EIGHTEEN new tertiary graduates have joined Petrojam’s one-year internship programme, a four-year-old project designed to expose them to real-world experience and improve their marketability.

The interns, who have been assigned to various departments including accounts, refinery production, human resource development and administration, and strategic planning, participated in two weeks of orientation, one of which was dedicated to learning the company’s safety procedures.

“I expect to be utilising knowledge from the classroom to solve real world problems in the refinery,” process engineer intern in the Refinery Production Department Kedisha Dailey said.

“I also expect that there will be a lot of unlearning and relearning of several principles taught in school. I am hoping that at the end of the year I would have better transitioned into the world of work as I seek to give credence to the objective of the programme, which aims to build future leaders,” she continued.

At the orientation session, General Manager of Petrojam Howard Mollison encouraged the interns to make the most of the opportunity.

“This internship programme can catapult you into rewarding careers, sometimes even into areas that may veer slightly from your chosen specialisation areas. Grasp every challenge presented with enthusiasm and give 100 per cent at all times. Make every moment count,” he said.

Mollison noted that of the 40 interns engaged since the start of the programme in January 2013, seven are now permanent employees at Petrojam and several have been hired on contract.

“This programme does not just create a talent pool for Petrojam; it also affords other entities that have hired our previous interns to benefit from their successful integration into the workplace, through the experiential learning afforded them here,” the Petrojam GM noted.

Petrojam Limited is the sole oil refinery in Jamaica, jointly owned by the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica and Petróleos de Venezuela, Venezuela.