Starting this Monday, 92 young Barbadians will step into the public sector to gain hands-on professional experience as participants in the annual Summer Internship Programme, a joint initiative led by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Information and the Office of the Attorney General. The programme was officially announced to incoming interns and stakeholders during a press briefing hosted at the Barbados Postal Service this past Friday.
Minister of Home Affairs and Information Gregory Nicholls opened the briefing by noting that the initiative is a continuation of a programme launched by former Home Affairs Minister Wilfred Abrahams, who now serves as Attorney General. Nicholls explained that after taking office, Abrahams prioritized sustaining the programme across all 15 to 16 departments falling under the Ministry of Home Affairs, and cross-agency collaboration made the 2024 intake possible.
Framing the internship as a strategic investment in Barbados’ most valuable resource – its youth – Nicholls emphasized that the programme goes far beyond filling temporary summer roles. Instead, it is designed to open professional doors, expand participants’ worldviews, and give young people a practical introduction to public sector work in the country. Interns will be placed across a wide range of government departments and agencies, including the Probation Department, Immigration Department, Barbados Postal Service, Government Printery, Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation, Government Information Service, National Council on Substance Abuse, Barbados Meteorological Services, Department of Emergency Management, Barbados Prison Service, Government Industrial Schools, and the Barbados Broadcasting Authority.
Nicholls shared key guidance for the incoming cohort, urging interns to approach the programme as learners, explorers, and future leaders rather than temporary seasonal staff. He encouraged participants to bring curiosity to their roles, ask respectful questions, and seek to understand not just how tasks are completed, but why they matter. He noted that even the smallest assignments offer meaningful learning opportunities, and that growth often happens when people step outside their comfort zones. He highlighted three core attributes that will serve interns well: resilience when facing unfamiliar challenges or mistakes, robustness defined by strong character, discipline, professionalism, and reliability, and consistent respect for colleagues and supervisors. Nicholls closed his remarks by reminding participants that regardless of their eventual career paths, Barbados will rely on their energy, creativity, integrity, and vision to drive the nation forward.
Attorney General Wilfred Abrahams expanded on the programme’s core mission, explaining that it fills critical gaps in soft skill development that are rarely taught in formal education. These gaps include workplace dress codes, professional etiquette, communication norms, and overall professional conduct. Abrahams added that the programme also serves as a talent pipeline for the public sector: a large number of past interns have gone on to secure full-time positions in the same departments where they completed their summer placements.
As an example of the immersive, real-world learning the programme offers, Abrahams recalled interns placed with the Department of Emergency Management during Hurricane Beryl, who gained first-hand experience in disaster response, from managing emergency calls to coordinating community shutdowns. He stressed that the experience is not just a way to occupy summer break, but an opportunity to learn life and work skills that will serve participants for decades. Abrahams also encouraged parents to engage with their children about their experiences and challenges, to help them get the most out of the placement. He noted that the programme often drives transformative change, helping young people shift from a student mindset to a mature professional outlook, sharing that participants from his own constituency entered the programme raw and undisciplined, but left as focused, polished young professionals.
Incoming interns expressed widespread enthusiasm for the opportunity to build practical skills and insight into professional work. Amiah Padmore, who plans to pursue a career in psychology, described the programme as a transformative opening step. “I feel very good. I feel like this is a great opportunity for me and I will definitely have experience doing things like this because I want to go into psychology. And I like to talk to people,” Padmore said. Though she has no preference for placement, she plans to make the most of whatever role she receives, noting that programmes like this fill a critical need: many young people enter the workforce with little understanding of how professional environments operate, and the internship gives them a low-stakes space to learn and practice.
Seventeen-year-old Davidson Griffith, a participant in the Barbados National Youth Parliament and a former youth ambassador for students with disabilities after his own dyslexia diagnosis, echoed that enthusiasm. He said the programme gives young people a rare chance to build interpersonal skills while serving the Barbadian public and contributing to national development. “My interest in this internship is to serve. If it’s serving in whatever department that the internship offers, I just want to be there to serve the people of Barbados and to be an example for young people of Barbados, especially young men in Barbados, that the government is providing these opportunities and don’t take them for granted,” Griffith said, adding that he is prepared to serve in any department he is assigned to.