Blog Content
November 2, 2026
NEBHE's Learn & Earn Challenge brings together new research, employer and student surveys, and regional partnerships to strengthen New England's talent pipeline.
The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) and The New England Council (NEC), in partnership with the Burning Glass Institute (BGI), will host The Internship Imperative: Strengthening New England's Talent Pipeline on Tuesday, November 10, at the UMass Club in Boston.
The breakfast program and research report launch will bring together leaders from business, higher education, workforce development, and research to examine the region's internship landscape, identify barriers to paid opportunities, and explore solutions to strengthen New England's future workforce.
The event marks an important milestone in NEBHE's Learn & Earn Challenge, a coordinated regional effort to expand access to high-quality, paid internships and strengthen the connections between higher education and employment.
The New England Learn & Earn Challenge is designed to build a sustainable, scalable internship ecosystem across all six New England states.
The initiative is guided by three overarching goals:
Achieving these goals requires a clearer understanding of the challenges facing students and employers, stronger partnerships between businesses and higher education institutions, and coordinated regional action.
To advance this work, NEBHE is collaborating with the Burning Glass Institute, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), Strada Education Foundation, and The New England Council on three interconnected research and engagement initiatives.
NEBHE has partnered with the Burning Glass Institute to conduct national and regional analyses of paid internship opportunities and their relationship to entry-level hiring and students' successful transitions from college into the workforce.
On November 10, NEBHE, The New England Council, and the Burning Glass Institute will launch The Internship Imperative: Leveraging New England's Talent and Higher Education Advantage, a new report examining the structural factors shaping internship opportunities across the region.
The research explores how employer capacity, geography, industry characteristics, and institutional partnerships influence the availability of internships and the development of early-career talent.
The findings will help inform strategies for expanding paid internships, strengthening employer-higher education collaboration, and building more effective pathways into New England's workforce.
November 10 Report Launch and Discussion
Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Time: 8–10 a.m.
Location: UMass Club, 1 Beacon St., 32nd Floor, Boston, MA
Featured speakers and participants:
Moderator: Kevin Grubb, Vice President, Work-Based Learning, Strada Education Foundation
View Event Details and Register
Understanding employer needs and challenges is essential to expanding high-quality internship opportunities.
In partnership with the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), NEBHE is launching the New England Early Talent Pipeline Employer Survey to examine how employers across the six New England states approach early-career hiring and work-based learning.
The survey will explore:
Findings will be shared in a research report and through public events across New England beginning in spring 2027.
The results will help identify employer challenges, inform strategies to increase internship participation, and strengthen collaboration between businesses and higher education institutions.
Student perspectives are equally important to understanding the region's internship landscape.
In partnership with Strada Education Foundation, NEBHE will undertake a regional survey of students attending public and independent two- and four-year postsecondary institutions across all six New England states.
New England will be the first region to survey students at this scale about their experiences with two activities linked to improved postgraduation outcomes: work-based learning and quality education-to-career guidance.
The no-cost survey will target seniors at participating institutions, providing insights into students' experiences, access to opportunities, and preparation for the transition from college into employment.
Participating institutions will receive reports containing their own results, along with state-level comparison data, to help identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities for improvement.
Survey timeline: March–June 2027.
The initiative represents an opportunity to establish comparable regional benchmarks and better understand how institutions can support students' career readiness and access to meaningful work-based learning experiences.
Together, the Burning Glass Institute research, NACE employer survey, and Strada student survey will provide a more comprehensive understanding of New England's internship ecosystem.
Each contributes an essential perspective:
By connecting these findings with regional business leadership and higher education partnerships, NEBHE's Learn & Earn Challenge aims to move beyond identifying challenges toward developing practical, scalable solutions.
The success of the Learn & Earn Challenge depends on broad regional participation.
Businesses, industry leaders, and associations can help by sharing research findings, participating in and promoting the employer survey, encouraging companies of all sizes to engage, and supporting strategies that expand paid work-based learning opportunities.
Higher education commissioners, systems, colleges, and universities can contribute by sharing the research, supporting institutional participation in the student survey, identifying campus contacts, encouraging students to participate, and using findings to strengthen institutional and statewide strategies.
These collaborative efforts can help build a stronger regional internship infrastructure, reduce barriers to participation, and create more meaningful connections between students and employers.
Internships provide students with practical experience, professional connections, and opportunities to explore career pathways. For employers, they offer a way to identify emerging talent, develop future employees, and build relationships with colleges and universities.
Yet access to high-quality paid internships remains uneven, and many employers face challenges establishing or expanding structured internship programs.
Addressing these barriers is important not only for student success but also for New England's long-term economic competitiveness and ability to attract, develop, and retain talent.
Through the Learn & Earn Challenge, NEBHE is working with regional and national partners to translate research into practical solutions that benefit students, employers, and the region's economy.
Important conversations drive meaningful change.
Interested in new research on paid internships and exploring ways to strengthen New England's talent pipeline?
Join NEBHE, The New England Council, and the Burning Glass Institute on November 10 for The Internship Imperative, a conversation bringing together leaders across sectors to exchange perspectives, examine new findings, and explore actionable solutions.
View Event Details and Register
Stay Connected: Follow the New England Board of Higher Education on LinkedIn and visit nebhe.org for updates on the Learn & Earn Challenge, upcoming research, and opportunities to participate.