A Reflection of My Internship
I was posted to KBA Training Centre Pte Ltd for my three (3) month internship from 24th June to the 13th September 2013. It was an enriching experience for me as this company focuses on providing safety and environmental courses for students under NEBOSH, IOSH and CIEH accreditation, which is closely related to the things I have learned in my course.
For the past 3 months, I have learned many things such as coming up with an environmental management plan, conducting risk assessments, observing water tank cleaning procedure and many more. All these have allowed me to apply what I have learned in school onto the real working environment. I was also able to better understand more about environmental issues and how people (mainly the employees) actually view them. Furthermore, since it was also my first time working in an office environment, it actually gave me a real eye-opener in the organisation of a corporate world, along with the etiquette and behavior which comes with it.
Other than the tasks given to me, I was also given an opportunity to attend some of the courses provided by KBA themselves. Two courses which I’ve attended were ‘CIEH level 2 Award in Fire Safety Principles’ and ‘Managing Safely’ accredited by CIEH and IOSH respectively. From these courses, not only have I refreshed my knowledge from the ‘Workplace, Safety and Health’ module which I have taken last semester, I’ve also gained extra information that was not taught in the Singapore syllabus. Moreover, I also received two precious certificates that could help enhance my resume in the near future after I have graduated from my studies.
However, not everything was smooth sailing. There were times where I felt rather stressed out whenever tasks which I have not learnt before were given to me. One example would be the drafting of an environmental management system (EMS). I was very unsure of what is to be expected in a company’s EMS as this module has not been taught in school yet. The stress was further compounded by the fact that my supervisor expected me to know what do since I have been in an ‘environmental’ course for more than 2 years. Thankfully, I managed to calm myself down and try to do more research online regarding the EMS and the things that has to be included in it. I also tried to clarify any doubts which I have with my supervisor even though I could be rather hesitant at times, which lead to a certain level of inefficiency. Therefore, one thing which I have learnt that can be applied to my future workplace is to make sure that one has to be thick-skinned and ask questions whenever a doubt arises. There should not be any room for shyness as that could only be a disadvantage to oneself.
All in all, it was a very fulfilling experience for me as the number of things I have taken from this internship has way exceeded my expectations. The people here are very nice and if given another opportunity, I would love to come back to KBA Training Centre and contribute more to it, at the same time gaining more knowledge and experience for myself.
From Daniel Chia
KBA Training Centre Pte Ltd
