The journey to becoming a registered IOP is undoubtedly a challenging one.

IGEWP was established due to the needs and challenges identified amongst interns and emerging IOPs across the country, coupled with a desire to pay it forward and support fellow emerging IOPs in this journey to IOP registration.

IGEWP was originally established in February 2021 as the Professional Practice Sub-Committee for Emerging IOPs, with the aim of assisting emerging IOPs (students and interns) in their journey to becoming qualified and registered professionals. The sub-committee then became a recognised SIOPSA Interest Group in December 2021.

The vision of IGEWP is to create a supportive and inclusive community that empowers and guides interns and emerging Industrial-Organisational IOPs in their journey towards IOP registration. IGEWP aims to foster a professional environment where emerging IOPs can thrive and contribute to the field of work psychology.

The mission of IGEWP is to provide a platform and resources for interns and emerging IOPs to navigate the process of becoming registered IOPs. The interest group strives to facilitate knowledge sharing, networking opportunities, and advocacy for emerging IOPs. IGEWP aims to address the needs and challenges faced by interns and emerging IOPs by providing guidance, support, and information related to internships, workplace readiness, ethics, transformation, professional organizations, corporate partnerships, university support, and international student issues.

What are the goals of the interest group?

1. Provide a platform for emerging work psychologists to ask questions and have access to information about the process of becoming an intern and then registering as an IOP with the HPCSA. 
2. Provide the opportunity and platform for emerging IOPs to network with fellow professionals, and have access to information pertaining to the IOP journey.
3. To give emerging IOPs a voice by being a link in the communication chain between key stakeholders.
4. Build relationships with key stakeholders to assist in bridging the gap between being an emerging IOP and a registered professional.

Events held:

July 2021: Navigating an unstructured internship workshop
August 2021: Ethics 101 workshop
November 2021: Workplace readiness workshop
February 2022: NWU student chapter info session
March 2022: Quarterly report writing and internship tracking workshop
April 2022: Emerging IOP meet-up session
April 2022: Workplace readiness NWU graduate CV construction workshop
May 2022: Wellness workshop in collaboration with the Kaya Group.
July 2022: Emerging work psychologist’s Q&A webinar.
October 2022: UCT Student IOP information session webinar.
November 2022: Navigating an unstructured internship webinar.
March 2023: Workplace readiness workshop.