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USAID hospitality internship helps student
find employment
Internship Program Pays Off For Chef
Photo: DAI/SGP \ Antonio Gusmao
Ana Florinda da Costa (left), 25, working
with a colleague in the kitchen of
Discovery Inn. She got a job through
USAID’s hospitality industry internship
program.
“I liked the USAID hospitality
industry internship program
very much. For six months,
we received good training
and started earning some
money as well,” said Ana
Florinda da Costa, 25.
Until recently, Ana Florinda da Costa, 25, from a remote village in
Baucau, was among Timor-Leste’s unemployed youth. Florinda da
Costa, has always kept herself busy building skills that could help
her get a good job, but it wasn’t until she heard about a USAID
internship program that she got her big break.
The fifth in a family of 12, Florinda da Costa studied food
preparation at a tourism and hospitality secondary school in her
district. After graduating from the technical secondary school, she
decided to go to the capital city of Dili to look for a job. Unable
to find one, she enrolled in free computer courses and attended
Portuguese language classes at a public vocational training center.
Then she heard a radio announcement about USAID’s internship
program in hospitality and tourism. She applied and was accepted.
Several USAID-commissioned confl ict assessment reports in
Timor-Leste have identified youth unemployment as one of the
most prevalent conflict factors in Timor-Leste’s communities. In
response, USAID is helping to prepare Timorese youth for work
through programs like the hotel industry internships.
“I liked the USAID hospitality industry internship program very
much,” said Florinda da Costa. “For six months, we received good
training and started earning some money as well. Towards the
end of the internship period, I was offered a permanent job by
Discovery Inn.”
She added: “I am proud to work in the kitchen preparing food for
our guests, who are Timor-Leste’s and the United Nations’ top
leaders. I will keep this job and try to build a culinary career.”
Because of her new job, Florinda da Costa is able to help send
her younger siblings to school in their village. Of the 26 hospitality
industry interns completing the USAID internship program, 22
were offered jobs by their host companies. Twenty accepted the
offers and the remaining two opted to pursue further studies.
The participating Dili-based hotels and restaurants received
certificates from the Ministry of Tourism and USAID recognizing
their participation and contributions to the program. Managers from
the participating hotels have expressed their appreciation for the
program, saying that it helped them recruit high-quality employees.
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