An internship is one of a student’s most valuable off campus experience. One of the primary purposes of an internship is to add value to the educational experience. It enables students to facilitate concrete experiences that enable them to create links between the theories they learned and practice. It can also assist students in accessing their creativity and helping them to apply their knowledge and skills acquired into a real life situation.
After attaining a Management degree with a concentration in Human Resource Management, the next step was to obtain the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills in a work setting. Through the Graduate Placement Programme within the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus I was able to get an opportunity to make my mark in the work environment, and I was confident that my placement at the Barbados Accreditation Council (BAC) would be the perfect fit for me.
I spent six (6) moths working with the incredible team in the BAC office and was exposed to the different operations within each department. Throughout my time with the team, I was tasked with developing a Standard Operating Procedures Manual based on the procedures executed by the various departments, as it related to the Council’s recognition services. It was a new and invigorating experience and allowed me to demonstrate my talents, build my experience, enabled me to find quality solutions to any situation I encountered and also enabled me to apply my knowledge in an organizational setting and broadened my skill set and enhanced skills I had already obtained. As I embarked on my task of creating this manual I was able to place the classroom knowledge I obtained into practice. I utilized many of the theories and concepts I learned throughout my education at the Cave Hill Campus. I was able to sharpen my in-demand skills and learn how to navigate a professional environment. During this internship I was able to realize that when starting my career I needed to have inspiration and working with the team at the Barbados Accreditation Council not only broadened my horizon of knowledge but also enabled me to develop personally by enhancing my communication skills and my confidence.
The experience at the Barbados Accreditation Council, working with dedicated and hardworking individuals, ranks high alongside the rest of my entire university experience. This internship has significantly contributed to the value of my management degree to my personal and professional development and, as such, I wish to extend my deepest gratitude to the Graduate Placement Programme at The UWI for affording me with such a life-changing and life-enhancing opportunity, enabling me to make my mark in the work environment. I encourage future students to embark in the Graduate Placement Programme as it can set the path for their future endeavours. I also wish to extend thanks to the management and staff of the Barbados Accreditation Council for allowing me to be a part of their organization, enabling me to build on my knowledge and experience and helping me to grow both personally and professionally.
