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A STEP Towards Your Future Career
SAFRI, the Southern Africa initiative of German Business, offers six-month internships at Daimler
AG in partnership with Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) and other companies in Germany.
Since 2005, more than 60 participants from Angola, Botswana, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia,
Zimbabwe and South Africa have successfully completed the Students Experience Programme
(STEP).
The encouraging economic growth of the SADC
countries is boosting demand for qualified, local
specialists and managers in the private sector.
This applies both to emerging local companies
and German businesses looking to tap into the
region’s markets.
The aim of the STEP program is to better prepare
young people from the SADC region for future
career challenges by offering them internships
at German companies. As well as strengthening
the participants’ own positions on the labour
market, the program raises the general level
of qualification on offer to the students and in
so doing also supports the activities of German
companies in the region.
Who is it for?
It’s a Partnership between
Students and Companies!
High calibre students and graduates in the fields
of engineering, controlling, logistics, sales and
marketing, business administration and IT with
less than one year of professional experience can
apply for admission to STEP. The duties for the
internship will accordingly match the degree of
study or qualification.
Even before the application process begins, German
companies have the possibility of passing
on their profile requirements for interns to STEP
based on the company’s current or planned activities
in Southern Africa. The targeted placement
of graduates benefits both the students and the
companies involved. The universities and HR experts
from Mercedes-Benz South Africa and the
SAFRI office use assessment centres to decide on
the allocation of internships.
The six-month internship provides participants
with the opportunity to build on their knowledge
and abilities, and to acquire skills specific
to their future careers. Companies also benefit
from the intern’s abilities and ideally, the intern
and the German companies continue working
together in Southern Africa once the internship
is over, strengthening existing structures and
opening up new markets.