The private sector in Barbados and the rest of the region are being challenged to provide more work experience opportunities for University of the West Indies (UWI) students.
The call came on Thursday from Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the UWI, Cave Hill Campus Professor the Most Honourable Eudine Barriteau, who said she was glad for Barbados’ Give Back Programme that provided students with some level of experience, albeit through volunteerism.
She was speaking at a press conference to announce that three students from the Cave Hill Campus had been awarded internship opportunities in the United States and Europe, in collaboration with the West Indies Rum Distillery/Maison Ferrand.
“I wish to use this occasion to encourage a greater number of employers to partner with The UWI Cave Hill Campus to create more internship opportunities. The world of work is changing rapidly, there is now an even greater pressure being placed on graduates to be work-ready,” said Barriteau.
Pointing out that the job market was constantly evolving and new career opportunities were being created, the principal said while it was the university’s responsibility to train students to be adaptable, work experience is also critical.
“We urge businesses and other enterprises, therefore, to help these graduates improve their skills by exposing them to on-the-job training opportunities,” she urged.
The outgoing Cave Hill Campus principal said students were eager to get experience and share their talent and knowledge, as she recalled that some 3 599 Cave Hill Campus students registered with the national volunteer Give Back Programme over the last academic year.
This included 266 students who registered for the COVID-19 contact tracing on campus, 916 students for the government community evaluation and testing project, also known as Operation Seek and Save – way more than the approximately 300 that were needed. Some 575 students also registered for the national immunization campaign initiative which only required about 30 students.
The programme is designed to have students who receive free tertiary education give back by logging 100 hours in community service for part-time studies and 150 hours for full-time studies.
Guillaume Lamy, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Maison Ferrand USA, owners of the Plantation Rum brand, said the company wanted to give some of the students “a chance” to experience working in another environment where they could also share the Barbadian culture.
Lamy, who was hired by the company 22 years ago after an internship, said: “I was given a chance. Giving somebody a chance is not a small thing. I am glad they did. Their little cultural experiment of sending a French guy to the US worked.”
“I want to follow the same model that I used to build my career. I want to give that chance to many people on this island. There are many talented people in Barbados, some young students, and I have seen some of them already and I am impressed. The level of education in this country is incredible. We will not have them represent rum. We will have them represent the culture and that is more important than anything else,” he added.
Lamy gave the assurance that the internship programme, which forms part of a wider programme of collaboration between the Cave Hill Campus and the West Indies Rum Distillery, will be a long-term one.
Three business students from the Cave Hill Campus were selected from a group of 47 students who applied.
The internship, which will run from September 1 to November 30, will give students the opportunity for first-hand training in the areas of sales, marketing, brand-building, and inventory management in the export spirit industry.
The interns will be based in Dallas, Texas and Chicago, Illinois in the US, and in London in the United Kingdom, and will be paid a monthly stipend and receive accommodation for the duration of the internship. (MM)
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