‘Roshan Kal’ — a virtual internship programme

Islamabad: A virtual internship programme for 300 graduates of the PepsiCo-Amal Youth programme announced. The ‘Roshan Kal’ internship aims to provide experiential learning, industry exposure and an insider perspective to young university graduates. It is significant to note that 50 per cent of the participants in the programme will be women.

‘Roshan Kal’ virtual internship programme will provide mentorship, guidance and a platform for the interns to put the life skills they have acquired, into action. The programme is designed to be a digitalized interactive, engaging and immersive experience. It will focus on bringing out the interns’ creativity, innovation and agility; skills that will give them a competitive advantage in the ever-changing world, both professionally and personally.

The assignments will be research-based projects varying from topics such as analyzing consumer buying trends, technology solutions for the new normal and learning about organization culture and processes.

Furqan Ahmed Syed, CEO PepsiCo Pakistan and Afghanistan commented, “Supporting Pakistan’s youth is part of our ‘Winning with Purpose’ agenda and reflects company’s ambition to win sustainably in the marketplace and embed purpose into all aspects of our business. The ‘Roshan Kal’ Virtual internship programme is a continuation of our commitment to youth in alignment with the Pakistan government’s ‘Kamyab Jawan Programme’. This year we expanded our internship programme for hundreds of young Pakistani graduates in order to provide them with a virtual working experience.”

Pakistan’s growing youth population is actively seeking employment opportunities. Despite technical expertise, the key workplace barrier to entry is the professional skills gap. The company has partnered with Amal Academy to fill this gap by providing professional skills to university graduates so they can gain meaningful employability skills. The PepsiCo Amal Youth programme was launched in 2019 as a pilot to train 1,000 students. In 2020, with PepsiCo’s support, Amal Academy has expanded to Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and aims to double the impact by training over 2,000 students by end of this year.

Tamakanat Saad a selected intern, based out of Faisalabad commented, “I am thrilled to have been selected for “Roshan Kal’. This virtual internship is a blessing in disguise, as my location doesn’t become a hindrance in benefiting from such an incredible opportunity. I am keen to make the most of this experience, to learn and grow and excited to see the doors that it will open for me.”

This investment in youth is part of company’s broader social impact commitment in Pakistan following the recent announcement of its intention to invest Rs775 million in social programmes over the next 3 years. Investment in social impact is part of the company’s broader vision to be the global leader in convenient foods and beverages by Winning with Purpose. One portion of the investment will support the government’s Kamyab Jawan programme, by expanding its existing support for youth employment and skills development through the Amal-PepsiCo youth collaboration programme.