Tech Internship now provide route young Nigerians ride onto the superhighway of empowerment even without connections

By Ugonnabo Ngwu

 It has emerged that most unicorns operating in the country rarely advertise vacant roles because they run internship programmes that feed them new hires. Companies without such internal training structures partner with incubation hubs and academies across the country, from where they poach the best of their graduating cohorts. 

While this system may seem exclusionary, it has greatly helped young Nigerians passionate about technology to find their footing in the industry, empowering them to fend for themselves and their loved ones. This validates the industry-wide credo that “If you are really, really good at what you do in tech, you might need little to no connection to succeed in the industry.” 

The story of Shaibu Abdulsalam is a case in point. Losing his father as an undergraduate landed him in dire financial straits, worsened by a malfunctioning laptop computer he had to cope with. But thanks to the internship opportunity he got at the American company operating in Nigeria, PipeOps, the Kano indigene was able to see himself through school while fending for his mother and siblings. Today, he is a frontend engineer gainfully employed by the company where he interned. 

Speaking with brandish.africa, Abdulsalam said, “I got into PipeOps through an internship. During the internship, I was able to demonstrate my skills and contribute meaningfully to the team, and that eventually led to a full-time employment opportunity.  

“Of course, getting an internship does not automatically guarantee a full-time role. You still have to prove yourself, deliver good work, learn, and show that you can contribute to the organisation. In my case, that opportunity eventually became a full-time position.” 

Apart from PipeOps, some larger organisations, such as MTN, AWS, and commercial banks, run internship or early-career programmes. The requirements and selection processes can vary from one organisation to another. Some programmes may be designed for people who already have a certain level of knowledge or technical ability, rather than complete beginners.

 In such cases, the organisation may be looking for people who have already demonstrated an interest in the field and have the potential to grow with the right support. The structure of an internship varies. For some, it may involve structured training and mentorship from the beginning to the end of the programme. For others, it may focus more on giving interns practical experience, tools, and resources that help them improve their existing skills. 

Why it’s not an all-comers’ affair 

Major internship opportunities are rarely advertised because companies don’t want to onboard unserious people who would eventually waste their time and resources. Some may publicise their programmes through their websites, social media pages, job boards, or other platforms. Others may use partnerships with universities, training academies, professional communities, or recruitment organisations to find candidates. 

“A company could partner with an academy that trains people in technology and ask the academy to recommend some of its strongest students when internship opportunities become available. This can make the recruitment process more targeted because the company already has some information about the candidates’ training and performance. 

“So, it is not necessarily the case that you must know someone inside a company to get an internship. However, being part of relevant communities, training programmes, schools, and professional networks can expose you to opportunities that you might otherwise miss. There are several technology-focused training platforms and academies that people can explore, such as AltSchool Africa, ALX, and CcHUB’s training initiatives, among others. 

“Many of these programmes operate remotely or offer online components, which means people can learn from different locations. You typically register for a programme, go through the selection or onboarding process where applicable, and then access the learning resources and community,” Abdulsalam said.  

What internships entail and the ideal duration

 Internships have to do with providing passionate newbies with the tools, training, guidance, mentorship and resources needed to develop their skills and explore their potential. The programme provides structured learning, mentorship, professional experience, and exposure to how organisations actually work. 

“You might be someone who has a passion for engineering and may want to go into robotics. Obviously, you are just starting and don’t have the money to experiment and buy gadgets and tools you need to work with. You could find an internship where they provide you with these tools for free.  

“Because you already have that passion and zeal to pursue that career path, with the requisite tools at your disposal, that will help you foster your career. For some, an internship could mean providing you with the knowledge from start to finish. While for others, it may just be about providing you with the tools and resources you need to help you upskill as a person,” the PipeOpsfrontend engineer said. 

 As for the duration, an internship could last for three months, six months, nine months, or even a year. The organisation offering the internship and the programme's objectives usually determine this. The nature of the role can also influence how long it takes for an intern to gain meaningful experience.  

Ultimately, the quality of the experience matters as much as the duration. Someone can learn a lot in a shorter, well-structured internship, while someone else may need more time depending on the role and their level of experience. 

Internship from a present participant’s perspective 

Miracle Oluebubechi Omeje, a Public Administration graduate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, is currently participating in the Big Data Analytics programme funded by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board at the Centre for Marine and Offshore Technology Development (CMOTD) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. 

Relating her experience in an interview with our correspondent, she said, “I have been introduced to different areas of data and technology, including Excel, SQL, Power BI, Python, machine learning, cloud computing and data governance. What I appreciate most about the programme is that it has helped me see data analytics as more than just learning software. It is really about understanding a problem, working with information and turning that information into something useful. Coming from a non-technical academic background, the programme has also shown me that transitioning into tech is possible if you are willing to learn and consistently put in the work.” 

