CALGARY - Bow Valley College is calling on Canadian graduates of diploma and degree programs to boost their global career experience by applying for the International Youth Internship Program (IYIP). The deadline for applications is Monday, February 11, 2019.

Bow Valley College, along with College of the Rockies and Selkirk College, share a $1.5 million grant to help recruit and manage the program until 2020. It was launched in 2017 by the Government of Canada’s Global Affairs as part of its Youth Employment Strategy.

The program offers Canadian post-secondary grads the chance to garner hands-on career experience through development projects that promote business, environment, equality, health education and agriculture. Participating countries include Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Jamaica, Kenya, Peru, Rwanda and Tanzania.

“This is not just a travel opportunity—it’s a chance to put your education to work and advance your employability in meaningful ways,” states Amy Schalin Weatherall, Manager, Global Campus Initiatives & International Learner Development, International Education. “Graduates will be paired with another fellow applicant to initiate projects and activities within a team or independently. It can be challenging, but it’s worth the experience.”

Schalin Weatherall is herself a beneficiary of the program, and adds that part of the mission and vision of Bow Valley College is to create open doors and open minds to becoming global citizens—not only with technical abilities, but also interpersonal and intercultural skills.

“There is definitely an advantage for graduates who gain international work experience,” she says. “It is attractive to employers and clients, and it gives them the ability to go into an environment where they are not familiar, and encourages them to navigate and achieve performance deliverables within the context of another culture and business norms.”

Interested applicants for 2019 International Youth Internship Program must be Canadian citizens, between ages 19 to 30, from any province or territory, and hold a post-secondary degree or diploma from a college, polytechnic, university, or a CEGEP (general and vocational college).

 Each intern will receive a monthly stipend, international travel and visa costs, and health care coverage as well as pre- and post-arrival training and reintegration.

Visit the Bow Valley College IYIP internships page for more information about opportunities, eligibility, and how to apply or call 403-410-3476. Applications are due February 11, 2019.

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For more information, please contact:

Donna Gray
Media Relations Officer
Bow Valley College
Mobile: 403-831-1150
Office: 587-393-2628
Direct: 403-770-5150
Email: dgray@bowvalleycollege.ca

About Bow Valley College
Bow Valley College - Calgary and region's only Comprehensive Community College - with more than 15,000 full- and part-time students, is a leader in business and health career training, community studies, creative technologies, adult upgrading, and English Language Learning.