Foreign chambers to offer internship program in RP

MANILA, Philippines - Foreign chambers are now offering internships to qualified college students as part of their program to bridge the jobs-skills mismatch in the country.

The American, Australian-New Zealand, British, Canadian, and European chambers of commerce announced they will allow even third year college students to work as interns in order to better train students before they enter the work force.

The internship program will be made available during the two-day Foreign Chambers Employment Expo 2010 which will open next week at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati City.

Foreign Chambers Employment Expo chairman and Australia-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce board member Chris Ward said there is a need to develop a dual training program where college students will have longer working hours in companies.

 “We want to collaborate with educational institutions in the country in helping students acquire the right competency and training needed to succeed in their chosen work after graduating from college,” Ward said.

 “The internship program that will be made available during the employment expo will allow students to understand better the rudiments of the work place, develop the proper skills, and the chance to be eventually hired by the same company after graduation,” he added.

Ward said the limited hours given to college students has resulted in an increasing number of underemployed and overemployed individuals over the past several years.

Government data showed there are more than 400,000 fresh college graduates yearly with unemployment rate last year reaching 7.50 percent.

The government has defined underemployment as those who want to work longer hours in their present jobs or are looking for a new job with longer hours. Overemployment meanwhile is described as those who work more than 48 hours a week in their present jobs while also having extra jobs.

Aside from the internship program, the latest edition of the employment expo will be offering a fresh 3,000 jobs ranging from technical jobs to executive positions with salary levels starting at P12,000 minimum.

Participating in the expo are 30 companies from the business process outsourcing, health care, real estate, and telecommunication industries. Since its start in 2007, the employment expo has shortlisted for hiring more close to 7,000 job applicants.