National Professional Internship Programme (NPIP) for Higher Learning Institutions Graduates and Their Future Employment Opportunities: A Study from Rwanda Development Board (RDB)

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.