Executive Summary

This contains an internship report for an internship carried out for one month at LOBE COOPERATIVE CREDIT UNION (LOCCU). This internship was carried out as part of the school requirement and compulsory for all. It was a period to face what i have been taught for so many years and an opportunity to showcase my potentials. Many were the challenges but in all it was a program worth taking.

During the period of my internship, I worked in all the departments of the bank. That is I worked at the account department, at the cash department, at the lending and collection department, at the branch managers office, and at the general manager’s office which helped me gain a working experience.

During the study, I found out that the cooperative has its strength which some are well trained employees, a buildings of their own. In spite its strength LOCCU also has weaknesses which some are lack of staffs, limited access to new technology. The internship was a great success as I achieved my objective of gaining working experience in spite some difficulties.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background Of Internship

Internship is a requirement in the University of Buea for the award of a Bachelor’s Degree (BSc). I was privilege to do my internship at lobe Cooperative Credit Union, for a month starting from 1stof July to the 30th of July, 2022 guided by a field supervisor, Mr. EMMANUEL DIOH OTTE

1.1.1 Definition and purpose of internship

An internship can be defined as a professional learning experience that offers meaningful, practical work related to a students field of study or career interest. An internship gives a student the opportunity for career exploration and development, and to learn new skills. Internship is usually a short term exercise whose primary focus is on giving someone the job training and taking the practical aspect of what is usually learned in class.

Unlike internship being a traditional and vocational training programs it’s designed to prepare undergraduates students for specific jobs upon graduation. Rather, they are designed to expose students to career fields, entire industries and to provide broadly defined work place skills for many jobs.

They are also designed to show students the relevance of academic skills which are increasingly important in most work places. Academic internship needs to be designed with this in mind. Most employers not only understand this philosophy but also strongly approve it. They want well prepared employees in terms of academic skills and broadly define work place skills exactly the sort focused on internship

Internship is a period of supervised training required for qualified profession which follows a specific number of academic credits. It provides real world experience to those who want to be employed for a job and relevant knowledge and skills required to enter any particular career field.

Internship are relatively short in nature with the primary focus in getting on the job training and to compare what was taught in class to that which was learned during the internship period. Interns generally have a supervisor who gives them daily task and evaluates each and everyone’s performance. Internship is an excellent way to begin building that important connection that are available in developing and maintaining a strong professional network for the future.

1.2 Characteristics of Internship

Internship is a competitive drive to work hard and perform on the job.

Internship also provides a positive attitude and enthusiasm about the chance to grow.

Internship is most successful when the student of higher education and employer share responsibility in making it all to be a valuable experience. That is each and every one concern is conscious of their responsibilities in their most appropriate manner.

It is a planned schedule constitution with the University department so as to right into the under gradual experiences as students partial fulfillment of the under gradual program. It involves the supervision of both the company and the school. It includes related experiences that complete what is learned in the classroom to be more understood and put in practice.

1.3 Objectives of Internship

To integrate theory and practice.

To improve the skill that will help the intern in future to find a job such as reducing writing and passing employer interview and also having mastery of what is done in the profession the employee chooses.

To allow students to apply theoretical knowledge required during University studies with practices.

To improve students with preliminary work experience that can prepare them for their future careers.

It allows students to go and be acquainted with business practice and procedures used in various organizations.

Types of internship.

There are various types of internships but I will brief on two which are Paid and Academic internship. My main focus is on the Academic internship which is the one I carried out.

– Academic internship;

This is a type of internship carried out by students in partial fulfillment of academic requirement. Academic internship is a credit bearing, career related work experience of limit duration in which an individual takes on responsible roles outside of the traditional university environment.

– Paid internship;

Paid internship offers students a way to gain relevant knowledge and the skills required to succeed in specific career field while making some money.

Definitions of Operational Terms

• Loan; It is a sum of money that is borrowed to a member for a period of time and repaid with interest.
• Savings; It is the process of keeping money aside for future use rather than spending it immediately.
• Cash book; It is a document or a book use by banks to record all financial transaction. This book is concerned with cash that comes in and cash that goes out of the organization (Members account).

2.1. Brief History of the Organization.

Lobe cooperative credit union (LOCCU) is a category one micro finance institution that mobilizes savings from members and grant loans to them. LOCCU started in 1972 with just 15 members, but now the cooperative has over 7000 members benefiting from its products and services.

The members of LOCCU during its creation were the PAMOL PLANTATION workers but due to LOCCUS expansion it has five branches which are located at Buea at mile 17, Mundember, Lobe Estate, Ekondo Titi, and Douala has increased its membership.  LOCCU was registered in 1994 under the ministry of Agriculture and Royal Development; MINAGRI number SW/CO/28/94/06 of 24/01/1994. LOCCU registered under COBAC decision number D-2001/58 CODE NUMBER 19489 of 03/07/2001, MINEFI number 0395 of 20/08/2001.

LOCCU has been attending to the enormous needs of small business, farmers, associations and builders. LOCCU always tried to make sure that the he meets the needs and expectation of ever growing membership by providing high quality reasonable price product and services not only to meet the objectives of the organization but also to exceed each and every ones expectations.

In order for all this to come true, the management has the duty to make LOCCU a professional working environment which is challenging, innovative, rewarding and also respectful of members, employees ideas and plans. All this permit growth,and increase in productivity there by providing excellent value to members and a fair reward to managers and employees.

Above all, the business goal of LOCCU is to penetrate in to the market intensively and can be done only through intensive research feasibility studies.

The money LOCCU uses for its operation is generated from share conrtibutions made by its members because the credit union is a members owned and members use organization. That is why any person with a good financial character is qualified to become a member of LOCCU. All the members of LOCCU have the right to to participate actively in the Annual General Meeting and each member also has the right to vote and can also be voted by other members.

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