BRIEF INTRODUCTION: Internship according to Wikipedia consists of an exchange of services for experience between the student and an organization. Simply put Internship is a period of time normally between 6months to 1 year during which a student or graduate acquires practical and work experience in a specified discipline from an organization. In Nigeria it is called “Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme” (SIWES) or popularly known as “Industrial Training” (IT). Students engage in the scheme during their second, third or even fourth year in the university as the case maybe for a maximum of six months while in polytechnics the schemes spans for a period of one year after a student has successfully completed his/her National Diploma Programme. The essence of the scheme is to bridge the gap between the theoretical and practical knowledge of students. There are paid internships for students in Medicine and medically related fields like nursing, medical laboratory science, radiography and pharmacy. These students are called “Interns" during this period and are paid by the Government. Students in other fields like Engineering, Sciences, Management and Business are also part of the internship programme but are not guaranteed payment, although some organizations like multinationals and companies encourage their interns with stipends and some incentives while some are indifferent about it. The Government too also pay meager stipends to students going in for the programme but the payments are quite inconsistent and in most cases students don’t even get to lay their hands on the peanuts. The bottom line here is for the student to glean practical knowledge of his/her field of study and gain some work experience.


BENEFITS TO STUDENTS
Safe for the acquisition of technical knowledge and skills in diverse fields students benefit from the scheme in the following ways:


1. Work Experience: Organizations engage these students in one or two allied activities that enable them to gain work experience which also counts in Job seeking and resume' enriching. The sense of responsibility and commitment during the program will also aid them in future work endeavors, most of who are mandated to report for duty as early as 7am everyday and with zero tolerance for lateness by multinationals interns risk the possibility of losing out in the scheme, this alone grooms them up for the future.

2. Network of Connections: Unlike graduate trainee programmes, securing a job after a successful Industrial Training in Nigeria is rarely guaranteed and so while the window of internship persists, interns seize the platform to fraternize and form cordial relationships with top officials and directors wherever they were placed. This bond strengthens with time and is capable of securing a future filled with roses for the students which sees them returning back to that firm after graduation for instant employment based on the sealed relationship from the onset.

3. Source of Income to students: From the monthly stipends being paid, students who are frugal with funds could actually save up a whole lot of cash that can come in handy someday.This saved cash can be used to foot bills after the IT, settle financial issues in the family, start up a business and pay up debts.

4. CGPA booster: The SIWES program is about a 4 credit unit course or more depending on the institution. It's very rare to see a student score any grade less than a B which can see a GPA rise exponentially.


CHALLENGES
Well the perks of the internship aren't void of challenges, matter of fact the challenge is the chief reason for this article and they include:

1. Lack of placement for students: One of the major challenges students encounter is not being able to secure a place for an IT program, it is not anomalous to see IT request letters from students being rejected by organizations and relevant companies compelling students to resort to undergoing the program with irrelevant institutions just to feel among and probably draft an IT report. Some of them exhaust the duration of the program searching for placement. One of the reasons for this is not far fetched; lack of connections to the men up there.


2. Students turned slaves: It is really worrisome to see students who came to acquire technical knowledge being used as slaves and errand boys by host companies thereby derailing and defeating the original intent and essence of the scheme. While it is a norm for students to run a few errands for their masters in the course of the training, it becomes an abuse if it is done too often than usual. The incessant use of students for frivolous activities and errands is servitude in disguise. I ponder at the possibility of any intern especially in technical fields mastering any skill abeit being used as a janitor, orderly, cook and even a DJ "My IT was a total mess, I spent it organizing birthday and house warming parties for officials and staffs of the company" a friend once lamented. "I was used as a DJ, MC and storekeeper all in the name of IT " another decried.


3. Irregular payment of stipends: Regular flow of incentives and stipends is necessary for encouragement and morale boosting of IT students, if this flow is truncated it undermines the student's zeal, some are encumbered with financial burdens, transportation to and fro the work location needs a vibrant purse as some of this organizations are sited in the heart of the city. Running the numerous errands on empty intestines could be hazardous too. This challenge is so grave and halting the scheme prematurely is inevitable in such cases.




THE WAY FORWARD
Internship in Nigeria has great prospects ahead if and only if the challenges are tackled head on. The process should be overhauled and streamlined. The maximum cooperation of firms, companies, multinationals, banks,schools are highly needed to curb the issue of students not securing a place for the program, they are interns and not job seekers, the process should be smooth and less rigid for them, on the flip side they are coming to assist the work force increase production as most of them are being stretched to their limits by their bosses handling tasks past closing hours. The allowances most imperatively should be consistent and organizations should ensure that their interns are being taught the necessary technical know-hows, creating a portfolio to manage students interns won't be a bad idea. The SIWES program in Nigeria exposes undergraduates to the real world out there. The experience, the knowledge, the thrill is really worth it's salt but a critical scrutiny into the associated issues will make it more tasty.


Spiff Anderson
University of Calabar, Nigeria

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