InteRDom Annual Review: Professional Training Yields Corporate Returns

During InteRDom’s Annual Review, an event organized yearly by Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE), which seeks to elicit debate concerning global trends in the areas of training, management and human resource development, Jorge Chávez, Professional
Training Director, Servicio Nacional de Adiestramiento en Trabajo Industrial (National Service of Industrial Job Training) in Peru, discussed the ways in which corporations and organizations can benefit from internship programs. The event took place March 26, 2008 at FUNGLODE Headquarters in Santo Domingo, and included the participation of nearly 150 national and international institutions based in the Dominican Republic.

 

Chávez contended that the state and the private sector should recognize that technical and professional training through internship programs does not constitute an expense, but rather an investment that produces considerable gains, amongst them greater productivity and increased competitiveness at the global level. He stressed that professional development helps people to increase their “employability,” corporations to increase productivity, and
nations to develop the productive potential of the population.

 

According to Chávez, the results of a survey realized by 2,397 organizations affiliated with SENATI indicate that 81.5% of those polled agreed that employees that have participated in a capacity building or internship program in their area of specialty efficiently carry-out work related tasks. He highlighted the growth experienced as a result of the training
programs, arguing that the number of participating students has increased from 44,141 in 1991 to 301,201 in 2006.

 

In an interview for InteRDom’s newsletter, Pasantes Globales (Global Interns), the professional development specialist provided the following advice to employers:“Identify the competencies that you need, involve your management team, and benefit from a learning contract in
accordance with your country’s labor laws. In the near future, guidelines concerning the transition from intern to new employee will also need to be devised.”

 

Chávez articulated that it is not possible to develop knowledge and capacity that can be applied to the workplace solely by memorizing abstract information from diverse disciplines. He indicated that it is instead the application of knowledge that
aids in the development of capacities for determined tasks or functions.

 

He referred to the learning models employed by SENAT, designed to produce working conditions that stimulate production. He explained that graduates of their professional training programs, which last a maximum of 12 months, go on to employ the skills they acquired in their new jobs.  

 

SENAT also offers internships to currently unemployed teachers, professors and other individuals, 45 to 65 years of age, interested in updating their qualifications and reentering the labor market.

 

The InteRDom Annual Review is a yearly event that promotes debate on global trends in management, training and development in the area of human resources.

 

This event was made possible thanks to support from the Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE), la Asociación de Administradores de Gestión Humana (Association of Human Resource Administrators), the Ministry of Labor and Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM).