Internships are a learning experience and should be paid for in the same fashion we pay for education. The moment you get admission to intern for three or so months in a company; that company becomes a learning institution - systems have to adjust to accommodate you, someone has to be in charge of supervising you at the expense of doing their daily duties. 

If the learning that goes on today in our colleges is anything to go by most interns are half baked and very labourious to mentor and train. They therefore owe the company and should pay for the opportunity they are getting. 

On Fri, Apr 5, 2019 at 3:42 PM Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Jimmy

Before we discuss pay let's rather discuss the concept of apprenticeship and internship. Let's go back to the basics, way back when being an apprentice was something to be proud of. You were learning a trade. You were learning to be disciplined. You were learning to be a part of society. And society had a responsibility to you much like you had a responsibility to society. The ecosystem to enable comprised Universities, National and Village Polytechnics. The apprentices included graduates, Diploma Holders etc. 

The system is broken.

Employers are misusing the system. Interns are misusing the systems. Society watches helplessly.

This is the conversation we must have. Pay should be part of the bigger picture. Focusing on pay alone is missing the point.

Regards


 Ali Hussein

Principal

AHK & Associates

 

Tel: +254 713 601113

Twitter: @AliHKassim

Skype: abu-jomo

LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim


13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,

Chiromo Road, Westlands,

Nairobi, Kenya.


Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.


On Fri, Apr 5, 2019 at 2:04 PM Jimmy Gitonga <jimmygitts@gmail.com> wrote:
Ali,

"Let us have candid conversations around changing mindsets  - both from a corporate perspective and an internee/apprentice perspective.” is what you said and my  "Swopping out internship with apprenticeship does not answer the underlying question.” did not convey that I was agreeing with you. I accept that.

So to get to having candid conversations around changing mindsets, I asked the questions; Who should pay for interns to flourish in private organisations? Should the company pay for the labour? Should the intern pay for the opportunity and experience?? Who owes who?

Best Regards,
Jimmy Gitonga

Web Software Design and Development 
LinkedIn: Jimmy Gitonga | Twitter: @Afrowave
______________________________________

Web: afroshok.com






On 4 Apr 2019, at 4:35 PM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:

Jimmy

I encourage you to read my email again. You seem to have missed my point. :-)

Regards

Ali Hussein
Principal
AHK & Associates

 

Tel: +254 713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo

13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
Chiromo Road, Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya.

Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.


On Thu, Apr 4, 2019 at 3:24 PM Jimmy Gitonga <jimmygitts@gmail.com> wrote:
Hapo sawa Brathe, :-D

I think what we are really asking is a societal question. Unpaid internships are not illegal. Swopping out internship with apprenticeship does not answer the underlying question.

Why should internships be paid for? The answer is a social impact one, not a business one. It being construed as a business decision is what people are up in arms about. Internship is a "giving back", "paying forward” or “leg up" kind of thing.

Who should pay for interns to flourish in private organisations? Should the company pay for the labour? Should the intern pay for the opportunity and experience?? Who owes who?

With the best regards,
Jimmy Gitonga






On 4 Apr 2019, at 11:23 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:

Jimmy

Let me be clear and remove my 'cleverness' :-)

My deep conviction is this:-

We are bucking the wrong tree. Let's go back to the basics. Let's redefine what an internship/apprenticeship means. Firstly, let's accept that the internship concept has been so bastardized that it has lost meaning. I would like at this point to replace internship with apprenticeship. Apprenticeship used to mean:-

A person who is learning a trade from a skilled employer, having agreed to work for a fixed period at low wages.

Let us have candid conversations around changing mindsets  - both from a corporate perspective and an internee/apprentice perspective.

Regards

Ali Hussein
Principal
AHK & Associates

 

Tel: +254 713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo

13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
Chiromo Road, Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya.

Any information of a personal nature 


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