Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands – The National Workplace Development Agency (NWDA) is inviting persons to participate in its National Internship Programme, an initiative which provides opportunities for participants to gain practical work experience and develop their skills and interests in various occupations. Launched in 2014, the Programme has had a number of successful partnerships with various companies in the community and the NWDA currently has three positions waiting to be filled with companies in the restaurant and tourism sectors.

Individuals interested in becoming an intern must be Caymanians who are registered with the NWDA, and at least 16 years old. Internships may commence at any point in time and the length of the experience will be determined by the Host Organisation.

“Internships are an excellent way to learn about an industry while acquiring some of the necessary skills and tools to be successful in that field,” explained Dianne Conolly, NWDA Manager of Training and Development. “Interns build relationships with their employers which can lead to future positions and networking opportunities that strengthen their careers. Studies have shown that people who participate in internships are typically more engaged in their learning, and develop a better work ethic and more skills and abilities. There really is no downside to doing an internship, and there are companies who are ready to offer them to enthusiastic, hardworking Caymanians.”

“The National Internship Programme is an example of a successful public-private partnership launched by this Government that brings young, promising talent and local businesses together to provide practical, relevant work experience for the interns while building our country’s workforce,” said Hon. Tara Rivers, Minister for Employment. “Internship programmes are an inexpensive way for employers to evaluate, train and recruit potential employees while interns bring current technology and ideas from the classroom into the workplace which increases a company’s intellectual capital. This initiative benefits all stakeholders, and we hope that young Caymanians will take advantage of these opportunities when they arise.”

For the past couple of years Prosperity Capital Management Limited has participated in the National Internship Programme, taking on young Caymanians for at least six months. Tanya Chin Yee, Operations Associate and Administrator at Prosperity says that the programme has worked very well and that Prosperity continues to see the benefits for the interns who take advantage of this opportunity.

“Prosperity values community involvement and we understand that being able to offer a young Caymanian the opportunity to work alongside us and experience the day-to-day workings of an office environment could play a significant role in his/her future career path and better position him/her for the workforce,” said Chin Yee. “We try to offer our interns a complete workplace experience by involving them in staff training sessions, one-on-one learning sessions where we teach them more in-depth details of our business, and by offering them a challenging level of responsibility.”

UCCI student Kisha Stewart completed a six-month internship with Prosperity Capital and says that she learned a lot about the business world as well as herself from the experience.

“The internship at Prosperity helped me grow from a student to a young professional. I got to meet a lot of great people who were always willing to help me if I had a question. There was pretty much an open door policy with my co-workers, and they were never too busy to give me guidance or advice that I needed,” said Stewart. “I would say the most important thing I learned about the workforce and being an employee is that each individual who is assigned a task, no matter how simple or complex it may be, contributes to the overall success or failure of a business. As far as what I learned about myself, I realised that I am an assertive, detail-oriented, efficient and organised person, and that I am able to work just as well in a team as I am independently.”

Stewart says she was able to gain a good introduction of Fund Management and Fund Administration while at Prosperity, which has proven to be very useful in her current job at a leading financial services firm.

For more information about the National Internship Programme contact the NWDA’s Training and Development Unit by email at [email protected] or call 945-3114.

 Photo Caption: Ms. Kisha Stewart, recent participant of the NWDA’s National Internship Programme.