Best Companies and Organisations for Industrial Attachment in Kenya
KaziKit · 10 August 2026
Finding an industrial attachment in Kenya is harder than it looks on paper. Most students know they need one but are not sure which organisations actually take attachees, what departments are open, or how to approach each one. This guide covers the main sectors and specific organisations known to offer industrial attachment in Kenya, and how to approach each.
Which sectors offer the most industrial attachment opportunities in Kenya?
Banking and financial services is the most structured sector for attachment in Kenya. Major banks run formal attachment programmes, particularly in their operations, finance, IT, and customer service departments. The volume of placements is high, which makes them accessible — but also competitive.
Telecommunications (Safaricom, Airtel, Telkom) offers attachment primarily in IT, network engineering, marketing, and finance. Safaricom in particular is a sought-after attachment destination — expect competition and a formal application process.
Government ministries and county governments absorb a large number of attachees each year across almost every field — finance, law, public administration, engineering, health, social work, and agriculture. County governments are particularly accessible because there are 47 of them and they actively take students from local institutions. The process is typically a formal letter to the County Secretary or the relevant department head.
NGOs and development organisations offer placements in programme management, M&E, community health, WASH, communications, and finance. Nairobi-based NGOs (especially those on Ngong Road and Upper Hill) are the most accessible. International NGOs (UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, Plan International, World Vision) have structured internship programmes, though competition is high and they typically prefer students in their penultimate or final year.
State corporations and parastatals — Kenya Power, Kenya Ports Authority, Kenya Railways, KPLC, KEBS, NEMA, KeNHA — offer structured attachments, particularly for engineering, environmental science, and technical programmes. Applications go through their HR or corporate affairs departments.
Hospitals and health facilities for students in nursing, clinical medicine, pharmacy, medical laboratory, and nutrition. Both public hospitals (Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi Hospital, county referral hospitals) and private facilities accept students, though availability varies by department and season.
Audit and accounting firms for commerce and finance students. The Big Four (KPMG, Deloitte, PwC, EY) have structured internship programmes in Nairobi. Mid-tier firms (Grant Thornton, BDO East Africa, Moore Kenya) are less competitive and often more willing to take students directly.
Which specific organisations are known to take industrial attachment students in Kenya?
| Organisation | Sector | Common departments |
|---|---|---|
| KCB Group | Banking | Finance, IT, operations, HR |
| Equity Bank | Banking | Finance, IT, customer experience |
| Co-operative Bank | Banking | Finance, credit, IT |
| NCBA Bank | Banking | Operations, finance, digital |
| Safaricom | Telecoms | IT, engineering, marketing, finance |
| Kenya Power (KPLC) | Energy | Engineering, finance, IT |
| Kenya Ports Authority | Transport | Engineering, logistics, finance |
| Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) | Government | Finance, customs, IT |
| KEBS | Government | Quality assurance, lab, admin |
| NEMA | Government | Environment, compliance |
| Nairobi City County | County government | Finance, engineering, public health |
| Kenyatta National Hospital | Health | Nursing, pharmacy, lab, nutrition |
| KPMG Kenya | Audit/advisory | Audit, tax, advisory |
| Deloitte East Africa | Audit/advisory | Audit, consulting, tax |
| Plan International Kenya | NGO | Programmes, M&E, communications |
| World Vision Kenya | NGO | Programmes, finance, health |
This list is not exhaustive — organisations take attachees based on their current capacity, and availability changes each intake period. Always confirm directly before applying.
When is the best time to apply for industrial attachment in Kenya?
Most Kenyan universities and TVETs send students on attachment during specific academic windows — often May to August (the long holiday period) or January to April. Applications should go out at least two to three months before your intended start date.
The highest-competition months are April–May (as students prepare for the June–September intake) and November–December (for January starts). Applying early within these windows significantly improves your chances.
Some organisations (especially large banks and Safaricom) have fixed intake periods and will not accept walk-in applications outside those windows. Check their websites or call HR to confirm their cycle before sending a letter.
How do you approach an organisation that has not advertised an attachment position?
Most attachment placements in Kenya are never formally advertised — students obtain them through direct application. The process:
- Identify the right contact. Call the organisation and ask for the HR department or the specific department you want to work in. Ask who handles attachment applications and get their name and email.
- Send a formal application letter with your introduction letter from your institution, CV, and transcripts. See our guide on how to write an industrial attachment application letter in Kenya for the full format and template.
- Follow up. If you have not heard back within two weeks, one polite follow-up call or email is appropriate. More than that becomes a nuisance.
- Apply to multiple organisations simultaneously. Do not wait for one response before sending the next application. Most students apply to five to ten organisations and accept the first positive response.
The student who gets placement is rarely the most qualified — it is usually the one who applied earliest, followed up, and came prepared with the right documents.
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