“Internship Programs, Win-Win Opportunity” workshop

LoYAC Jordan recently held the “Internship Programs, Win-Win Opportunity” workshop for HR managers of LoYAC’s hosting companies to discuss best practices for “Darb”, a program that offers summer internships for university students.

“Darb” aspires to bridge the gap between education and employment by better preparing students for the workplace and enhancing their sense of independence and responsibility. In its most recent installment, 5637 students applied from all governorates, of which 2049 were interviewed and screened, and 1139 were trained.

Part of the program’s requirements was 18 hours of community service to be fulfilled by each student as a way to emphasize the importance of giving back to the community, and to foster the spirit of volunteerism in our youth. Upon the conclusion of the program, 824 students successfully completed the requirements and graduated while completing a total of 18171 hours of community service.

Rozan Khalifeh, a Program Officer at LoYAC, mentioned the important initiatives carried out by volunteers at the organization, and shed light on the success of “Darb”, which started in 2008, in terms of the yearly increase in the number of companies - both in the public and private sector - and the number of applicants and hours of community service.

Mr. Majed Melhem, HR manager at a multinational firm in Amman, explained the internship process, starting with finding the right opportunities, all the way to evaluating the interns. He also stressed the importance of the role companies play in actually training the interns. Mr. Majed prepared exercises for the participants to help grasp the different benefits “Darb” offers for students, companies, and the community as a whole. The exercises helped clarify and share obstacles faced by HR managers in the internship process and finding ways to address them.

The workshop featured two distinguished students, Khalid Hasanat and Sonia Ziadeh, who shared their experience at “Darb” and how it helped them choose their career path. Representatives of companies that previously participated in the program shared their experience and the benefits the program have brought forth to their companies, and also highlighted future room for improvement.

The workshop concluded with recommendations on how to take advantage of the opportunities that “Darb” program offers for both participating students and companies.