2024 SANCCOB Internship Opportunity
The Seabird Chick Rearing internship has been developed to equip you with chick husbandry skills and egg management skills for a career in captive breeding or seabird chick rearing. The Seabird Chick Rearing internship is not as physically demanding as the other seabird internship programmes, however, you need to be focused, self-motivated, compassionate, and highly observant. Be aware that the environment you will work in is quiet and solitary by nature.
Skills observed, assisted with, and learned during the internship:
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- Maintaining a high level of hygiene and cleanliness within the Chick Rearing Unit
- Weighing of chicks and calculating feeds based on weight
- Calculating and updating medication amounts for individual birds under supervision of the Veterinarian
- Record keeping for individual birds
- Handling and feeding African penguin chicks (all ages)
- Admitting and monitoring of eggs during incubation and hatching (weighing, candling, measuring and egg buddy)
- Working independently as well as part of a team
- Assisting in basic training of other interns
- Identifying behaviour in chicks to determine health status
- Maintaining adequate temperature control in the Chick Rearing Unit
Expectation of interns from SANCCOB:
- Committed individual and willingness to go the extra mile will be crucial
- Physically fit and able to stand for a full shift
- Comfortable with getting dirty
- Willing to work in all weather conditions, frequently outside
- Able to work in a team as well as independently
- Able to follow Standard Operating Procedures
- Reliable and accountable individual
- Compassionate and caring nature with a love for seabirds
- Trustworthy
- Attention to detail
- Strong sense of initiative
- Excellent communication skills
- Good problem-solving skills
- Ability to multi-task and perform tasks in order of importance and priority and delegate tasks to volunteers and other interns
- Work under pressure
- Previous experience working with birds desirable though not essential
Each intern will receive a training plan that will include an outline of the internship, with goals and action dates to complete these goals; this will be done with the support of the Chick Rearing Supervisor who will be your mentor; and the Volunteer Coordinator.
Vacancies for the Seabird Chick Rearing Internship are as follows:
September 2024 – 28 February 2024
October 2024 – March 2024
March 2024 – August 2024 x 2
April 2024 – September 2024 x 1
June 2024 – November 2024 x 1
September 2024 – February 2010 x 2
October 2024 – March 2024 x 1
December 2024 – May 2024 x 1
Length of internship: 6 months (minimum)
Hours of work: Mostly shift work (AM shift 05:30 am – 02:30 pm or PM shift 01:30 pm – 09:30 pm), 5 days per week (including some weekends and public holidays) Interns may also be expected to work 8:00 am to 5:30 pm* with a lunch break 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm and a short break in the morning and afternoon.
* Some days may require interns to assist until 6:30 pm, so your willingness to go the extra mile during the busy times will be crucial.
Reporting to: Chick Rearing Supervisor
To apply for one of our internships, download the application form and send it, along with your CV and motivational letter, to volunteers@sanccob.co.za
We look forward to welcoming you to SANCCOB.