She added that the internship programme has made her fascinated by data analytics because data in its raw form does not necessarily tell anything. “You have to know how to collect it, clean it, analyse it and interpret it before it becomes useful. 

I find it particularly interesting that the same set of data can reveal patterns that you might not notice just by looking at individual figures. With tools such as SQL, Excel and Power BI, you can take what initially looks like a collection of numbers and turn it into information that can support real decisions. That combination of technology, problem solving and decision making is what makes data analytics exciting to me.” 

Omeje further disclosed that one of the greatest things the programme has done is helping her to understand how broad the field of technology actually is. “Before the programme, I had a general interest in tech, but I didn’t necessarily understand how the different areas connected. 

“The training has given me exposure to practical tools and concepts that are relevant to the workplace, while also helping me understand the importance of continuous learning. The Nigerian tech market is competitive, so having a certificate alone is not enough. You need to be able to demonstrate that you understand what you are doing and can apply your skills to actual problems.

“The programme has encouraged me to think beyond simply completing a course. I am now more conscious of building practical skills, working on projects, developing a portfolio and understanding the business problems that technology is expected to solve,” she disclosed. 

Incubation hubs and academies’ varied approaches to internships

Oluwaseun Samuel Osunmakinde is the CEO/Lead Instructor of ArcByte Digital Ltd., a digital skills and data analytics training academy. According to him, “Our cohorts include students, graduates, professionals, entrepreneurs, career switchers, and people who simply want to acquire a practical technology skill. One thing we have noticed is that many people joining our programmes are not learning technology simply because it is trending. They are looking at how they can use these skills to improve their careers, get remote opportunities, solve business problems or create additional sources of income.” 

At the Ibadan-based ArcByte Academy, learners are exposed to tools and skills such as Microsoft Excel, Power BI, SQL, data collection tools, AI tools for data analysis, which involve data cleaning, data visualisation, dashboard development and data interpretation. Its Data Science course is a deep dive into areas such as Python, machine learning and predictive modelling, with practical projects designed to help them understand how models can be applied to real-world problems. Participants also work on multiple projects during the training so that they can build evidence of what they have learned.

 “We help graduates understand how to position themselves for opportunities rather than simply giving them technical training and leaving them on their own. This includes guidance on CV development, portfolios, practical projects, remote work, job searches and how to identify opportunities where their skills are relevant,” Osunmakinde said. 

Lagos school where next-gen talents against cybercrime are cultivated 

With 80 per cent instructor-led virtual classes, Lagos Cyber School is an institution that has had students from across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, the UK, and the USA. It targets people with little to no tech background but who have an interest in starting tech careers. The school’s curriculum takes interns from beginner to job-ready. 

According to the Director, Kayode Adedayo, “Our flagship program is Cybersecurity. We also run AI/ML Engineering, Cloud Engineering, and Data Analysis. Classes are hands-on, with on-the-job scenarios built in for an easy transition from classroom to work environment. We currently work with a handful of employers and tech talent outsourcing companies.

“Programmes run from two months (Data Analysis) up to nine months (AI/ML Engineering), with Cybersecurity and Cloud Engineering in between. Every graduate earns a Lagos Cyber School completion certificate, paired with relevant external industry certifications depending on the track.”

ThinkCity, where students build humanoid, rice farm weeding robot, smart waste bin

 A mechatronics engineer by training, AbdulmatinAdeniji is the CEO of ThynkCity Limited - an education technology and STEM company based in Lagos, working across Lagos and Abuja. The academy runs one-on-one sessions and cohort classes for children and adults in coding and robotics as well as data analytics and AI tools. Its curriculum partners are Weeemake in China and Carnegie Mellon University, Rwanda.

 Speaking on the course and practicality of their training, Adeniji said, "For young learners, it is a progression: Scratch, then Python, then electronics and Arduino, mechanical design, and on to machine vision and AI. That same progression runs whether a child is in a school programme, a cohort class or a one-on-one session, at the pace that suits them.

"For adults, we teach coding and robotics on the same foundations, and separately we run Excel and Power BI for real analysis, then ChatGPT, Claude and Gamma applied to their actual work. On how practical it is, I would point to what people have built rather than describe it. Students we have coached have built a humanoid robot, a rice-farm weeding robot, a smart waste bin, and a health-assistant robot. The weeding robot became published research. Nobody builds those things from slides," he said, stressing that "some of the sharpest students we have had come in having never written a line of code."