Taking on Interns

Elaine Ng

CEO, National Library Board (NLB)

As a learning organisation, one of NLB’s goals is to facilitate and encourage knowledge sharing. We believe that the ability to embrace creative and innovative ideas is fundamental to the growth of NLB. This is where our internship programme comes in, as it invites others to give new ideas to improve the way we do things.

In essence, our internship programmes enable interns to acquire knowledge, learn on the job and contribute ideas of their own. Our interns also help us to test our operations against fresh perspectives for progress to be made.

This year, NLB partnered with Republic Polytechnic (RP) to involve some of their final year Diploma in New Media course students in media literacy training for selected primary and secondary schools. During the four-month long internship period, NLB worked with RP’s interns to tap on their knowledge, experience and feedback to produce comprehensive and engaging content for the course.

NLB will continue to explore possibilities for internship arrangements with various educational institutions to fulfil our mission of nurturing readers for life, developing learning communities and contributing to a knowledgeable nation.

Max Loh

Country Managing Partner, Ernst & Young LLP

We believe that internship is an important journey for students. While interns may be fresh to the job, their internship experience will help them understand the job requirements when they become part of the profession in the future.

At Ernst & Young, we plan our internship programme to allow these interns the opportunities to experience the role and on-the-job training.

During their internship, the interns shadow their seniors on the job to understand what the role entails, including what goes on in client meetings. They are also given the chance to try out simpler aspects of the job to gain hands-on experience.

Part of our internship programme involves coaching by the seniors and managers. The coaching and feedback sessions allow interns to understand their development and helps their learning.

The leaders of the firm also take an active approach to engage with the interns as they are our important brand ambassadors. Ultimately, we hope to inspire the interns to be part of the accounting profession by observing the behaviour of the leadership and appreciating that they can be part of an organisation that values its people.

Jeffrey Toh

Senior Vice President, Institutional Banking Group, DBS Bank

As DBS continues to build a leading Asian bank, we are always looking out for new talent. Internship is an avenue where we can identify potential talent and help to nurture those with interest in banking and finance.

Each year, I hire about two to three interns depending on business needs. I have observed that they are well-prepared and are able to undertake a wide range of tasks as a result of the training and exposure that they have received in school. On our part, we provide extensive on-the-job coaching to guide them through a variety of tasks. Given their strong communication and technical skills, I would assign them to support various business functions such as research and analysis as well as taking on active roles in project work.

As a supervisor, I actively engage them and provide clear targets or KPIs to motivate them. It is also important to understand them better so I can help to maximise their potential by playing to their strengths. Through regular dialogues, we share feedback openly and that helps to deepen mutual engagement. Interns can make positive contributions if we give them room to grow and make them feel that they have a valuable role to play in DBS.