With one of the highest rates of unemployment for young adults aged 20-24 at 11.1 percent, university students and recent graduates are searching for a way to move beyond this dismal statistic. Enter internships. Internships have a demonstrably important role in securing gainful employment with 63.1 percent of paid interns presented with a job opportunity after graduation and 37 percent of unpaid interns offered a permanent position in 2013. Both of these statistics are still higher than those who have never had an internship with an employment rate of 35.2 percent. Students who were paid also received a higher starting salary with an average of $51,930.