For current-day job seekers, internships that provide real-world and hands-on experience are must-haves. In 2012, Forbes said 69 percent of companies with 100-plus employees offered full-time positions to their interns. This, along with the overall demand from employers for experience, demonstrates the boost internships often provide to college students’ resumes.

Many college students look toward internships as launching pads for their future careers. Thus, obtaining experiences is vital in fighting the stigma and reality of the jobless college graduate.

On March 21, The Daily Illini reported that the John Deere Technology Innovation Center located at the University of Illinois Research Park doubled in size to allow for more internship opportunities and employment for full-time faculty. Those speaking on behalf of the center said they aimed to add 50 more positions to the previous internship program. The addition hopes to raise the number of interns from the 47 of summer 2013 by more than 100 percent. In adding 50 new positions, the center will aid 50 additional students in building their resume, hopefully allowing them to confidently join the post-graduation workforce, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

The expansion of this program is one company’s step in the right direction toward increasing the availability of experience for students. In a perfect world, this would mean students would pursue these openings and become better prepared for post-graduation employment. Ideally, the promise of on-the-job experience and career-building opportunities should drive most students to apply for and hold multiple internships by the time they graduate.

However, not all students are taking advantage of internship opportunities, nor do all college graduates feel ready for the workforce. In fact, only about half of college graduates indicate feelings of readiness for the workplace, and bosses rate preparedness at less than 40 percent. These statistics are not terribly reassuring if we, as college students, hope to follow confidently into the footsteps of our elders.

The focus is primarily on us to reach out and apply for these positions, and not treat future employment as an afterthought. Internships must be made a priority and early preparation matters.

With an immense amount of resources and opportunities at our fingertips, like those offered by John Deere Technology Innovation Center, it is our job to take the reins and milk as much out of our time at the University as we can.

While the job market and surrounding financial circumstances are not the best, we are still responsible for taking advantage of opportunities and equipping ourselves with experiences that will prepare us for the workforce.

Though it’s great to see companies like John Deere helping students obtain internships to prepare for the workforce, we also must prepare ourselves.