TEF Rolling Out Extra Student Pathways After Summer Internship Surge

The Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) is set to roll out additional routes to assist students, building on its established summer internship programme.

Carey Wallace, the fund's executive director, disclosed that the agency fielded roughly 16,900 applications competing for about 1,000 paid internship slots. He said the scale of interest points to rising appetite among young Jamaicans for chances to prepare for the workplace.

According to Mr. Wallace, the flood of submissions made clear that more avenues were needed for hands-on learning and stronger job prospects. "We could not simply send 15,000 applicants a ding letter to say sorry. I said since they made a forward step to try and get that internship over the summer, let us still use our resources to provide them something of value," he said.

He was addressing the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) Tourism Forum at Sandals Dunn's River in Ocho Rios, St. Ann, on June 27.

Mr. Wallace said the TEF is crafting several measures so candidates who were not picked for the internship can still pursue growth in their personal and professional lives. The agency also intends to work with public bodies and service providers to help youth secure basic requirements such as Tax Registration Numbers (TRNs) and bank accounts.

The fund is further partnering with HEART/NSTA Trust and other training bodies to open access to programmes that can sharpen résumés and readiness for employment.

One option under review is volunteer internships during the 2027 summer cycle. That arrangement would give participants supervised workplace exposure and certification even where paid posts are unavailable.

Mr. Wallace acknowledged that students would rather earn while they learn, but stressed that documented experience would still improve their standing when seeking work later. "If we can partner with the hotels, with corporate Jamaica, to be able to still provide internships at the voluntary level, it will still get more and more having the value of the experience. I think all of us in here probably know how it feels when you are applying for a job and they ask for experience, and it's not on your résumé," he said.

He said the strategy aligns with the TEF's pledge to turn the keen interest shown by young Jamaicans into real openings for skills building, jobs, and career progress.