Before I got my first long term Job, I had worked as an attachee/intern at four different companies.

For the first three (Nairobi City Water & Sewerage Company, Centurion Systems Ltd, Safaricom Ltd) it was a university requirement that I do so.

Our department (Electrical Engineering) required that every student attend external internships from 2^nd year of studies to 5^th year.

My 4^th internship (last internship) was at Howard Humphreys Ltd (Engineering consulting company) and it was immediately after I wrote my final 5^th year exams.

In summary, before I ventured into my first Job (in an engineering consulting firm, Edson Engineers), I had a taste of at least four different industries.

I had a view of the available options.

Industrial attachment or internship is an essential part of a student’s academic programme. It normally lasts for a period of 3 months. A student is supposed to be attached to a company or organization that offers services that are related to the student’s course of study.

“It is a structured, credit-bearing work experience in a professional work setting during which the student applies and acquires knowledge and skills. It involves the application of learned skills in an organization related to the students’ major. An Industrial Attachment should challenge the student to examine the values of the organization involved in the experience, and to assess the student’s education as it relates to the Industrial Attachment.”

For many students university can be quite theoretical and an internship is their first opportunity to apply their knowledge to the real world. The experience will not only help you to develop the skills needed to work in your industry; working on real projects for a real organization will also give you the interpersonal skills that you need to work effectively with others — and confidence in your own abilities.

Some of the benefits of industrial attachment include;

• Exposing the student to demand and challenges of the work place.
• Gaining of practical experience.
• Gaining of working ethics.
• Helping the student acquire self-reliance skills.
• Contribute to local industry.
• Develop work-based skills.
• Establish industry networks and contacts .It has been said many times: ‘it’s not about what you know; it’s about who you know’. While it is vital to know how to perform the required tasks for a particular job, having a good set of industry contacts behind you can be just as vital in helping you find and secure a job after you graduate.
• Improve your cross-cultural communication skills.
• It will give you a competitive edge over graduate with no work experience.
• You will get to meet different people in your future career path.

At the end of attachment the student is required to write a report that is about 20-40 pages. Attachments/Internships are very important and some universities (such as JKUAT) have made them compulsory for students.

The Industrial Attachment Relationship
Industrial Attachment Site: The organization providing the Industrial Attachment opportunity.

Site/Host Supervisor: The person at the Industrial Attachment site who is directly responsible for the intern and his/her substantive work experience.

Student interns are supervised by a staff person employed by the site organization. Typically, the site supervisor has experience and expertise in the area in which the student is interning.

Host supervisors are responsible for interviewing interns, determining qualifications for the position, orienting interns to the organization, supervising, directing, and evaluating their work. The ideal host supervisor will serve as a mentor, sharing the pros and cons of a career in the field and giving suggestions for entering the profession. S/he will also have sufficient experience in the field to draw from and will share that experience with the student intern. The host supervisor meets with the intern on a regular basis to guide performance, answer questions, and provide background information and resources related to the intern’s work.

Their Roles;

Industrial Attachment Supervisor

Faculty Supervisor: The faculty member responsible for visiting and addressing issues raised by the attaché and/or site supervisor based on the student’s performance and completion of previously agreed upon assignments and marking the Industrial Attachment Report.

The relationship among the student, the site supervisor, and the faculty supervisor is perhaps the most influential factor in determining the success of the Industrial Attachment experience. This partnership exists in order that the attachee will achieve the learning and the rewards that result from this experience.

Faculty Attachments coordinators Role
The Faculty attachment coordinator ensures that students are supervised during the internship and updates the assessment marks.

Intern

The student intern is responsible for selecting the attachment. The intern is also responsible for meeting with the host supervisor prior to the internship to clarify expectations and responsibilities, complete a Details Form, working the required number of hours, seeking out supervision on site as needed, and completing the academically-related tasks which are agreed upon by the university and intern (such as a journal, supplementary research, and a paper). In addition, the intern maintains high standards of professionalism while at the internship site. As a student, one thing you will be looking out for is to build a good and strong professional circle with people that matter in your chosen field. By this landing a job after your graduate will be a breeze. I still have connections at the previous companies where I carried out my internships.

Why Attachments/Internships?

Industrial attachment/Internship will afford you an opportunity to meet many people in your field. It is important to keep a good connection with them. There are many job opportunities that need a capable person urgently and these jobs are not always advertised due to the urgency. The simplest and easiest way to recruit someone in this situation is by recommendation from experienced industrial players. Employment recommendation has a huge value most especially when someone who is recommending you is considered as one of the best people in the job.

The graduate job market is incredibly competitive, so having a full résumé that includes actual industry experience is sure to be a valuable asset. It has the potential to make you stand out from the competition.

Employers can read a lot from a sheet of paper. Having a number of internship experiences will show that you are keen to gain employment in the industry and will also indicate to employers that you have the right skills and enough experience to take on a permanent paid position. Don’t just leave an internship until your final year of study; the more internships you complete, the fuller your résumé will become and the more attractive you will look to future employers.

The Internship experience will narrow down your list of potential careers. Internships really are a win-win situation. They can help you decide if a particular career or area is or isn’t for you, and narrow down the (often long) list of careers that you are interested in to find one that you will be happy in. If you don’t enjoy your internship experience then, at the very least, it will have helped you to determine that a particular area isn’t for you

Industrial Training Assessment:

The industrial training performance assessment is based on:

• Students’ logbook of daily activities.
• Students’ Industrial Training Final Report.
• Industrial Training Supervisor’s report/Company Feedback Report where the student are attached for training.
• Industrial Training Lecturers report through visit or survey.

Download sample attachment/Internship reports at a discounted  price of Ksh.50 only.

Source: Strathmore & JKUAT University Internship Guides