DOT Interns

In developing economies, youth are too often graduating from their schools, colleges and universities into unemployment. They have completed their formal education but lack work experience and the 21^st century skills that today's employers are seeking.

In the countries in which it works, DOT seeks young graduates from college or university, local youth (50% young women) who have not yet found jobs yet have that spark, that untapped potential, and a strong commitment to their community and country.

A DOT Intern is transformed into a confident young leader in a highly effective I Know-I Can-I Will chain of training (I Know), field experience (I Can) and personal development (I Will).

DOT Interns are recruited on local campuses and within local youth groups and organizations. Interested young women and men are encouraged to apply online.

After a rigorous screening process involving interviews and group activities to confirm a candidate's leadership potential, ability to work on a team and commitment to his/her community, an Intern will be invited into the program.

The Intern signs a contract to work with DOT for a term of a year. The Intern is paid a responsible stipend - not competitive with a job, but a demonstration that time has value, that both parties are accountable and an opportunity to practice money management.

Interns, in groups of 15 to 25 or more, are provided intense training over a period of three to four weeks. The training is a combination of face-to-face and online. The training concentrates on three major items: personal awareness and confidence building, 21^st century skills including ICT skill reinforcement and domain specific knowledge. Domain specific training will differ by program. ReachUp! focuses on entrepreneurship, StartUp! and ScaleUp! on small business formation and growth; TeachUp! focuses on technology innovation in the classroom. The 21^st century skills component assumes that young people today have basic information and communication technology (ICT) knowledge and so focuses on skills such as effective communications, critical thinking, action research, project management, working in teams, etc. Personal awareness helps the Intern to identify her/his skills and desires and builds individual self-confidence.

Following training, Interns are deployed to communities or schools where they are supported by the DOT Intern Support Management structure and collaborative team technology.

Interns are deployed to communities, usually marginalized or rural but with access to ICT, where they work with DOT's network of community-based partners to run ReachUp! workshops to reach hundreds of community beneficiaries in a train-the-trainer model with an impressive multiplier effect. A DOT Intern will reach 100 to 200 fellow youths and community members during her/his engagement. DOT beneficiaries cover all walks of lives - from unemployed street kids who learn how to identify and market their talents, to women's entrepreneur associations who learn market research and business planning, to young people seeking jobs who learn how to use MS Word to construct a CV and use the internet to access job banks, to the entrepreneur seeking to develop a website, a business plan and identify sources of micro-finance.

In TeachUp!, Interns are deployed to schools where they work with teachers and school administrations to help integrate new technology into learning programs as innovation is introduced into the classroom.