The big internship question

Internship programmes for recent or soon to be university graduates entail practical work in one’s line of interest and are meant to help participants gain a footing in the professional world. While some companies pay their interns, many do not, and this has been the subject of fierce debate online in the recent past.

Damaris Lilech, Human Resources Associate Director at KPMG Advisory Services, says that whether or not an internship is paid is determined by several factors.

“What is the purpose of the opportunity? Is it to give the student an opportunity to complete their academic programme? Is it an opportunity to expose professionals to the work environment? Is it for the organisation to get people to perform some specific project work or fill gaps which would otherwise have been filled by an employee?” she poses.

Other factors that determine the terms include the company policy, length of the contract, availability of funds and who the initiator of the contract is.

May Nyaga, Head of Human Capital at Faulu Microfinance Bank agrees that unpaid internships could be as a result of industry dynamics, role, budgets and internal company policies on internship programmes.

“The focus of an internship is to offer students opportunities to build employee skills, gain business experience through exposure to various functional areas and also for them to fulfil the requirements of their relevant academic programmes. They also provide organisations with a pool of potential staff for future recruitment,” May says.

While it is important to give an allowance to students or new professionals to facilitate their transport and/or lunch, Damaris says this should not be perceived as compensation for the opportunity given to learn.

“However, where the organisation is using interns to execute specific projects, it is important to compensate for the work done. This also applies to long term contract periods. It is unethical, in my view, to use unpaid interns to reduce costs of projects that an organisation would otherwise have paid for,” Damaris says. 

May advises interns to manage their expectations and set their minds on acquiring the training and wholesome learning.
Let’s now read about the experiences of four youngsters who took up unpaid internships. They share their experiences: What challenges and opportunities came clothed in the unpaid internships and their advice to other students and new graduates.

Dorine Kanaiza, 26
PR professional
Although graduation came with the usual euphoria for Dorine, she was starkly aware of the fact that it marked the beginning of an uncertain period in her life.

“The graduation date was December 11, 2021 at the University of Nairobi. I was hoping to get a well-paying job, but those hopes kept getting squashed every time I perused job advertisements and realised there was little or no connection between what I learnt in school and employer expectations,” she says.

 When she was at the verge of giving up and slipping into depression, her cousin made her aware of an opportunity to take up the role of communications and programmes assistant at a certain company. She got the three-month internship opportunity, but there was a catch – it was unpaid but came with a stipend.

“Unpaid translates to working for free. I knew I badly needed the experience to strengthen my CV. I was staying with my parents at the time and with the stipend, I could manage,” she says.

  Her internship was extended by three months and she ended up with six months’ worth of experience.

“Unfortunately, my employer couldn’t retain me after that. I moved on to the next chapter —a volunteer position that later earned me a communications associate role. Both experiences (internship and the volunteer position) have built my portfolio. Today, I can stand before a panel of interviewers with confidence knowing what value I bring to the table.

 “My advice to anyone who’s trying to decide whether to take an unpaid internship would be, evaluate your needs first. Besides the experience that comes with an internship, you need to survive. I could handle the unpaid internship at that time because I was staying with my parents. Maybe in your case, you’ll need to pay rent and other essential bills that an unpaid internship won’t cater for. Furthermore, if you have built a wealth of experience through other internships positions, understand the value you bring to the prospective organisation, which deserves fair compensation,” she says.

Kelvis Wanjia, 27
Journalist
Kelvis graduated from Multimedia University in 2016 with a degree in mass communication. A month later, he landed an internship that turned out to be unpaid at a local media house.

“After successfully going through the auditions and interviews, I was asked to start work. My calling letter arrived a month after the start date,” he says.

Kelvis expected to receive a stipend because even the staff he spoke to at the organisation told him interns were paid a certain amount. However, when his calling later came, it stated otherwise.

“I was frustrated because that did not seem like the standard procedure. I wanted to quit but my aunty, who I was living with at the time, encouraged me to stay on. She said the internship was important in boosting my CV,” he says.

With this encouragement, he opted to look at the brighter side – at least he had a roof over his head. He also held onto the hope that after the internship, he would be absorbed as staff in the organisation.

“The internship gave me the opportunity to interact with journalists from other media houses and get first-hand experience. It built a good foundation for my career and even though I wasn't getting paid, I learnt a lot from the experience. I met my would-be boss during this internship at an event I attended. He had seen my work and liked it and invited me for a job at his organisation,” he says.

Even though he initially felt shortchanged, the outcome tells a different story.

“An internship does not pay that much anyway. The knowledge and experience gained are better than what I would have lost if I had turned down the internship,” he says.

So, would he advise others to take up unpaid internships?

“It depends on what you think the value of the internship is to your career. There are interns who are treated as teaboys or messengers. Such internships won’t benefit you. After school, what you are looking for is a stepping stone. Focus on the end goal. However, you should not suffer just because you are building a career. There are many dynamics, but with all things constant, an internship is a good place to kickstart your career,” he says.

Eunice Magwambo, 27
Corporate communication professional
Eunice studied communication and PR at Daystar University and graduated in 2017. She had her first internship just before she graduated. This was a requirement by her school as part of her coursework, and it was an unpaid position.

However, while the internship was packaged as a great chance to learn, she found herself producing output used by the company for business. Because of that, she felt it was appropriate that she got compensation for the job.

“I soon realised it was less of learning and more of delivering actual work. I mastered my role within a week and after that, I started to actively deliver work that someone should have been paid to do. The work was used by the company for production, to represent the company, and so on. This means that even if I was at the organisation purely to learn, I was doing real work. At the end of the day I felt that as much as I was learning, I was a worker.

“During the internship, I was staying with a sibling who did not have a stable job. Most times I would go without lunch and still work overtime because of the pressure of work. It was a struggle for me because sometimes I lacked transport and lunch and those are basic needs. If the internship came with a stipend, it would have been of great help.”

Despite the challenges, the internship was a great boost to her CV and gave her a chance to showcase her skills. She strongly believes it played a role in her landing her next internship (a paid position) which translated into a job.
Would she recommend an unpaid internship?

“No. I feel it is wrong. Students come from different backgrounds. Interns from rich backgrounds did not even need the money and could not understand why we needed a stipend in the first place. Some interns could not even afford supper and worked on empty stomachs and walked to work. This could also lead to mental health issues because of the challenges, and affect learning processes at the company. Paying does not mean equality but it will facilitate getting to work on time, afford lunch and produce more quality work, and it is a sign that the organisation appreciates what you do,” she says.

Mandela Isoso
Student
Mandela studied electronic media at Daystar University and graduated in 2016, and is currently pursuing a diploma in PR and Advertising at MMUST.

“I landed my first internship in 2016 at a media house in Nairobi. I later got two others in 2018 and 2019 in Kakamega and Nairobi respectively. One was unpaid and the other offered a stipend,” he says.

Even without pay, the internships were a great avenue for Mandela to place himself in the market, gain experience and understand how to conduct himself in the field.

“The biggest challenge was, I had to find a place to stay in Nairobi to be able to take up the internship. I had to fall back on my family to provide for me because the internship was unpaid,” he says.

But despite these challenges, he is thankful to his supervisors and mentors for giving him the chance to gain experience about the real professional world, to interact with people from diverse backgrounds and to build networks.
Would he recommend an unpaid internship?

“I would advise that one looks at the value – what he or she is getting, and have good negotiation skills. This will help during negotiations with their bosses and supervisors,” he says.