The AHP Internship Experience: An Engineer’s Perspective

MICHAEL KAMUNGUNA is an electrical engineer with 10 years’ experience in MEP services on high-rise projects. He currently handles supervision of MEP services across construction, fit-out, and green energy projects. In this conversation with Construction Kenya Showcase, he reflects on the scale of Kenya’s  Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) and its internship component.

Construction Kenya Showcase: In your earlier article in a national newspaper, you noted that the Affordable Housing Programme extends beyond housing into schools, markets and hostels. How does this integrated approach enhance the learning experience for interns?

Eng. Kamunguna: It broadens understanding of how infrastructure affects society beyond housing. Interns see links between construction, education access, safety, and local economies. This helps them understand that infrastructure delivery is both a technical and socio-political process shaped by community needs.

What role do institutions such as the Engineers Board of Kenya and NITA play in shaping or supporting the internship experience on these projects?

Professional bodies like the Institution of Engineers of Kenya, the Institute of Quantity Surveyors of Kenya, and the Architectural Association of Kenya support professional standards and knowledge exchange. Regulatory and training institutions such as the Engineers Board of Kenya and the National Industrial Training Authority help structure industrial training and certify competencies.

From a mentorship perspective, how are senior engineers and consultants engaging with interns to ensure meaningful skills transfer?

A distinction exists between supervision and mentorship. Supervision is formal, task-driven, and linked to project delivery, while mentorship is voluntary and career-oriented. In practice, consultants often lean toward mentorship roles, while formal supervision remains with the employer, though the boundaries can overlap in real project environments.

What impact do you believe this internship programme could have on addressing youth unemployment in Kenya’s construction and built environment sector?

It is already influencing wider adoption of internships across the construction sector. Many interns will transition into public service, consulting, contracting, and supply chains. Non-technical graduates also gain entry points into infrastructure through communication, legal, and community-focused roles.

Public perception of the Affordable Housing Programme has been mixed. Do you think the internship initiative can help shift that narrative? If so, how?

Yes. It shifts perception from abstract policy to lived experience. Interns directly engage with project realities and community needs, improving understanding of how public infrastructure is delivered. This builds more informed public participation and highlights how governance translates into physical development.

The programme is being implemented amid political and economic pressures. How do these external factors affect both project delivery and the internship experience?

Projects operate under tight timelines, financial constraints, and public scrutiny. Economic pressure can reduce attention to training needs, but supervisors often assign interns documentation and monitoring roles that still provide meaningful exposure while supporting delivery under constrained conditions.

Looking at the education component – schools and hostels – how do these projects contribute to long-term human capital development beyond infrastructure delivery?

The  AHP  aims  at  addressing serious gaps in student accommodation, safety, capacity, and dignity in learning environments. Improved facilities enhance student welfare and retention. Exposure to such projects helps interns understand how infrastructure directly shapes social development outcomes and long-term national productivity.

What lessons can other countries or large-scale infrastructure programmes learn from Kenya’s approach to embedding internships within national development projects?

Integrating internships into national infrastructure delivery strengthens practical skills and accelerates workforce readiness. It links training to real projects, enabling early specialization. It also fosters innovation, with some interns developing ideas for digital and operational improvements in construction systems.

Finally, what improvements would you recommend to make the internship programme more effective, sustainable, and beneficial to both interns and the wider industry?

Key improvements include stronger practical focus, structured training time, and rotational exposure across projects. Internship duration should be optimized for efficiency. Professional bodies such as the Institution of Engineers of Kenya and the Institute of Quantity Surveyors of Kenya should deepen engagement. Oversight by the National Industrial Training Authority should be strengthened, alongside clearer role definitions and improved coordination between government, contractors, and industry stakeholders. (AHP images courtesy of state agencies).