By JOEL K ANDREW
UNEMPLOYMENT has been an ongoing concern for thousands of graduates who are coming out annually from all tertiary institutions, TVETs, colleges and Universities throughout Papua New Guinea.
Similarly, many graduates are incapable of executing basic roles as professionals when employed due to theoretical modules learned in school with less practical applications.
As a solution to ease this huge national concern, the National Cultural Commission under the leadership of Mr. Steven Enomb Kilanda has created an Internship Pathway Development Programme.
This program aims to train, mentor and equip young PNG students from the universities to install necessary knowledge and practical skills required to take them further as professionals moving forward in their respective professions.
This year, NCC is dedicated to increase the numbers of intakes into its program, oriented with its restructure of enforcing manpower through human resource empowerment which is a significant aspect for a growth of the organization and the industry as well.
NCC Executive Director, Mr. Kilanda made these remarks during the farewell ceremony of two students namely, Elijah Bartho and Clariza Kwembukie from the School of Humanities and Social Science at the University of Papua New Guinea.
These students were released after participating in the Internship Pathway Development Programme.
Mr. Kilanda said that NCC is a State Agency that is passionate to train, develop, mentor and recruit students from universities to produce the content as far as culture is concerned for native PNGans.
He said the knowledge instilled, skills learned, environment exposed to and confidence gained through close collaboration with seniors and clients/subsidiaries, the students will be in good form to pursue their careers with high self-esteem.
‘’We are moving forward even with the limited resources and the capability to develop human resource within our capacity.
UPNG and the NCC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) last year, 2022. It is through this partnership that NCC is creating this student internship development pathway as a platform to help train, develop and mentor students every year,” Mr. Kilanda said.
From this year onwards, he said NCC will increase the number of trainees from two (2) to four (4).
“I believe that our program will be a framework to enhance the capability of young energetic Papua New Guineans to be competitive in their respective field of expertise.
“This initiative paves a way forward for students from other institutions as well to be trained,” he said.
Mr. Kilanda and the NCC team look forward in welcoming students who wishes to be trained as interns at their headquarters to have them prepared for a much bigger role that awaits after leaving the tertiary institutions.
