LETTER | Why are interns necessary?

LETTER | On leaving school, a teenager asked his mother for RM200 as expenses to go to an architectural firm for him to take up the opportunity to learn drafting.

Minibus fare then was RM1. His mother would prepare and pack lunch for him. The balance he would spend on the tools he needed such as special writing equipment and paper.

His commitment to learning freed his single mother whose income was derived from washing clothes for neighbours. The architectural firm paid him a monthly allowance.

Today, this intern has an architectural firm to his name, contributing to the development of this field of knowledge in Malaysia.

An internship is a professional experience for the undergraduate. Several years back, two IT students requested for attachment to the Web Development Department.

The department head sat down with the lecturer to come up with a memorandum. The university would grant credits to the students for work executed. The Web Department, too, had made known that in no uncertain terms, production timelines for jobs must be met.

While the interns go into such an environment for gaining hands-on experience in their field of study, the organisation benefits from the knowledge transferred from university faculties that have ever-developing syllabi.

We need to be realistic with ourselves that the graduation gown we adorn would be branded as out-of-date by the time we carry that knowledge out the university doors.

In short, the interaction between the intern and the organisation should be looked upon positively, particularly new ideas the young bring from their diverse backgrounds.

Corporations declare their commitment to social responsibility. CSR should go beyond repairing Orang Asli abodes on a weekend.

Will you pay living expenses for the best college students in Sabah or Sarawak to undergo an internship at your Kuala Lumpur towers?

As the clock strikes 5pm, do count how much knowledge walks off with foreign workers at Merdeka 118. How much of that knowledge do we wish to retain to pass on to interns?

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.