The Cayman Islands Petroleum Inspectorate has taken on its first student intern — Jon Mikol Rankin — as part of a programme to provide students with an opportunity to gain work experience from, and develop more interest in the department.

Mr. Rankin started his internship on 8 March and will be there until the end of April. He was placed through the Cayman Islands Further Education Centre’s (year 12 of John Gray High School) internship programme. Mr. Rankin works at the Inspectorate office two days (Wednesday and Friday) a week while continuing his studies. He is currently focused on familiarising himself with the Inspectorate laws, regulations/codes and general administration; his duties will involve assisting with the database for the equipment mapping and register, price surveys and some analysis and trends studies. He will also accompany and assist inspectors with actual site inspections.

“We are pleased to have Jon on board with us. We view this as an opportunity to create a positive impact and hence develop long–term relationships with those who will be entering the Cayman Islands workforce in the near future,” Chief Petroleum Inspector Duke Munroe said.

“Under the guidance of a mentor, we aim to provide Jon with varied and valuable experience. In return, it allows us to showcase the critical functions of our department which (we hope) will also inform and influence career choices in specialised areas such as PI. While the department also needs the additional support at this time, we consider one of our critical outcomes as ‘building personal capacity’ for the student.

“I find working at the Petroleum Inspectorate very interesting. There is always something going on and so much to learn; it’s never boring,” Mr. Rankin said.

“I see the safety aspect of the department as very necessary,” he added.

Alan Jones, Chief Officer in the Ministry of District Administration, Works, Lands and Agriculture, said he was pleased that government departments can utilise the skills of interns and that both can forge a mutually beneficial relationship.

“The benefits to our students are obvious. They gain valuable work experience that can help them determine their choice of a career and give them a competitive advantage when seeking a job. In the workplace they learn how to be professional, see different leadership styles in action, and decide which they want to emulate.

Having an intern is a good way to give younger employees supervisory or mentoring experience. Training the next generation of managers by giving a younger employee an intern to mentor provides the proverbial ‘win-win-win’ for all concerned,” Mr. Jones said.