The UK's number one Caribbean food and drink supplier* is offering a UK undergraduate or graduate the chance to experience an internship with a very unique placement.
Grace Foods UK and its parent company GraceKennedy have opened applications for the 2025 GraceKennedy Jamaican Birthright Summer Internship Programme, which is designed to reconnect second and third-generation Jamaicans living in the UK to their Jamaican heritage.
The 2025 programme will welcome one university student of Jamaican descent from the UK to join three other students from Canada and the US for a five-week professional and cultural internship in Jamaica.
The internship, which will take place from 28 June to 7 August next year, will offer the lucky candidates a unique chance to work with a GraceKennedy subsidiary aligned with their career goals while deepening their connection to Jamaican culture through immersive Heritage Pathway tours.
These tours will give the students the chance to learn about their Jamaican heritage by immersing them in historic sites, natural and human resources, and the island's beaches too
Eligible applicants for the 2025 GK Birthright Programme must be second or third-generation Jamaicans (with Jamaican parents or grandparents), aged 18-25 years, and enrolled in an undergraduate or postgraduate degree programme with a Grade B average or higher. They should also demonstrate a strong passion for learning about their Jamaican heritage and a genuine interest in contributing to diaspora activities.
Caroline Mahfood, CEO of the GK Foundation, which coordinates the programme on the Company's behalf, said: "Connecting with the next generation is very important to GraceKennedy. Many second and third-generation Jamaicans are familiar with our delicious food and world-renowned music but have never had the opportunity to experience our culture in a way that allows them to make deep, long-lasting connections with Jamaica. That's the aim of the Birthright Programme."
The successful UK applicant for the GK Birthright 2024 Programme was University of Sussex student Tariq Brown, a final year finance and business student at the University of Sussex. Tariq spent five weeks in Jamaica this summer as part of the internship programme.
For more information and application details, visit www.bit.ly/GKBirthright or email [email protected] with any enquiries. The deadline for applications closes on 30 November 2024.
* SOURCE: Circana - UK Caribbean Food and Drink, Retail Sales - 7 September 2024.
Picture caption: successful applicants for the 2024 GK Birthright programme, from left, are: Madison Thomas (USA), Tariq Brown (UK), Romari Smith (Canada) and Lauren Walcott (USA) at GraceKennedy's headquarters in downtown Kingston this summer.