(MENAFN Press) Under the patronage of His Excellency the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Dr. Jafar Hassan, LoYAC Jordan and the King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD), with the support of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, celebrated the graduation of 824 students who completed the Darb 2012 Summer Internship Program.
The ceremony, which was held at the Cultural Palace in Amman on Sunday October 7th 2012, included speeches by HE Dr. Jafar Hassan, Mrs. Hiam Al- Salem Azar, Chairwoman of LoYAC Jordan, and Mr. Nasser Al Lozi, Chairman of the board of trustees at KAFD.
The ceremony also included a short film about the program and a small entertainment segment by the popular comedy sketch presenters N2O. During the event, certificates of completion were distributed to students, and students with the most community service hours were recognized individually.
Participating companies and institutions that supported the program either by hosting students or sponsoring the program also received recognition for their active and valuable contribution to the success of the program.
Darb aims at bridging the gap between education and employment by better preparing students for the workplace and enhancing their sense of independence and responsibility.
The program also works at developing students' practical work skills, with the ultimate aim of making them more employable.
Prior to their internship, each intern undergoes a two day training course given by LoYAC which covers communication skills, resume writing, self-exploration, positivity, self-marketing, and customer service.
LoYAC began its summer internship program in 2008, where 50 internship opportunities were offered. Since then, the program has grown exponentially; in 2011, LoYAC partnered with KAFD to expand the program into all governorates.
This year, the program attracted 5636 university students who applied from all governorates of Jordan. The 5636 student applications were screened, 2049 were interviewed, 1139 were trained and 824 completely satisfied the program's requirements which include an 18 hour community service component.
Interns completed a total of 18171 hours of community service hours.
During the ceremony, Mrs. Hiam Azar said "LoYAC Jordan has been working since its inception on fostering positive values and realistic impressions in the minds of our youth - we aim to encourage the utilization of the young energy in socially and economically more effective ways that develop the community and promises a better future for all" LoYAC will continue to work on expanding its network of companies in order to increase its capacity, so as to be able to create more internship and training opportunities in the future."
