How to find an industrial attachment in Kenya and make it count

For most Kenyan university and college students, industrial attachment is the first real taste of work. It is also the first line of experience on your CV. A good attachment can lead straight to a job offer. A passive one leaves you with a logbook and little to show.

Start early

Popular organisations fill attachment places months in advance. Start asking at least three to six months before your attachment period. Find out from your department when your attachment runs, how long it must be, and which documents the institution provides, usually an introduction letter and an assessment form or logbook.

Where to look

• Your department and career office. They often have lists of organisations that took students before.
• Former students. Ask students a year ahead of you where they went and whom they contacted.
• Public bodies. Government ministries, state corporations and county governments take many attachees each year. Some publish application windows on their websites.
• Private companies. Larger firms may run formal programmes. Smaller firms often say yes to a well-written direct request.
• Your network. Relatives, church members and family friends who work in your field can introduce you to the right person.

Writing an attachment request letter

Keep it to one page and address it to a named person where possible, usually the HR manager or the head of the relevant department. Include:

• Your name, course, year of study and institution
• The dates and length of the attachment you need
• The department you would like to join and why
• Two or three relevant skills or units you have studied
• Your phone number and email

Attach your CV and the introduction letter from your institution. Then follow up. A polite phone call or visit a week later often moves your letter from the pile to the desk.

Making the most of the placement

• Ask for real work. Tell your supervisor in week one what you hope to learn and offer to take on tasks. Most supervisors are glad to delegate to an attachee who is keen and careful.
• Keep your logbook daily. Write what you did and what you learned. It is required for assessment and becomes the source for your CV bullet points.
• Collect evidence. Note numbers: reports prepared, sites visited, patients seen, tickets resolved. Keep copies of non-confidential work you produced.
• Behave like an employee. Punctuality, dress and attitude are noticed. Many organisations hire former attachees they already trust.
• Ask for a reference. Before you leave, ask your supervisor if they will be a referee and for a recommendation letter if they are willing.

Putting attachment on your CV

Treat it like a job. Give the organisation, department, dates and three to five bullet points with real tasks and results: "Prepared monthly bank reconciliations for three accounts", "Assisted in surveying a 1.2 km road section and drafting the profile in AutoCAD". Our guide to writing your first CV shows how.