SkillCraft is asking local businesses to step forward — this time to host about 15 young people in its annual summer Social Media Internship programme.

While the charity has little trouble attracting student interest, founder Margot Shane said the success of the six-week programme depends on finding workplaces willing to open their doors to teenagers who are taking their first real steps into professional life.

The internship, which runs from July 29 to August 7, is designed for students aged 16 to 18 and combines classroom learning with real-world experience. Interns spend three days a week with SkillCraft learning the fundamentals of social media and two days a week working with a host business, where they can apply those skills in a real-world setting.

“There’s no cost to the host business. They just have to be willing to have the young person in their office two days a week,” she said.

Over the years, the programme has partnered with a wide range of businesses, including the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, Cassine, Marks & Spencer, the Bermuda National Trust, Keep Bermuda Beautiful, Abic, Blue Water Divers and Watersports, and Westmeath Residential and Nursing Care Home.

Several have returned year after year, something Ms Shane sees as a strong indicator of the programme’s value.

“At least 50 per cent of our host businesses every year offer our interns either further employment or further volunteering,” she said. “They don’t always have the budget to hire them, but they want to keep them.”

For businesses, the benefit is not only extra support with social media, but the opportunity to play a meaningful role in a young person’s development. Ms Shane stressed, however, that the programme works best for organisations that have the time and capacity to mentor.

“It’s a very relational thing,” she said. “The person who’s going to mentor the young person needs to be there for that whole period. When they switch mentors, it tends to fall apart.”

This year’s programme includes a slight shift in structure, with SkillCraft partnering with Shannon Davis and her organisation, The Growth Mirror, to provide additional coaching support. SkillCraft will maintain regular check-ins with interns and host businesses over the six weeks.

The programme places a strong emphasis on behaviours such as initiative, accountability, responding to feedback and understanding professional expectations — skills Ms Shane believes are critical regardless of career path.

“These kids are 16 to 18. This is probably their first real experience of a job. It’s a step up,” she said.

“SkillCraft is not necessarily about teaching students how to become a social-media marketer. It’s about those workplace habits we need to develop to be effective as an entrepreneur or as an employee. What's the difference between initiative and permission in a workplace? What does it look like to show drive or enthusiasm? How do you respond to feedback? Are you coachable? Those are the behaviours that we're trying to pull out of them.”

For students, the internship offers a low-risk opportunity to explore work in a structured, supportive environment.

“So I’m looking for young people who want to explore their next step in a really hands-on way,” Ms Shane said. “It’s just an opportunity to try something different.”

Ultimately, she hopes businesses will see hosting an intern not as a way to fill a marketing gap, but as a chance to invest in Bermuda’s future workforce.

“It’s an opportunity,” she said. “You’re in it to give back, to build a relationship with a young person where you were integral to their development as a blooming professional.”

• Applications for students as well as host businesses for the SkillCraft Social Media Internship close on February 13. To register, or for more information, visitskillcraft.bm