MONROVIA: As part of its effort to maintain roads and bridges in the Country, 20 young professionals are expected to be recruited for the second cohort internship program of the National Road Fund of Liberia (NRFL).
The Nation Road Fund internship which is expected to be launched is a platform that provides opportunity and gives avenue for young professionals to be exposed to working environments.
According to the NRFL, more than 60% of Liberia’s population is made of young people, an indication that they must take charge in terms of the development of the country.
The pronouncement was made by officials of the NRFL on Tuesday, September 23, 2024 when they appeared on the Super Morning Show on ELBC Radio in Paynesville.
Speaking on the achievements of the program, the Chief Program Officer of the NRFL, Albert K. Samukai, highlighted that looking at the current workforce particularly in the technical areas of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, the Road Fund sees a big gap in terms of job recruitment of the young people in those areas.
He said this is because the requirements that are being put out for recruitment are either 10 years of work experience which makes it difficult for a person who has just graduated from university to have a chance even though he/she made have the capacity to deliver on the job.
Mr. Samukai disclosed the NRFL is hoping to provide the avenue and opportunity to allow the young people to be exposed to working environment.
He indicated that the interns will be paired with constructions companies and civil society organizations, and where they can be placed in a way that they can gather exposure in terms of job relevance.
According to him, the program is going to last for 14 weeks and the first two weeks will be used to conduct soft and hard skills training to prepare the interns better for what is expected when they are placed.
Mr. Samuka added that basically, the internship program is intended to contribute to the workforce development of the country, ensuring that the young people are provided the opportunity to be able to serve and help build their capacity.
“The NRFL is more than just financing the maintenance of roads but we are also having other associated programs that we will look into such as sports. The internship program is just one of them,” he said.
He said for this year, they are targeting 20 young professionals for the program.
He mentioned that firstly, to be qualified for the internship, you must academically acquire a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or above in your particular field of study.
“You must be able to demonstrate professionalism of youth leadership in community service, be somebody to take initiative and work with teams to be able to come up with new solutions. This because part of the task that we are assigned to at the NRF is to be able to derive innovative solutions to addressing infrastructure problems.
“So, we need people who can think outside the box to contribute to the table. You must be able to write and present 1000-word essay, clearly demonstrating your super-ability for the program and how your career goals align to national development,” he noted.
For her part, the Manager of the NRFL, Madam Joeta S. Neufville-Wento, said last year, they had 147 applicants for the program.
After a rigorous shortlisting process, the number was leveled down to 27.
Out of the 27, two of the interns traveled to further their education and 13 of them are currently placed into different independent private institutions that they were exposed to.
Madam Wento stated that the internship is not just about training but has been a collaboration and coordination with the intern’s places of implementation of service such seeing how talented they are, as most of the institutions adopt them.
“So, we have been able to have that transition, and we have eight of the interns who are still looking for something. But to a large extent, most of them came and they were depressed; They wanted who knows you something, and some of them were very reluctant when they applied; and when they can in after the shortlisting, aptitude test and other screening processes, they realized that they were getting far because of their efforts,” she stated.
She continued: “The program is not about who you know, if you are competent and qualified, you sent in your application. As a matter of fact, if you sent in your application, and we have people calling on your behalf and say this person is my so-so-so, you have become disqualified. What we want is to expose people to the opportunity to serve and those that are competent and qualified will serve.”
NRF is just one entity that is running the program, as such, there could be other opportunity at other line ministries and entity that is coming out.”
The NRFL also mentioned that during the first three months of the program, it provided small stipends to facilitate transportation but after the interns were placed with their employers, they no longer give them stipend except where they are assigned.
The NRFL also stated that after the final selection of applicants for the internship, the interns acquired the necessary hard-skills that they didn’t learn in school. Professionals were hired to teach them which helps prepare them for the job market. Writes Linda Gbartie
