InteRDom’s annual Internship Certification Program was held on Wednesday and Thursday, April 24 and 25, 2013, where thirteen representatives from various Dominican companies received training in how to create or improve internship programs through practical exercises, group dynamics and testimonies given by universities and organizations on best practices in this area.
Representatives from the following companies and organizations were certified at the 7th training event offered by InteRDom: Health Plaza General Hospital General Plaza, the Santo Socorro Maternal and Children’s Hospital, Covidien, Coral Hospitality Corp, Una Vida Nueva Foundation, Dominican Council on International Relations, Eddys Tours, Dominican Political Observatory, Autozama and the National Census Center.
In the program’s Internships Live! section, representatives from the career services departments from Iberoamerican University (UNIBE) and APEC University introduced the services offered to the students, profiles of their graduates and the process to be followed by companies interested in recruiting interns and graduates from their universities.
Milagros Solimán, representative of the PUNTACANA Group, introduced its internship program, “Carreers in PUNTACANA,” in which she shared with certification participants recruiting strategies, polices they use and challenges that have come up when they were setting up their internship program. She also talked about their successful cases, which include that of InteRDom intern Nelson Pimentel, who ended up getting offered a permanent job at one of the hotels in the PUNTACANA chain.
Upon completion of the training, representatives of the various organizations were very enthusiastic about having completed the internship program, enabling them to take back innovative ideas to their respective organizations as well as to reduce the cost of recruiting personnel while increasing their organization’s productivity.
InteRDom is an initiative of the Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE) and its sister organization in the United States, Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD). The program promotes and encourages academic exchange between Dominican and international universities and helps strengthen the professionals’ entry into the workforce.