Five New Grads Land UWinnipeg International Internships

Nicole Ferland will spend the next 6 months interning in Indonesia

WINNIPEG, MB – The University of Winnipeg Global College is pleased to announce that five new Canadian graduates have received competitive international placements through the Youth Employment Network (YEN), based at the International Labour Organization (ILO) of the United Nations for immediate six-month placements in: Accra, Ghana; Jakarta, Indonesia; Dakar, Senegal; Nairobi, Kenya and Dar Es Salaam,Tanzania.

Nicole Ferland is leaving on May 22 for Jakarta, Indonesia. She just graduated from UWinnipeg with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Rights and Global Studies. ”I will be working in Jakarta on youth employment issues, which is really important. If you have a large population of unemployed youth they get restless, and it can lead to instability,” said Ferland. “It is also a human rights issue because everyone should have access to fair employment.”

International challenges

Over the next 10 years, the world will witness an unprecedented youth bulge with over 1 billion young people entering global labour markets. Recent economic conditions indicate that the supply of jobs will likely shrink internationally, while many young people will not have the skills and experience needed to attain what jobs are available. Governments and partners in the UN system recognized the urgency of this challenge by setting up the Youth Employment Network (YEN) in 2001. New graduates chosen by YEN work globally to develop and implement policy and programs to promote youth employment.

“Nicki Ferland is one of our first grads in the Human Rights BA program of Global College, and she exemplifies the kind of skilled young global citizen the world needs more of, as we face the growing youth unemployment crunch at home and abroad,” said Marilou McPhedran, principal of Global College, who obtained three years of funding for these international internships at Global College.

“While the long term objective of the Global College/YEN program is to increase the participation of young professional Canadians working in international development, the immediate objective is to provide International Labour Organization youth employment institutions with a skilled labour force to assist them in delivering their work plans” said Geneva-based Canadian Drew Gardiner, who supervises the YEN Associates for the ILO.

Ferland, who is Métis, hopes to pursue a law degree or graduate studies in reconciliation once her internship in Jakarta wraps up.

The Government of Canada provides funding for this initiative through the Canadian International Development Agency’s International Youth Internship Program. Global College acknowledges, with appreciation, the funding from CIDA for our five young professional internships as ‘YEN Associates’ of the Youth Employment Network of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) with placements in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Many people assisted Global College in the successful application process, and we wish to express particular appreciation to Senator Janis Johnson of Manitoba and her staff for invaluable support of this youth-focused initiative.