At Audible, we envision a world where the transformative power of stories and imagination catalyzes a more equitable society. We work to make a positive impact across three pillars: amplifying emerging creators, developing opportunities for youth, and investing in our neighborhoods.
Young people today represent the storytellers, innovators and leaders of tomorrow. We work to expand access and opportunities for youth around the world, equipping young people with the skills to realize their full potential. To support this effort, we launched our Future Leaders internship program in 2007, the year Audible moved its headquarters to Newark, NJ.
Recognizing that only 2% of U.S. students have the opportunity to intern in high school, and that nearly 20% of Newark’s teens and young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 do not attend school or have a job, Future Leaders provides a year-long paid workplace immersion program for local high school students in Newark and other Audible hubs (such as Cambridge and Los Angeles). 98% of Future Leaders go on to graduate college with a bachelor’s degree – compared to 41% of Americans aged 25 to 29 years old – putting them on a path for future success.
Audible is reimagining high school internships by offering one of the few year-round, paid programs where students work alongside professionals at a global company while receiving school credit. In one year, interns accumulate over 700 hours of work experience, immersing themselves in real-world projects and challenges. Through groundbreaking collaborations with local schools and education-focused organizations, this distinctive model integrates immersive work experiences into students' academic journeys, providing an invaluable opportunity for students from underserved communities to access meaningful, career-building experiences rarely available at the high school level. Future Leaders work across teams at Audible – from engineering and law to marketing and recruiting – enriching Audible’s company culture and deepening our employees’ ties to our local communities.
The program not only empowers underserved students by providing invaluable career-building opportunities, but also provides Audible employees with important professional development experiences. Employees note that serving as an intern-manager helps them improve skills relevant to their professional development, strengthens their confidence as managers, and positively impacts their career growth. Audible staff who participate in the program as intern managers provide end-to-end support for students, from before they join Audible through to matriculation. This includes a two-week pre-internship training program that kicks off the experience and provides students with the technical and soft skills for a successful start at Audible and beyond. During the course of the internship, employees lead career-building workshops and classes that deepen students’ knowledge in fields from Structured Query Language (SQL) and sales training to video editing, podcast production and audio narration.
Future Leaders alumni feel the program not only enhances their professional skills and career readiness, but also enhances their social capital, helping them build critical relationships and professional networks. The program provides students with important career-building experiences and helps them feel more equipped to establish connections within their own communities, in turn enhancing the overall social fabric of Newark, NJ.
A 2024 study by Audible showed that Future Leaders alumni see increased success in their undergraduate studies and careers. 100% of Future Leaders are accepted into college and graduate at dramatically higher rates than their peers. 98% graduate from a four-year college with a bachelor’s degree, compared to 41% of Americans, 32% of Black Americans, and 24% of Hispanic Americans aged 25-29. The Future Leaders graduation rate also far exceeds that of Newark’s school district, where only 20% of students graduate from a four-year college with a bachelor’s degree.
After graduating college, most alumni complete progressive internships, outpacing national benchmarks for Black and Latino college graduates. 66% of alumni say the Future Leaders experience allowed them to secure higher-quality internships and/or jobs than they otherwise would have. Research shows that employment rates are higher for those who complete an internship, and the odds of underemployment among graduates who had an internship are 49% lower than those who did not. The effects of the program also extend beyond students’ time at Audible: 71% of Future Leaders alumni in their early careers are employed, along with 100% of alumni further into their careers. This year marked Audible’s largest yet class of Future Leaders, demonstrating how the program continues to grow and multiply its impact.
