The Salary structure for internships in a Nigerian organization varies, as interns are referred to as trainees and not core staff of the organization. Interns are mostly accepted in an organization, for the sole purpose of learning on the job. Their internship serves as an opportunity to practice professionalism through learning from experts within the organization, within a period, and as such, they might be paid or not paid depending on the organization’s payment structure. The minimum pay for an intern in Nigeria is 15,000 NGN and it is called STIPEND. However, besides the training and experience that interns get, it is essential to figure out the determinants responsible for the mapping out of interns’ pay in various organizations, as this will help in making the right choice for an internship placement.
Determinants responsible for interns’ Pay.
Various factors contribute to how much interns get paid in Nigeria. Below are some of these stated factors:
Generated Income
The amount of cash inflow in an organization determines its salary structure. An organization struggling to pay its core staff might not be able to pay their interns. Therefore, the revenue generated by the organization is a determining factor of the intern’s salary.
The Organization’s salary structure
There are organizations that from the onset have no inclusion of interns’ payment in their salary structure. They see the interns as learners in a classroom for a particular period and so they do not provide any means of financial compensation for interns.
Organization type
There are different types of organizations; privately owned, government-owned, NGOs, Corporate Organizations, and state-owned. These types of organizations stand as key determinants of how salaries are being paid. For instance, Interning with an NGO is more like a voluntary job as their focus is more tilted towards community service; also there are some government-owned organizations that do not pay their interns. Privately owned businesses, especially Large Scale, mostly include their interns in their salary structure.
Interns’ level of commitment and expertise
Learning and making an impact on the job sometimes contributes to the feedback an intern gets in the organization. More attention is being paid to interns that are smart, and hardworking. As a result of this, stakeholders in the organizations might make a decision to tip an intern with cash, free lunch, Transport fare, or monthly take-home.
Qualifications
There are organizations that pay their interns based on their qualifications. A B.Sc/HND holder may be considered for higher pay over an NCE holder. An experienced intern might also be considered for payment over a learner on the job.
Understanding the above factors will help interns figure out where to search for internship opportunities. However, here are some Nigerian organizations’ salaries for interns.
- According to GlassDoor, Shell pays their interns an average of 43,000 naira per month.
- According to Jobzilla, Chrysolite Designs pays interns between 10,000 NGN – 30,000 NGN per month. The pay also depends on the intern’s experience level.
- Based on a salary estimate of 19 employees by my salary scale, interns are paid an average of 51,000 NGN monthly.
- Interns at Total Energies get a stipend of 30,000 NGN monthly according to GlassDoor
- Mikano International pays their interns 30,000 NGn monthly According to Glassdoor.
- Ernst & Young is estimated to pay its interns between 33,000 NGN and 60,000 NGN monthly according to Glassdoor.
- Nigerian breweries’ intern stipend is between 12,000 NGN – 23,000 NGN monthly.
- According to Glassdoor, Dangote Group pays its interns 10,000 NGN – 29,000 NGN monthly.
