Five CAPE students participate in Match Me Programme at HDC

Five CAPE students participate in Match Me Programme at HDC

Sixth form students often experience challenges in attaining work experience and therefore may be unable to transfer the knowledge from their classrooms to a work environment. It is for this reason that the Trinidad and Tobago Housing Development Corporation (HDC) partnered with the Match Me Internship Programme. For the next five weeks, commencing July 15, five 6^th form students will have the opportunity to explore their career interests, gain experience in the world of work and be mentored by team of managers and heads of department.

The MatchMe Project Internship Programme is a youth development programme that engages the private and public sector to accept students at their respective entities for a 4-6-week period. During this period, the students participate in several character building and professional development activities such as résumé writing and interviewing workshops, volunteerism activities and presentation workshops.

In his remarks to the sixth form students, HDC’s Divisional Manager, Human Resource, Bryan Jackson indicated that “a key responsibility of the HDC is to help our country’s young people develop and grow. We therefore view this Match Me Internship Programme as a great complement to our other corporate responsibility initiatives.” The programme, he added, is “a wonderful experience for young students to explore possible careers and cement those interests and passions when they proceed to the next phase.”

In addition to the Match Me Internship Programme, on June 04, the HDC also welcomed twenty-one (21) final year university students as part of its annual University Internship to Leadership Programme. These tertiary level-students have been integrated into various fields including project development, construction management, finance, social work, legal and corporate communications. The main objective of this programme, which is in its seventh year, is to provide each student with the requisite industry experience in their respective fields of study while providing opportunities for leadership and professional development.

It is the HDC’s hope that at the end of these programmes, the interns will be more marketable to employers, they would have gained valuable knowledge and experience, specific to the industry and would have increased self confidence in the workplace. Since the commencement of the HDC’s Internship to Leadership Programme, the HDC has employed over twenty (20) former interns in a permanent capacity within the organisation.