companies break down assumptions about disability.

Importantly, Folguera argues that meaningful inclusion is not about asking people to hide who they are in order to fit into workplace norms. “Inclusion is about being able to belong without renouncing your own self,” she says.

The deeper understanding is that real inclusion requires changing the conditions that create exclusion in the first place. Supported internships are an important tool to encourage autonomy and visibility for IDD students while also encouraging companies to rethink fixed assumptions about workplace culture and what is commonly expected of intellectually disabled people in the workforce.

Change in the right direction

In 2026, European companies are facing significant labor shortages and increasing pressure to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion. Therefore, employing people with intellectual disabilities may represent an untapped opportunity.

In May 2026, the European Commission expanded its Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030 to make the workplace more inclusive. The EU also published the Disability Employment Package and related studies, designed to support the shift of disabled workers away from sheltered work environments and into the mainstream labor market.

Spain specifically mandates that companies with more than 50 employees must reserve 2 per cent of their jobs for disabled workers.

Given these broader shifts, supported internships offer an important path for disabled people to gain meaningful jobs.

A different vision of employability

Folguera argues that supported internships can help organizations rethink how they understand talent, capability, and contribution.

The most significant transformation described in the study may therefore be the simplest: moving from a culture that focuses on limitations to one that recognizes potential.