Volunteers and interns are an important and valued part of the team at WDM. This is also true for many organisations in the not for profit sector. Our entire national network is comprised of people who are passionate about international development and campaign on a voluntary basis in their spare time. The internships we offer are slightly different as we tend to attract people who are not only passionate about international development but who also wish to develop their future career in this sector.
In the voluntary sector ongoing budget constraints mean there aren’t many entry level posts available. This, combined with the high level of competition, makes it extremely difficult for anyone to gain paid employment in this sector at entry level. WDM’s internship and volunteer schemes help people get their foot in the door.
Yes, WDM internship programme increases our capacity to do our work. In return, interns gain considerable and varied experience while working here. Not only do we provide an opportunity to gain work experience to increase their chances of gaining paid employment, but we also provide support on CV writing and interview techniques. In addition, if a short fixed term temporary position becomes available, we only recruit internally thus giving interns a much stronger chance of employment with WDM. Many of our paid assistant posts are filled successfully by former interns and volunteers who acknowledge the benefits gained from their early experience with WDM.
To allow time for part-time work outside of WDM, we ask interns to commit to 3 days a week for 3 months. We reimburse food and travel expenses but are not able to pay a wage due to limited resources. Please note that WDM’s income is both restricted and unrestricted, the latter pays for staff and other core costs and is always fully committed. Restricted funding must be spent on specific projects and campaigns directly.
We recognise this is not ideal. But if we had to pay wages to interns, it would be unlikely that we could offer an internship programme at all which would then remove the opportunity for people to gain the valuable work experience they need to get the jobs they want. The current system is tried and tested and it works well for both WDM and our interns and volunteers.