As a young and passionate business student from the University of Rwanda-College of Business and Economics, Jacque Tuyishimire always looked forward to having an internship at the end of his course in preparation for the job market. However, after a one-month internship at an insurance company, he went back home short of the working experience he had longed for.

"Initially, I was lucky to get an internship placement at a company of my choice, and my hopes were high regarding the skills, knowledge and working experience I was hoping to get. But to my consternation, most of the employees were too busy to attend to any of my questions about their work, or spare some time to take me through their daily responsibilities,” Tuyishimire explains.

He says that his four weeks of internships did not pay off as expected since he neither gained the working experience he desired nor the links he hoped for because the company provided him very little guidance in spite of his passion to learn.

Similarly, Kellia Mbabazi Umulisa, a high school graduate, says her internship was more theoretical than practical, which left her yearning for more exposure at the end of the two months she invested in the exercise.

"As a media enthusiast, after my secondary school I went for internship at a Kigali- based media house, and though I learnt a lot regarding media policies, practices and reporting processes, I wasn’t given any opportunity to go out to the field and experience work outside office which I passionately wanted to try,” she says.

According to other intern students who shared their thoughts with Education Times, the above scenarios don’t come as a surprise to them since some of them have experienced the same, which they believe, is a major hindrance to making the most out of their internships.

Primarily, internship time is an opportunity for students to learn more about the working world, theoretically and practically, so they can grow their skills, contacts and knowledge about particular professions. It is through internships that most people gain the experiences which become building blocks to their professional development and help them discover their future careers.

It has been evidenced that some employers tend to ignore the presence, and the need for intern students to have an opportunity to learn more about work, and gain acquaintances with the professional environment.

On the other hand, some few companies embrace interns, spare time and resources to train, enlighten and expose them to the working world, and most importantly offer them job opportunities once they show competence or willingness to learn.

How interns can be helped

Oscar Budandi, the human resource manager and administrator of Q-Sourcing Rwanda Ltd, a human resource consulting and outsourcing company, says companies/employers should look at utilising of intern students as their corporate social responsibility.

"Employers should empower interns as a form of their contribution to the education sector. They should not let these interns be redundant at the workplace, but rather facilitate them to go deep and learn more about handling responsibilities and professional ethics,” he explains.

Budandi adds that employers should look at intern students as their potential future employees and thus endeavour to train them and ensure they are fully exposed to working knowledge and skills in line with their passion and careers.

This can be through workshops and provision of learning materials with company information to enable them learn more about the company’s chain of work, which makes them more proactive in the operations, he says.

For Rachael Uwambaje, the managing director of Iwacu Fashion and Designs Ltd, interns are more of a blessing to a company than a burden, and thus employers should embrace their presence and positively exploit them.

"Intern students tend to be more active and eager to learn, as such, employers should take this as an opportunity to fully equip them with the company’sinformation, skills and acquaintances, and on the other hand use them to build their brand as a company, while they facilitate them to gain working experience,” she says.

Experts say students who engage in internships tend to have a better view of the world around them, which shapes them into more responsible, self-reliant and competent at work.

According to Niceson Karungi, the IT business analyst at the Judiciary, intern students should also take an extra-mile to reap big during this period by making learning of new skills their ultimate goal.

”If internships are to be relevant, students need to show the employers that they are zealous about the cause, keen to learn, devoted to managing tasks and, most importantly, open to new ideas and professionalism. With that attitude, there is no doubt the employers will be delighted to facilitate them to make most out of their internship time,” she explains.

Karungi adds that, with the right attitude, interns will be able to grow within the field, become effective team players, widen their skills and abilities and gain acquaintances with different institutions/sectors as they develop their aspirations and future careers.

Parents welcomed the concept of internships, and told Education Times that this period helps their children to use their time out of school productively, most especially during the long holidays.

”There are no benefits for students sitting home after school or during the holidays. In my opinion, students engaging in work internships gain essential work knowledge, become responsible, and above all have a productive holiday,” says Thomas Louis Kasasira, a father of four and resident of Niboye sector in Kicukiro District.

Kasasira urges companies that receive intern students to give them an opportunity to explore as much as possible so that they can learn to take responsibility in the outside world.

Tito Gakire, a business student at Jomo Kenyatta University, Kigali, says employers should endeavour to have a person charged with training interns so they receive all the necessary attention and guidance regarding work and professionalism.

"Having intern supervisors and trainers would be an effective approach, not only in facilitating students to learn how to fit and excel in a professional environment, but it would also help in changing student’s attitude and helping them to take their work seriously,” he explains.

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STUDENTS HAVE THEIR SAY ON CHALLENGES

Kelly Muyanga, university studentThe main problem most interns face is logistics because going internship at any organisation comes with challenges like transport costs. The internship period is also not enough for one to know exactly how a company handles their activities.

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Sudi Murenzi, university studentSome students go to certain fields as interns while expecting a lot, and when they don’t satisfy their expectations, they get demoralised, which affects their performance. The supervisors end up giving a negative report about them which affects their chances of getting a good job in other places.

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Brandine Muhawenimana, university studentAdjusting to the rules and regulations offered by certain organisations is a challenge. As students, we are used to coming to school only when there is a class, but the case is different when doing internship. If you don’t know how to manage your time well, it can be a blow to your starting career.

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Yvette Uwimana, university studentI feel that there is still gender segregation when it comes to some fields. For example, in the area of construction, where some men still believe that they can do better than women. This will definitely affect a female student who is interning among such men.