During each summer, university WhatsApp groups across Pakistan are flooded with internship offers...
COVER STORY
By Amber Ali
During each summer, university WhatsApp groups across Pakistan are flooded with internship offers. Students forward application links, check application deadlines and cheer when they are called for interviews. For many, an internship is the first big step into the real world, providing an opportunity to learn, network and acquire the skills that are often sought after by employers.
But there is a silent calculation in all of this that seldom comes up in these discussions: am I able to take up this internship even if it doesn’t pay? That question is becoming just as important as the internship itself for an increasing number of students.
Employers often require experience, even for entry-level jobs. Universities promote hands-on experience for students before graduation. Increasingly, internships have been identified as the link between education and employment. Although, in theory, this bridge is open to all, some may find it easier to cross than others.
The hidden cost of experience
In Pakistan, unpaid internships have become a growing phenomenon in the early career landscape without drawing much attention. Every other month, you’ll find government departments, development organisations, media houses, think tanks, start-ups and private companies offering internships that promise valuable experience but little or no financial compensation. They may be presented as an investment in a student’s future and, in many instances, they provide meaningful learning opportunities. The issue is that these opportunities may not be equally accessible when participation comes at a cost.
An unpaid internship may mean a few months of valuable work experience for a student from a financially stable family. For others, it can be a difficult financial decision. When undertaking an unpaid internship, students may need to cover travel costs, meals, appropriate attire, internet access and other work-related expenses. It may also involve giving up part-time work that helps support household income. An internship could be an excellent opportunity for a student, but they may still have to turn it down because the numbers simply do not add up. The opportunity was there, but they could not accept it because they simply could not afford to.
This is not just an individual issue. It has implications for society as a whole. Unpaid internships can have a negative impact on social mobility and equal opportunity. The original purpose of internships was to allow young people to develop skills and gain exposure to the workplace. Ideally, they should level the playing field, with talent and effort being the only distinguishing factors. However, when internships are unpaid, they may have the opposite effect.
Students who can afford months of unpaid work end up with stronger CVs, larger professional networks, recommendation letters and valuable workplace experience. Those who cannot may find that, despite their talent and ambition, they lack the credentials needed when it is time to apply for jobs.
Over time, these differences accumulate. One internship often leads to another. One professional contact may lead to an interview, which in turn may lead to another opportunity. Meanwhile, equally capable students who were unable to access these opportunities are left trying to catch up.
When opportunities come at a price
The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) conducted a review in 2024 which indicated that graduate unemployment continues to be alarmingly high, with degree holders facing greater difficulties in securing employment than many would imagine. Young women continue to face even greater obstacles in entering the workforce. In such an environment, internships are no longer an option for building a résumé. They are increasingly becoming a gateway to professional careers.
This has become even more crucial following the recent policy change by the Higher Education Commission (HEC).
The HEC introduced supervised internships as an integral part of undergraduate degree programmes in 2025, with academic credits awarded for these experiences. Universities are now expected to incorporate internships into their programmes and establish partnerships with employers to facilitate them. The goal is reasonable, sensible and essential. It is widely recognised that the transition from educational institutions to workplace expectations can be challenging for students, and structured internships can help bridge that gap.
However, the new requirement also raises an important question.
What happens to students who cannot afford internships if they are now a requirement for obtaining a university degree?
The policy addresses supervision, academic credit and institutional partnerships. However, it does not adequately address compensation. If unpaid internships become a graduation requirement, the financial costs associated with them can no longer be overlooked.
If not carefully implemented, a policy designed to improve employability may inadvertently widen existing inequalities.
Consider two students who are equally talented and graduate from the same university. One completes several internships over successive summers because their family can fully support them while they gain experience. The other spends those same summers contributing to the family income by working as a tutor, helping in a family business or taking any available paid employment.
When they apply for their first job, the difference between their CVs can be considerable.
One appears experienced. The other appears inexperienced.
Yet the disparity may reflect financial circumstances rather than ability.
That is why the debate over whether interns should be paid deserves far more nuanced discussion than it currently receives. However, the issue is not as straightforward as it may seem.
Many employers, including small businesses, start-ups, non-profit organisations and even some public institutions, face genuine financial constraints. It is not always realistic to expect every organisation to provide interns with full financial compensation. However, there is a significant difference between expecting a salary and expecting students to bear all the costs themselves.
A transport allowance, a meal stipend or flexible working arrangements could enable many students to accept internships that they would otherwise have to decline. The aim is not to place an additional financial burden on employers. Rather, it is to ensure that financial hardship does not become the deciding factor in shaping a student’s career.
Responsibility does not rest solely with employers.
Universities also have a crucial role to play. When implementing the HEC’s internship framework, they should not only focus on securing sufficient internship opportunities but also consider the broader picture. They should collaborate with employers to establish minimum quality standards, encourage paid internships wherever possible and provide financial assistance to students who are genuinely in need. Career offices should be judged not only by the number of internships they secure but also by the quality of those internships, the level of supervision provided and the extent to which students from diverse economic backgrounds are able to access them.
Redefining merit and fairness
The government has a role to play, too.
It is not necessary for all internships in Pakistan to be paid. Such a policy may not be practical for many organisations and could even reduce the number of opportunities available. Instead, there is a need for more specific national standards governing the quality of internships. These standards should address learning objectives, supervision, reasonable working hours and some form of support, particularly for full-time, extended internships, including financial assistance where possible.
This is the direction that other countries have already taken. In France, employers are legally required to pay interns when internships exceed a specified duration. Although Pakistan’s labour market is unique, the underlying principle remains valid: education and fair treatment should complement and reinforce one another, not compete.
Employers should also reconsider the concept of “merit” in this discussion.
Experience certainly matters. However, context matters as well.
A student who works part-time during university to support their family while still achieving good academic results demonstrates the very qualities that employers consistently say they value: discipline, resilience, responsibility, adaptability and time management. Such experience should not be regarded as less valuable simply because it was not gained through a formal internship.
Too often, systems recognise only formal opportunities while failing to acknowledge the hard work, determination and resilience required to succeed without those opportunities.
Pakistan’s demographic dividend is frequently discussed. The country must not allow economic circumstances to determine whether some young people enter adulthood equipped for a professional career while others do not.
Internships should serve as stepping stones into the world of work, not as financial barriers that prevent capable students from progressing.
There are many students in Pakistan right now who have to turn down internship offers, not because they lack talent or ambition, but because they cannot afford the travel costs, daily meals or the loss of income from paid work. Such stories rarely make front-page news. Yet each represents a quiet loss of potential, not only for the student but also for institutions that miss out on capable young people and for a country that cannot afford to waste its talent.
Unpaid internships may appear to be a relatively minor policy issue. In reality, they reflect a far more important question: what kind of country does Pakistan want to become?
Should opportunity depend on ability, or on the ability to afford opportunity?
The answer will shape far more than the future of internships. It will help determine the future of Pakistan’s workforce itself.
