Dube TradePort’s internship programme opens employment opportunities for graduates

Dube TradePort Corporation is playing a major role in empowering the youth of KwaZulu-Natal by giving graduates the necessary skills and experience to enter the market. The comprehensive internship programme offers graduates a rich understanding of their chosen professions, through an integrated regime that includes on-the-job training and mentorship. Now in its third year, Dube TradePort’s internship programme has successfully taken on 52 graduates and has seen a remarkable rate of 60% able to find permanent employment within the duration of their internship.

“The issue of skills development ranks very highly on our list of priorities. Skills have a direct tie in to our ability to attract Foreign Direct Investment into the province, and one of the critical factors international investors consider when choosing an investment destination is a ready supply of a suitably skilled labour pool, which they can draw from to effectively run their operations,” said Mr Hamish Erskine, Acting CEO of Dube TradePort Corporation.

Driving economic development and stimulating the creation of employment opportunities are both dependent on the skills levels within the province being of a requisite standard to attract the right investment into South Africa. In order for the economy and business to grow and develop, the public and private sector need to work together to assist with skills development.

Mr Erskine continued, “This year we expanded the programme by partnering with the the private sector to maximise the programmes’ capacity and scope. Involving other companies in this programme will ensure sufficient capacity, in terms of number of professionals to oversee interns and skills to mentor graduates in other specialised professions. We identify partners in the private sector with whom we can place these graduates, offering them a unique opportunity to be trained under the stewardship of seasoned industry professionals who will mentor and guide them along the path of their chosen career. Dube TradePort covers the costs associated with companies taking on these graduates.”

Dube TradePort recruits interns with qualifications, or majors in subjects that include: Accounting; Contracts and Compliance; Supply Chain Management; SHEQ; Human Resources; Marketing; Information Technology; Maintenance; Horticulture; Engineering; Agricultural Science; Tissue Culture; Water Quality; Town Planning; Environmental Management; Quantity Surveying; and Architecture and related fields of study.

The Dube TradePort Corporation Internship Programme application window is open from the 1^st to the 30^th of September 2015. More information can be found on Dube TradePort’s website:
www.dubetradeport.co.za/Pages/Company-Profile/Career-Opportunities

Note to Editors:
Dube TradePort Corporation, a business entity of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government, is charged with the responsibility to develop the province’s biggest infrastructural project. Considered one of South Africa’s top 10 investment opportunities, this recently named Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) is geared to promote foreign and local investment.

This press release was drafted by an intern in the Dube TradePort Corporation Marketing Department