Coulibaly Titio Assetou, Ivorian, 30 years old What have you studied and where have you worked before? For my first degree I studied Business Administration at UC ASM in Ivory Coast. Then I did a Masters in Human Resources at the University Institute of Abidjan. Finally, I just finished a Master of Industrial Relations at Laval University in Quebec City (Canada). My first internship was with the Human Resources Department at Oilibya Ivory Coast. While studying in Quebec City, I supported my director with various research related activities. This is my most important professional experience as of yet. What department do you work in and what is your role? I work in the department of labour administration and occupational safety and health. During my internship, I have two main responsibilities: the first is to organize and plan the distribution of ILO encyclopedias (in French Language) to francophone African countries; the second is to support the Flagship program, which is a vast ILO program on occupational safety and health. This program will help to tackle multiple challenges in a structured and integrated way, working at the global, regional and national level. What was the best thing about your work experience at the ILO? The best characteristics of this internship are to gain experience in international business and also to have responsibilities. Through this internship, I now better understand how an international organization like the ILO works. Also, I've improved my understanding of technical cooperation programs and how they unfold in practice. Could you name one good memory you will take away with you? The strength, experience and skills of my colleagues. What's next? I plan to actively look for a job in the field of safety and health at work or human resources. I am convinced that this internship will allow me to quickly get a ´decent´ job in my field of expertise within an international organization – perhaps at the ILO.
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Dear fellow interns,
The InternBoard has been discussing with HR the most pressing issues for the ILO interns, as well as possible solutions to address those. These are the main topics being discussed at the moment: 1 - It is urgent that internships are recognized as 'working experience' rather than 'learning experience'. While discussion continues with HR, the IB has been advised by the Union to request a mandatory certificate clearly recognizing the work we have accomplished during the internship. 2 - The internship's monitoring and feedback tools need to be improved. It is the IB's conviction that at least 3 compulsory meetings (welcome/mid-internship/exit) should be set up during the internship between the intern and the supervisor for mutual feedback. Plus, interns should be surveyed at the end of their internship about their experience at the ILO. 3 - Despite the recent increase of the stipend (thanks to the efforts of former and current interns), the total amount is still not enough to cover the living costs in Geneva. The stipend must be increased to allow equal access to ILO internship scheme regardless of applicants' social and geographic background. 4 - Apply equal or similar internship conditions to field offices’ interns, who seem to be most isolated and vulnerable. It is crucial that we clarify their situation. If you want to learn more about the IB's work or get involved, drop a line below or at [email protected]. All comments and suggestions are very welcome! On Feb 7, 2015, the ILO interns visited CERN, the world’s largest particle physics laboratory. Coming from a broad array of social science backgrounds, most of us find the experience refreshing from our policy desk job routine.
The tour included an hour of presentation from the physicist, a walking tour in the compound, a movie, and detailed explanation from the history of CERN to the discovery of Higgs Boson. Coming next: visit to the Red Cross Museum! |
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