When Judha Marslier was first recruited into The UWI/Caribbean Airlines (CAL) internship programme, he little thought that he would be flying to Curaçao for the first time in his life as part of his work.
“I think everything amazed me,” he recalls. “From checking in at the airport, to getting into my hotel room, it was exhilarating. [Through the internship] I’ve been to places, like resorts, that I had never imagined I’d be.”
As part of the same programme, Nicholas Rambally vaguely knew that he would be involved with reservations and customer contact at CAL. However, his expectations were also shaken.
“Here I am one year later. I've had the opportunity to engage in projects that involve stakeholders from all different levels of management, not just in Trinidad.” He says. “It's kind of rewarding to know that as a UWI intern, I was able to contribute to projects that impact the entire company.”
Their experiences reflect the hopes pinned on this internship programme – the result of a collaboration between CAL and The UWI’s Office of Global Affairs (OGA). It began after CAL CEO Garvin Medera approached the OGA in 2022 with a plan to engage students in an internship arrangement.
“CAL is on a growth trajectory, and as such, it is critical to ensure there is a consistent talent pipeline of skilled and educated graduates who will be trained in an aviation specific environment and are ready to meet our future manpower requirements,” explains Ms Parmela Jurai, Manager, Talent Management and Employee Experience.
After meetings with the Deputy Principal, representatives from the Division of Student Services and Development (DSSD), the faculties of Engineering and Social Sciences, and Campus Legal, the first cohort of interns began in January 2023. A memorandum of understanding was signed to formalise the regional internship programme in October 2023.
As of October 2024, 15 St Augustine campus students have participated. Six interns have also been engaged from the Cave Hill and Mona campuses, supporting CAL operations teams in Barbados and Jamaica respectively. They have worked in areas such as marketing and revenue management, business optimisation, corporate communications, IT, finance, and in-flight and reservations.
They represent a variety of disciplines including Marketing, Economics, Management, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Banking and Finance, Accounting, Communication Studies, Human Resource Management and Project Management.
“Internal collaboration to execute the programme has worked magnificently,” says Ms Lois St Brice, OGA’s Programme Officer. First, she outlines, CAL reaches out to them with specific roles they need filled, detailing the skills and competencies required. Then, the OGA communicates with UWI partners to coordinate the response. The resulting short-list of students then interview with CAL. They are chosen with their potential in customer service, problem solving and teamwork in mind.
St Brice says, “We, of course, are quite pleased that they have that experience under their belt and can build their confidence going into the world of work.”
While she says that the students have learned the technical competence they need in their courses, “in terms of the soft-skills development – in other words, teamwork; communication skills; working with stakeholders; developing emotional intelligence and self-awareness; being able to self-reflect; take feedback and incorporate that in how they move forward – all of these things will help shape them into being more culturally competent, empathetic and effective leaders”.
Both Marslier and Rambally say they learned skills which come best from a real-life work environment.
“I think the importance of soft skill development are what I’ve learned most from this internship,” reflects Marslier. “Whether that be networking, adapting, delegating, time management, prioritising tasks, etiquette, being pleasant and easy to work with.”
Rambally affirms, “This internship has taught me the importance of adaptability and collaboration because I've had to engage with stakeholders, not just from Trinidad, from Jamaica, from New York, from Tobago – all across the region.”
As a workplace, the interns find CAL’s environment inspiring. Rambally expresses his admiration for CAL’s emphasis on engagement with employees and making sure there is a positive working environment. Marslier admitted that he had challenges balancing the work and his course load, but resilience and passion carried him through. The fact that the work was fun and interesting also helped a lot, he says.
St Brice recalls that CAL representatives were very clear from the beginning that the students’ work would impact the operations and strategy of CAL.
“So far, they've been quite pleased with how the students have performed and the value created for the company,” she said.
Jurai asserts that the addition of the interns “has provided us with new energy and vigour and has supported many of our strategic initiatives, especially in our Marketing and Corporate Communication Department”.
Jurai also notes that CAL sees the programme as a chance to contribute to the education and development of young Caribbean professionals.
The airline hopes to expand their partnerships with The UWI in the future. Plans are already forming for them to sponsor awards to high performing students in the upcoming graduation exercises. Students from all of The UWI’s five campuses will receive awards for degrees like the MSc Electrical and Computer Engineering, BSc Computer Science, BSc Marketing, BSc Statistics and Economics, and MSc Aviation Management.
St Brice describes CAL as a “preferred partner” because “they are doing it right”. She anticipates that other entities will see the benefit of working with the OGA.
“I think the message for industry is they want to have a forward-thinking approach to addressing their workforce needs, reflecting their strategic goals.” She adds, “The best way to do that is to groom your workforce of the future.” She points out, “This is a way not just to meet their own business goals, but also to give back to the society.”
Besides the opportunity for student career development and employment, St Brice says that it also gives them the ability to contribute to the region’s development. “Young people are very much willing and yearning for the opportunity to give back as well.”
Marslier’s advice for future interns? “Be humble, seek to create impact, be guided by continuous improvement, be proactive, look for project opportunities for growth where your skill set can take lead, and build genuine connections”.
St Brice hopes that more opportunities like this programme will arise for UWI students. She says they are looking forward to engaging more entities to provide career training opportunities, including in the growing knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) space. She also looks forward to seeing more opportunities for students in the creative arts and the humanities, as well as for students regionally.
