By Samuel OYADONGHA

The Federal Government sponsored Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme SURE-P has organised a three day training programme for thirty Bayelsa graduate interns as part of effort s to make them employable and self reliant.

More insights were given during the three days training for the graduate interns in Yenagoa on why employers of labour in the country don’t engage fresh graduates in their organisations.

Project Director of  Subsidy Re-investment  and Empowerment Programe, SURE-P, Peter Papka, regretted that most firms require working experience for new workers uptake, which most graduates don ‘t have as the firms don’t wish to spend time and resources on green horns that may not eventually fit in.  According to the Project Director, that was why most graduates remain unemployed due to their inability to “hit the ground running.”

All the interns work in a private firm, Mount Tech Engineering Company , based  in the Bayelsa State capital.

He said, “Government observed this and came up with the Graduate Internship Scheme, GIS, to prepare them for this change. The GIS  commenced on October 9  last year with the mandate to engage 50,000 Nigerian graduates, by attaching them to firms where they will acquire working experience and skills.

”Each graduate is to be paid a stipend by government while on internship and is supposed to be on the scheme for a period of 12 months. Interns are also only being engaged in their neighbourhood, so they don”t have to spend much on transportation and other expenses.”

According to the Director, interns and firms had been mobilized for this scheme and matching had been taking place for about 900 out of the 85,000 that have shown interest. Over 200 firms out of about 1,900 have indicated interest.

”This curriculum for this training was designed in a way that the firm and the intern will give each other a second look and see each other as an opportunity on a platter,” he said.

But Isaac Ugu, Mountech Engineering representative at the Orientation and Employability Training Programme, stated that each intern was expected to have a workstation as they were attempting to bridge the gap between theory and practice as they were ill equipped to function in the practical world.

He disclosed that the company was looking forward to discussing the issue with the Federal Ministry of Finance while enjoining the interns to make maximum use of the opportunity before them.

Peru Adegoke, a consultant, lamented that the school system was not preparing students for the world, saying the major challenge was for the interns to know their expectations. Adegoke who took the interns on self awareness and understanding, stressed the need for self development as it was difficult to succeed in a competitive world without self development.