Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. A lot has been said about the poor management of the issue of the medical interns that has been on-going for the last few months.
That this is not the first time it is happening shows the level of importance the interns are given.
Perhaps now is a good time to also talk about interns of other professions and fields and the dilemmas they too face.
Every year, institutions of learning send out their students to intern in various offices and workplaces for an average period of two months.
This time is meant to provide the students an idea of what to expect once they finish their studies and get into the world of employment.
While the students and institutions might seem to be the bigger beneficiaries, there is a lot the employers can benefit from if they structure the process well.
First, they can begin to look out for those who have drive, skills and potential, and provide them with as much knowledge, with the plan being to recruit them as soon as possible. This saves them the trouble of looking for and training new hires at that level.
Secondly, the interns help provide labour which the organisations must not abuse but instead find ways to make it a win-win situation.
Thirdly, any forward-thinking company will partner with institutions who over time send through good students and potential employees their way, in order to tap from that resource.
Unfortunately, many organisations do not treat the interns well. Some ask them to pay for the time they will spend with them. Others mistreat and overwork them.
In addition to all that, female interns especially tend to be sexual prey for the men, many of whom swoop down on them as soon as they set foot in the building.
This is not the way internship ought to be viewed, as though the organisation is doing the student a favour.
Instead, organisations should create proper systems on how to provide lessons, support and skills for the interns, while also planning how to absorb the best of the lot who are willing to come back and work for them.
Interns might be young and a little naïve about the ways of the world and work. But so were many of us at their age.
If we want to have better employees, then we must treat interns in such a way as to make them want to work for our organisations and do great things when they get there.
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