INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES IN UGANDA

Internship refers to a fixed hands-on work experience given to students. Internships are a form of work experience that allows professionals to develop their knowledge in a certain field. Internships can sometimes go for a few weeks or months. 

The company or organization policies determine if the interns will have a paid or unpaid internship. For instance, during the internship, you can work for the company and participate in projects, meetings, and job shadowing opportunities. The program is all about learning and gaining skills in the chosen industry.

There are many types of internships;

• Paid internships; some companies have some money allocated to that program and pay some money to the interns. For example, paid internships exist in both the private and public sector
• Unpaid internships; smaller companies are unable or cannot afford to pay their interns, even so, this does not mean that they are unable to offer fantastic programs and great learning.
• Non-profit internships; are non-profit organizations that do not have stockholders or owners so they are like volunteer programs
• University internships; universities require their students to undergo training/internships. Lecturers and tutors strictly manage the opportunities.
• Externships; take a few days or weeks furthermore they are generally less about working but more focused on job shadowing. They offer networking opportunities.

Ways of finding an internship place.

ü One can locate one by looking online. One can use job search websites, government websites, and social media.

ü One is also able to locate an internship program by asking the institution where one studies from. Internships are often advertised by universities and high schools on posters, flyers, and pinboards so you are advised to look there.

ü Always check with your favorite organizations; if you have a favorite company you should always check their website to see if they are accepting.

Objectives of a student’s internship

• It enables students to acquire the necessary skills and work ethics
• To prepare and orient student interns towards developing the skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed to become effective employees as one secures employment elsewhere.
• It enables interns to learn the nature and operations of public organizations and professional conduct.
• To expose interns to formal and informal relations in an organization that underlie the development of favorable human relations and teamwork.

Benefits of internships to students

Internships give students actual work experience in the field. Besides the theoretical notes in classes and lecture rooms. This is the practical part of all the theory studied one gets to have hands-on and you get the opportunity to transfer all the class knowledge to the work field. 

Internship helps in the application of knowledge at the workplace. This is the only place where one gets to apply and exercise the learned knowledge in class to a practical part in the field.

An internship allows you to network with professions at the workplace. Furthermore, the intern gets to exchange ideas from the bosses, from fellow interns who provide support to mentors who are key players in the company. Similarly, it also gives you a position to be surrounded by the right people to guide you.

It also enables the interns to get firsthand information at the workplace. It’s hard to understand what it takes to create a marketable article but on an internship, you can understand how much is needed to create one.

An internship allows doing field experiments at the company. One may not be in a position to work for a given company or organization however, he/she can choose to stay around and see how things may go around during the given time.

The internship program helps the intern to get marks or college Credit specifically from the lectures and the field supervisors. These credits are added up to the final results that enable one graduate to achieve a degree.

Increased professional confidence of a person is got during Internship. As you work in the field you get to interact with high profile people and you get to know how they relate with other people, how they talk and do things in the field. This helps to boost your confidence at the workplace.

In a nutshell,

internship opportunities in Uganda give interns the time to practice what they have studied in classes. The companies and organizations should also put in all of what they have to train the interns to be successful in their professional careers.