Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh recently said the Cabinet would be discussing making it mandatory for organisations in the private sector to pay interns an allowance – a move opposed by the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) but welcomed by the youths (We deserve an allowance, say interns, StarEdu, March 12).
According to the MEF, private companies that take in interns for industrial training pay allowances at their discretion, with the average amount being about RM1,200 in the urban areas, but there are also interns who are paid below RM1,000 per month.
What is the worth of an intern? Are the services of interns undervalued? Do employers feel interns can contribute productively to meeting their organisations’ goals and hence, worth investing time, effort or money in them?
An internship is a form of on-the-job training that offers university students the opportunity to bridge the gap between academic life and the working world.The purpose of employing interns is noble: the soon-to-be graduating student can gain exposure, experience and skills in a field to which he has an inclination. If his skills and knowledge match the needs of the organisation, then the goals of the internship are fulfilled.The whole internship exercise should be conducted on a win-win basis. While the intern benefits from knowing more about the organisation and its system of operation in the real world, the latter, too, gains from the services of the individual at little or no cost.
When these interns report for duty, they are often full of expectations and enthusiasm. Sad to say, they are more often than not left on their own with little or nothing to do. No meaningful or engaging tasks are given, only menial and boring ones.
Some organisations do not even have a structured programme for interns while others are somewhat “forced” to accept interns.
While most organisations and companies have noble objectives in having an internship programme, the officers-in-charge may not be fully committed. Those who are supposed to be mentors are simply too busy with their own work and ignore the interns except to use them as “clerks” or “office boys”.
What do interns take away from their internships? I have asked around and many interns have expressed disappointment at the final outcome.
A successful internship programme should provide the intern with a fairly good idea of the nature of work involved, should he decide to work in the chosen field. This means he has been actively involved in some meaningful work but this is seldom the case as the employer is not so keen to spend resources on training the unskilled and inexperienced intern.
The intern may have been productive to the organisation (by doing menial work) but he would not have acquired the right knowledge or learnt the necessary skills. This is something Malaysian companies have to work on so that internships are mutually beneficial.Officers often complain that too much effort will be involved if they are to really give the interns a full “hands-on” experience.
Interns cannot expect to be “spoonfed” all the time; they must take the initiative to indicate their seriousness in wanting to contribute to the organisations and are willing to work hard. Interns need to give their best in executing the tasks given to them. They should be prepared for a steep learning curve.
In short, interns should not focus too much on the allowance they are given, but more on acquiring new skills and experiences. Even if they are not given the allowance they desire, they will take with them knowledge and skills, which are priceless. If they show promise and potential, these interns will quickly be absorbed by the companies as soon as they graduate.
There are Malaysian companies and organisations with excellent internship programmes but these are few in number.
DR POLA SINGH
Kuala Lumpur
