To be fair, the relationship between the intern and the company is mutualistic, there's a mutual interest and benefits between the employer and the intern.
The intern comes to gain experience and undergo mentorship and the company also benefits from the extra man power and support from the interns in their organization. To create a balance, they both contribute to the growth and development of the company and that is why the intern deserves some stipend, wage or even a salary.
Interns are advised to focus on learning and not prioritize money for future benefits, but we can't take away the fact that interns report to work daily, just like company employees, they execute tasks, contribute to the growth of the company while learning and adding value to the company, no matter how little it might be.
In a country like mine, companies usually short down on staff just to have interns work and, in the end, they insist on not paying. Not to forget, interns also do extra work for them and leaving them unpaid seems like the employer is taking advantage of their labor, contribution and value to the company.
I'm not saying their pay should be equal to that of an employee but should be enough for daily transportation costs and feeding at work.
If companies don't agree to pay interns for their extra services in the company, then there should be a line between learning as an intern and rendering free /unpaid labour to a company.
If I'm coming to learn as an intern, I should be strictly learning and if I have to overwork myself, I also deserve to be paid for the labor.
I only had an intern experience during my service year, I was underpaid, and I even had to do extra job at the company.
Also, my elder sister, during her, IT had a terrible experience and all I can say about interns in this part of the world is an opportunity for companies to reduce staff, overwork interns and act like they are doing them a favour. Justify their actions of not paying or underpaying with annoying reasons and, at the end of the day, discourage young youths from being employees in the future.
Being an intern really feels like exploitation at some point. One of the major reasons most young people undergo internships is for the purpose of CV and Resume quality. In a country like mine where experience is very important before one is employed, undergoing an internship will grant one the privilege of getting a good job.
This is one of the reasons most Nigerians try to survive and undergo internships, regardless of the exploitation they get from employers.
In conclusion, a wise friend told me that if I have to grow, gain expertise and excel in my career, I have to prioritize learning over money at some point. This is a knowledge that has guided most Nigerian youths, not just me, and that's why we chase internships, even in companies that would exploit us. The determination to meet the criteria of the company we intend to work at in the future will make us stay back in a toxic work environment to build experience.
I have also heard stories of people who succeed regardless of the harsh reality of internships in my country. They have gained good training, better jobs, better pay , learnt communication skills and many other major skills that guarantee a better future in their career and I believe that's because they focused more on learning and never made money a priority.
A fair pay to interns will be fair enough, because the relationship between employers and interns benefits both, so it's fair enough to give them a fair pay.
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