Real Solutions on behalf of the United Nations in Nepal, on 20th December 2021, had invited graduates belonging to socially excluded groups, gender and sexual minorities, and people with disabilities for the Traineeship Programme. Out of the 2200+ applicants, 47 selected for Cohort IX participated in the virtual Induction Ceremony. The Induction was conducted virtually due to the ongoing pandemic. The purpose of the ceremony was to welcome the trainee and introduce the work environment, practices, ethics, and culture of the UN system in Nepal as well as globally.
The ceremony began with the pairing of mentor-trainees later followed by the interaction session between them. In the opening remarks Mr. Richard Howard of UNDP, Resident Coordinator addressed that - The traineeship program is about bringing in more diverse people and experience into the UN so that the UN, as well as the trainee, comes out stronger in the process. He further advised the trainees to use this time to think about the future and where they want to go next and share this with their supervisors.
On his note, to the trainee, he said “The traineeship is not simple but once you get into the flow of how things work you will be able to contribute a lot and I want you to realize that it’s not all going to be perfect on day 1, it will take you some time to figure out how things work, use your mentors and colleagues as much as you need, they are there to support you. Give yourself some time to adjust, that is the main advice to you.”
Mr. Shashank Joshi, representing the trainees selected for Cohort IX, shared that UN traineeship opens a door for many opportunities, it acts as a stepping stone in building a career and learning valuable skills. In any job vacancy announcement, experience is always mentioned and UN traineeship helps to fulfill those experiences.
“The traineeship program is just not the opportunity to excel but to be a better version of yourself. The experience has helped me be resilient and reliant. Each day at the office used to be so inspiring because we came to know that our small effort holds a great purpose towards helping those who are most in need.” said past trainee of Cohort VIII Ms. Sanjeela Gandhari.
Similarly, Mr. Prakash Chaudhary said, “Being a trainee we were there to learn something new and enhance our skill and I believe I have been able to achieve this objective, due to this I am here now volunteering as an HR in UNDP.” Likewise, Ms. Bishekha Jaishwal suggested to the new trainees to never hesitate to grab any opportunity because the mentor will always be there to correct the mistakes made by the trainees. She further added, “ You are here to learn so making a mistake is not a big deal, just don’t forget to learn from your mistakes and try not to repeat them.”
Lastly, Ms. Elke Wisch, UNICEF Representative of Nepal mentioned that youths are the key actors of change and the team is looking forward to the trainee’s passion, commitment, ideas, and innovative thinking in this program. She also thanked Real Solution colleagues for all their effort and excellent management.
Finally, after sharing the code of conduct and core values of the UN with the trainees the induction ceremony concluded.
