Abstract:
It is evident throughout the literature that unemployment rate among the
youth in Rwanda is alarming. The majority of the unemployed young people
are the universities and higher learning institutions graduates and one of the
root causes is attributed to the lack of job opportunities and experience. This
paper therefore examines the contribution of national professional internship
programme introduced by Rwanda Development Board (RDB) to the employment opportunities for graduates from higher learning education in
Rwanda. The paper study mixed qualitative and quantitative methods with a
target population of 2158 internees from whom a sample size of 95 respondents was selected. The questionnaire, documentation, and interview data
collection techniques were used while collected data were analyzed using descriptive techniques such as frequency distribution and percentage. The study
findings indicate that national professional internship enhances graduates’
employable skills, work readiness, and competitive skills. National Professional Internship also exposes the graduates to the job market, enables them
to gain working experience, and equips them with job-seeking skills. There is
a need however for partnership with public and private institutions and to
encourage graduates to undertake professional internship as one of the ways
to land employment opportunities.
