Bill to institutionalize internship program in government

A lawmaker has filed a bill introducing an internship program in the government to improve the
system of hiring of full-time government employees.
Rep. Delphine Gan Lee (arty-List! AGR"#! author of $ouse %ill &'()! said the internship
program would provide educational employment e*periences to individuals whose service will not be
used to displace any employee.
+,he bill will allow the government agencies to augment entry level functions while providing
valuable work e*perience to prospective government employees- Lee said.
+Likewise! it will also improve the recruitment pool by establishing a definite list of individuals
who have e*perience working with particular government agencies!- Lee added.
Lee said under the proposed Government "nternship "mprovement Act! the .ivil /ervice
.ommission (./.# must take the lead in establishing rules on internship programs as well as gathering
pertinent information! making sure that the system is properly carried out across the government agencies
and that the best practices are acknowledged and replicated.
Lee said the ./. has the role of making sure that information regarding available internship
programs is properly disseminated in order to attract more applicants and provide the government
agencies with sufficient candidates for internship.
,he measure mandates the ./. to provide an integrated internship program that would
complement its current recruitment efforts in order to ensure that prospective civil servants are properly
trained and the deserving ones promptly recruited.
,he head of each government agency operating an internship program shall designate an
individual within such agency to serve as internship coordinator.
Likewise! the head of each government agency operating an internship program shall make
available on the "nternet! the name and contact information of the internship coordinator for the program!
information regarding application procedures and deadlines for such internship program! and ./. shall
make publicly available on the "nternet links to the websites where the information is displayed.
,he ./. shall establish and maintain a centrali0ed electronic database that contains the names!
contact information! and relevant skills of individuals who have completed an internship program and are
currently seeking full-time government employment.
,he head of an agency can make a noncompetitive appointment leading to conversion to term!
career! or career-conditional employment! as long as the individual is recommended by the agency for
such appointment where she served as an intern! and satisfactorily complied other re1uirements and
conditions as the ./. may prescribe.
An intern appointed to term employment may subse1uently be converted noncompetitively to a
career or career-conditional appointment before the term appointment e*pires. (&2# jc
NR # 3537
JULY 24, 2014