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INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

 1. Introduction and Background

The PERT Internship Program (PIP) is a practical and intensive initiative that seeks to provide professional job readiness skills to young people and increase the pool of professionals for business and development interventions across Africa.

 

The internship was designed against the backdrop of the findings of an M&E capacity assessment conducted by PERT Consultancy in Liberia, with funding from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. The assessment revealed that planning, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting (PMER) capacity in Liberia is weak. Institutions often find it difficult to find qualified PMER staff. Some institutions provide training in M&E, but these trainings are not practical and robust enough to enable participants gain the necessary skills and confidence to undertake senior PMER roles.

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Additionally, the assessment revealed an increased demand for PMER knowledge and skills in Liberia.  The demand for PMER knowledge and skills is particularly more among recent university graduates and development workers across all sectors, as they seek for job-ready skills that are not offered in universities and colleges in Liberia.

 

Since the inception of the internship, PERT Consultancy has successfully completed two cycles, graduating eight individuals (seven of whom have been gainfully employed). Additionally, using its vigorous and practical approach to designing and delivering PMER trainings, PERT Consultancy has conducted more than 30 PMER training workshops for various clients over the past five years.

 

 2. Internship Approach

The internship employs multiple approaches. The key methods include:

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  • Training Workshops – This includes lectures, experience sharing, demonstration, role plays, group exercises, individual exercises, etc

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  • Routine Practice and Fieldwork – Interns are incorporated in PERT Consultancy existing work. Specifically, the interns are embedded in our technical team, under the supervision of our Training and Capacity Development Officer. As a member of the technical team, each intern gains practical experience by actively participating in PERT Consultancy’s daily work. The interns receive routine mentoring and coaching from PERT Consultancy senior staff. They are required to work the same days and hours as our regular staff. Additionally, each intern is required to keep a dairy for recording daily work and experiences. Each intern is also required to prepare weekly activity reports.

 

  • Project Work – At the completion of each module, interns finalize their project by compiling their various group exercises carried out during the delivery of that module.

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  • Seminar – interns attend series of seminars during the duration of the internship. Each seminar covers a specific topic. Various development professionals are invited to deliver papers at these seminars.

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  • Completion of Internship – At the end of each three-month cycle, each intern is required to write an end of the internship report based on the daily recording in their professional journal. Additionally, PERT Consultancy holds a closing program where each intern presents his/her individual project and receive a certificate of completion.

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The table below contains the learning objectives, lessons and outputs/project work of each training module.

Training Module.jpg-1.jpg

3. Benefits of the Internship

  • Training and mentorship in PERT Consultancy’s core service areas

  • Technical skills in Strategic Planning, Project Design and Proposal Writing, M&E, Research, Report Writing, and Capacity Development

  • Certificate of Completion

  • Job seeking and retention skills

  • Entry into PERT Consultancy’s Roster of Consultants

  • Job recommendation

  • Technical guidance during probation at the first professional job after graduation                                                                                                               

  4. Eligibility Criteria

  • A Bachelor’s Degree in any field or a college senior student

  • Excellent writing, presentation/oral communications, and computer skills

  • Strong commitment to learning, service, hard work, and flexibility

  • A strong sense of ethics and commitment to PERT Consultancy’s mission, and

  • Ages between 18 years and 35 years.

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  5. Recruitment Process

The recruitment process for the PERT Internship Program involves the following steps

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  1. Advertisement – Vacancy announcements for the internship are advertised widely through various platforms such as the Executive Mansion website, PERT website, posting at relevant public institutions, newspapers, etc
     

  2. Shortlisting – Using a standard set of criteria, each application is ranked individually by each evaluation panel member.
     

  3. Discussions with Shortlisted Applications – PERT holds a post-shortlisting meeting with shortlisted applicants to explain the next steps, which is as follows:
     

  4. Written Test (70 Points) – Each shortlisted candidate sits a written test to gauge his/her writing skills. Special attention is placed on analytical skills, grammar, spelling, and composition. Interns are given a pre-determined topic. An applicant must obtain at least 45 points in the written test to qualify for the next stages of the recruitment process.
     

  5. Individual Presentation (20 Points) – Applicants who score at least 45 points in the written test are invited for presentation. Each applicant chooses from a list of predetermined topics and develops a PowerPoint presentation for the discussion. The presentations are carried out in batches of five to seven applicants. During the presentations, each applicant is allotted time to present his/her topic, which is followed by questions and discussions with other applicants and PERT staff. Each presentation is scored/rated by the PERT Consultancy’s selection panel.
     

  6. Oral Individual Interviews (10 Points) – Each applicant who participated in the individual presentation is invited for an interview with PERT staff. Each applicant is scored/rated by the PERT Consultancy’s selection panel.
     

  7. Selection – This is based on the average scores from the written test, individual presentations, and the oral individual interviews.  To be considered for the internship program, an applicant must obtain at least 75 points overall. The applicants with the highest scores are selected for an internship cycle. All unsuccessful applicants are encouraged to apply for the next internship cycle. All applicants who reach the individual presentation stage are notified about the outcome of the selection process. Females are encouraged to enroll in the program.

 

 6. Internship Guidelines

 All interns must adhere to the following guidelines:

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  • Interns must be present at PERT office from 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM on workdays (Mondays to Fridays). Any Intern who is regularly absent, without a valid reason will be dropped from the program. Intern should inform the internship coordinator in advance if he/she will be absent for a particular period.

 

  • Interns must complete all training sessions, project works, and other assigned tasks in a professional and timely manner.

 

  • Interns must prepare and submit a weekly activity report to the internship coordinator. The interns will be given a template for this. The weekly activity reports will inform the intern’s final consolidated internship completion report, which must be submitted before graduation.

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  • Interns must demonstrate a strong desire to learn and commitment to apply the knowledge gained. Interns will be dropped from the program for underperformance.

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  • Interns must exhibit professional work ethics and always abide by PERT Consultancy’s internal rules and regulations.

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