Cayman Islands Government (CIG) Ministers and officials came together at the Government Administration Building on Tuesday, 11 August 2015 to say farewell to 120 interns who have worked for government this summer.

The one hour reception organised by the Chief Officer of the Civil Service, Ms Gloria McField-Nixon, and HR Benefits Coordinator for the Civil Service, Ms Christine Wright was well attended by the interns, elected officials, the Deputy Governor, Chief Officers, Heads of Department, and other civil service personnel.

Welcoming the attendees, Ms McField-Nixon noted that this year’s internship programme exceeded last year’s performance and the target set by the Deputy Governor’s to provide work experience for at least 100 Caymanian students.

Deputy Governor Hon. Franz Manderson said he was impressed at the large number of interns and the excellent reports he had received on their performance. Remembering his own journey beginning as an intern at age 15, with the Immigration Department, to becoming the Head of the Civil Service, he commented that every intern has the potential, through hard work, to rise through the ranks just as he did.

“I’m delighted that the Cayman Islands Government was able to give so many of our bright young Caymanians the opportunity to work with us.” He highlighted the opportunity the event provided interns to network with top government personnel and among themselves.

Interns were heavily involved in the afternoon’s programme, including PoCS interns Zachery Wright who performed the National Song and Victoria Ramos who led the prayer. Government Information Services (GIS) interns Japhia Augustine and Emelina Montoya presented a slideshow documenting the scores of students who had been working in agencies across the civil service. Again, GIS interns including Abigail Ebanks and Tre Dilbert were at work providing videography and photography services.

(GIS) Photo Captions Photos by Japhia Augustine, Emelina Montoya and Bina Mani

A group of interns enjoy the farewell do.

Deputy Governor Hon. Franz Manderson addresses the gathering.

Chief Officer of the Portfolio of the Civil Service, Ms Gloria McField-Nixon encourages the interns.

Deputy Governor Hon. Franz Manderson takes a photo with GIS interns Japhia Augustine (left) and Emelina Montoya (right).

L-R: Minister of Finance and Economic Development Marco Archer with Minister of Community Affairs, Youth and Sports Osbourne Bodden and son Gavin Bodden (middle).

Related story:

Ministry of Education appreciates contributions of summer interns

One of the roles of the Ministry of Education, Employment & Gender Affairs is to support our young people in their education and career development. One of the many ways this is done is by providing internship opportunities each year to college students in order to help them receive the hands-on experience needed in the working world.

This summer, the Ministry had four interns supporting different units throughout the Ministry and on 12th August, 2015, Minister Hon. Tara Rivers met with each intern to find out how they assisted staff and about their current and future education and career goals.

Minister Rivers commented, “It was important to me to meet the young, aspiring adults that were interning in my Ministry, to thank them for their contributions and to learn more about them and their career goals. It was truly a pleasure to take some time out of my day and chat with these very mature and capable young ladies. I’d like to publically thank them for their assistance over the summer, and I am delighted to hear that some of them will be staying on in a part-time capacity as they finish their degrees locally.”

Ms. Selena Smith is interning with the Scholarship Secretariat and supporting them with processing applications. Her assistance is very much appreciated as this is a peak time in the scholarship season with new applicants being approved and students going off to college in September. Ms. Smith is currently attending UCCI to obtain her Associates in Business Administration. She said, “I want to work in an office setting and having this experience in the Ministry is allowing me to experience what it’s like working in an office and what it’s like working in Government.”

Ms. Dominique Small who is also studying at UCCI to obtain her Associates in Business Administration is working in the Ministry’s Finance Unit, specifically in relation to Financial Reporting. Ms. Small enjoyed her experience saying, “I like the fact that I can put into reality what I have learnt in the classroom and also see how different the working world is. I’m very grateful for the experience I have gained this summer.”

Also supporting the Finance Team is Ms. Zhané Rambaran who has completed her Associates Degree in Science at UCCI. Ms. Rambaran is supporting the Unit with transactions and did not expect to enjoy finance so much. She said, “I did my Associates in Science because I took a few accounting courses and did not enjoy them. But now that I am in the Ministry, the Finance Team told me to give them a chance as I may actually enjoy the work, and I do! My experience has shown me how very different the classroom setting can be to actually using the information learned in the real working world. I’m very much enjoying working with the Finance Unit and I may reconsider my career choices now that I have had this experience.”

Ms. Hailee Robinson has completed her Bachelor’s Degree in International Development and Anthropology at McGill University and this September will attend Bristol University for a Masters in Law. Ms. Robinson has been supporting the Gender Affairs Unit as well providing support with the public consultation process for the Labour Relations Bill, 2015 and the National Pensions (Amendment) Bill, 2015. Ms. Robinson commented, “I’m really happy to get to learn about the process of developing legislation and get to actually read the laws and be involved in the public consultation process. This will definitely assist me as I pursue my degree in Law.”

College students studying either locally or overseas who are interested in interning with the Ministry can either call 244-2417 or email their resume to the Ministry’s Human Resources Unit at [email protected].