In our effort to share information & help others be competitive in the world of work, we often have a Space on Twitter to learn from each other. The idea was initiated by Felix Mwenge, a committed son of the soil. One of the topics was on internship in Zambia. The critical qualification was: "Internship in Zambia: entitlement graduates or exploitative employers?"
The topic brought out very serious issues that immediately needed attention to enhance employability of youths & open up opportunities for them in the job market. We must act now. Employers had their voices, youths who went thru internships shared their experiences (good/bad) & experts threw their weight too on internships. Thanks to Felix Mwenge & team for the great insight. You're building a different generation of youths. Summary of points shared:
1) Legal lacunas - The labour law is not clear on paying interns. An employer does it as s/he wishes. Further, an employer can't tell where they're within or outside the law. The Apprenticeship Act of 1964 is archaic & difficult to effectively implement an internship programme. Internship is not adequately provided for in the legal provision under the Apprenticeship Act of 1965. It provides for apprenticeship. It focuses on learning & not employment. Apprenticeship legislation was meant to balance skills gaps from graduates from universities.
2) Interns in NGOs- The interns learn the Civil Society Organization (CSO) works. The NGO system provides for learning & getting employed once the youths are acquainted with the CSO world. The duration is only 6 months to avoid labour law issues. Some perform well & get employed. Some CSOs have well structured internship programmes with thought out learning framework for interns. Stipends are paid to help interns meet logistics & never lose morale to do their best at their job. The space is a mentorship ground for the youths without work experience.
3) Attitude matters- Many youths need opportunities in the job market. It builds youths into job ready persons for the world of work. But their attitude is critical in grooming them into valuable assets for the job market. Bad attitude jeopardises their opportunities. It is very critical to have the right attitude towards work, time mgt, ethos & productivity virtues development, etc. Some youths are not ready to get 'dirty' when going thru the milling process for employability. They feel they're too elite to do certain tasks.
4) Employers & identifying essential skills - Hard & soft skills are highly sought by employers. However, most employers focus on hard skills & neglect soft skills e.g. attributes, attitude & values. Hard skills are typified with many skills gaps from their education.
Most graduates leave the education system without being grounded on hard skills (skills gaps, which negate their employability). learning institutions have left employers to retrain graduates as they're poorly prepared for the job market. This needs to change.
5) Interns & valuing opportunities- Our education system disadvantages youths. Thus, they should be ready to learn. What could have been done by universities is passed on to employers. Youths must utilize these opportunities. Entitlements cost career growth. There are youths who think the world owes them space for internship, the world is competitive. It has no time for babysitting anyone. The world of work needs skills, right attributes, attitudes & dedication. Employability is premium.
6) Informal internship- This happens a lot especially in the art industry. Many youths find spaces for internships in the industry. But due to systematic internship programmes in the sector, youths are abused sexually/emotionally, financially & go thru other bad experiences. Most youths are taken advantage of in the art/music industry as they try to enhance their employability. The industry is loosily monitored & players take advantage of the situation.
7) Work Based Learning (WBL) -Was developed to address lacunas in the Apprenticeship Act. It provides for informal & formal internships, industrial attachments & apprenticeships. This is a long term capacity building platform to enhance employability of youths across sectors. WBL provides for people to learn at work for their employability sharpening. It is a way out of legal lapses in the Apprenticeship Act of 1964. It is broader & provides for financing Internships by a sustained financing mechanism.
8) Rebate for internship- the WBL provides for rebates to attract organizations to take on interns. Stipends are needed for youths to get by as they intern. Without paying them, it remains a preserve of the well to do. We need to broaden it to cover any youth across the country.
There are thoughts to use part of CDF to finance i) internships ii) industrial attachments & Apprenticeships; won't it help enhance graduates' employability & smoothen their transition into the job market. We already have skills bursary under CDF, can we extend it to internship?
The thoughts are that if a youth has an internship opportunity at Zambia Sugar, proceeds of CDF can meet my internship stipend for my movement to & Zambia Sugar & upkeep for the period of internship. That will give me some pride & decent as I find my footing in the job market. Trade Kings Group of companies can take several youths, have a system to document practical knowledge & competencies they're gain & competency certificates can be given afterwards for all those who complete the program. The knowledge/competencies will become practial experience
Companies in agriculture, manufacturing, construction, etc who take up interns can get REBATES or upfront payment for being part of the human capital development program under Internship, Apprenticeship & Industrial Attachments. We've to find a way of making it work. The Skills Development Fund (SDF) may take care of costs when it comes to those in technical & vocational training whilst CDF takes care of costs for those outside technical & vocational training or something like that. We can refine the thoughts we we learn lessons from experiences.
In Zimbabwe under the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (ZIMDEF), two types of Apprenticeships apply: i) recruited by GRZ thru Industrial Training & Trade Testing Department & ii) direct recruited by employers. ZIMDEF meets costs for apprenticees across companies. In Kenya, taking up internships/apprenticees is part of PKIs for both GRZ agencies & GRZ departments. Interns are NOT mere erand boys/girls. A training plan is done & log books are used to document competencies acquired in the process e.g. using E-GP System, filing taxes, etc
What this has done is creating a collective responsibility to provide "work experience" to graduates. It has become a national responsibility whether in private or public sector. Each sector plays their role & the country wins in enhancing employability of youths.
9) UN internships- It is not paid up. You have to meet your own logistics & any other costs to go by with the internships. Your internship at the UN is for personal growth. Payment won't come your way. You should have the means to sustain your needs during internship. This is an elitist system that has no space for those who can't meet their upkeep & other costs involved during the internship. The UN needs to rethink its model to create inclusive internship opportunities.
10) What interns are NOT- They are not an extension of your house keepers. Never limit them to doing errands & never learn anything from it. You're wasting time for the youths by making the errand runners. Develop a training plan for them & mentor them to improve employability. Some organisations have no learning frameworks for the interns, they end up during errands for anyone who is too busy with real work stuff. The interns don't learn anything the end of their internship. Their time is wasted.
11) Talent building - Interns are talented & great minds to drive organization goals. With good mentorship programmes, we can build vibrant talents & national human resources capital for wealth & job creation. We must harness them & their potential. A well thought learning framework is needed for the interns to benefit from any internship opportunity.
12) Don't settle for abuse - You won't learn anything in any abusive space. You're being abused only. Whenever you get an internship, there should be a structured learning framework to show the kind of mentorship you will go through to build skills to improve your employability.
13) Paid or unpaid internship- Any unpaid internship should come with a learning framework. You should get value from it. You're spending money to get to the organization for your internship, get value for it. Without value from the intership, you're better off being home & focusing on other things. You will be comfortable in an internship program that add no value to your life.
14) Deliver value - Get an internship with good attributes & values that help organizations see the importance of Keeping you. When you add value, no employer will let you go. Unless the organization is bad at identifying talent, nurture it & utilize it.
Way forward
15) Database - We need a database for skilled youths across sectors for organizations to pick talent to take up as interns.
16) National Internship Programme - A stipend should be provided for the smooth transition of youths into the world of work.
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