Learning about the world of work

At the start of the 2019 summer holidays, The Barbados Light and Power Company engaged 21 students as part of its annual Summer Internship Programme.

The students were from tertiary level institutions such as the Barbados Community College, the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology, the University of the West Indies, and overseas universities. The programme is designed to give successful candidates first-hand exposure of working in the real world to develop their technical and analytical skills. Guaranteeing interns gain valuable work experience, allowing them to establish business relationships and helping them to identify possible long-term career opportunities are important objectives of the Summer Intern programme.

According to Manager Human Resources Gail-Ann King, “The programme is in its third year and growing stronger. [It] brings highly motivated students from diverse backgrounds together to work with us to achieve our business objectives. The interns are a wonderful challenge to how we think and operate in our respective teams and the Company derives benefits from these fresh perspectives.

“At the same time, Light & Power makes an impact on the students’ development, ensuring they are starting their career on the right track, by exposing them to learning and development workshops and on the job coaching to build their soft skills in areas such as communication, punctuality and time management.

Summer interns got some insights into how to make the best of the opportunity from some of the company’s professionals who gave off their time to share experiences.

Director of Operations Johann Greaves knows something about being an intern and shared his experience as a past Light & Power summer student and how it has led to his successful career with the Company.

Manager Communications and Government Relations Jackie Marshall-Clarke told the students how to effectively market and position themselves for their future roles, and Manager Finance Eleanor Morgan tutored them on the importance of budgeting when they start to earn a regular salary.

“Every year, we ask for feedback from our student interns. Unanimously this year, we heard that the programme was a success. This year, our interns commented on the programme being welcoming and how they felt as though business leaders and colleagues were genuinely concerned about their growth. As a Company, we were indeed happy with the outcome of the programme and remain committed to the development of the youth in Barbados,” said Ms King. (PR)