This Ghanaian startup is changing the face of internships in Africa

There is a popular belief in Africa that there are no jobs available for the public, on the other hand, firms are actively seeking refined, skilled and result-oriented graduates to work with.

As part of efforts in creating programs to nurture and mentor the vision, talents and ideas of young people who are positively changing Africa, the Africa Internship Academy was birthed.

Africa Internship Academy (AIA) is an initiative of the PEOPLE INITIATIVE FOUNDATION, which is a registered NGO in Ghana.

The program currently runs in five different African locations. Namely Accra, Abuja,Kigali,Abidjan and Cape Town

It is a self-sustaining social enterprise that prepares students and connects them to leading African employers with diverse qualified talents.

Africa Regional Research & Strategy Manager of AIA Leslie Addae tells BiSSA says his outfit aims at grooming Africa's next generational change agents.

"We know most of our graduates don't have the skills to get and keep a job, so we provide work- readiness training for them during vacations and after their National Services. These interns have different career aspirations and their age ranges between 15 to 25 years".

Almost half of the 10 million graduates churned out of over 668 universities in Africa yearly are unable to secure jobs in a very competitive market due to limited space in the corporate sector.

The African Internship Academy have noticed that the challenge most firms in job recruitment is the unavailability of transferable skills required by employers.

"One of the targets of Sustainable Development Goals 4 is to substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship. Therefore, facilities are needed for such training, to tackle the issue of unemployment hence the start of Africa Internship Academy".

Since the launch of AIA their activities have been very impactful. The institution has admitted a countless number of fellows into the academy.

The program is opened for both Mentors and Mentees to sign up across the continent.

All qualified applicants are enrolled in our 4 week Work Integrated Learning Program at the Accra Internship House

After a successful internship, Interns attain the status of "Fellows" and become part of the active community of generational thinkers. They are assigned a mentor to support them as they build their career.

Through the strategic efforts of the internship Academy, 50 percent of fellows gain full scholarships for higher education.

Mr Addae also believes it is essential to invest in them for the good of society and for the benefit of the continent in order to groom Africa’s next generational change agents to affect their society and the continent as a whole.

Our primary target group are the youthful male and females in pre-tertiary institutions, tertiary institutions and new graduates, ranging from the age of 15 to 25, he tells BiSSA.