Kenyan Graduates of 2020 or Later Have Until November 9 to Apply for 6,000 Paid Housing Internships

Kenyan graduates in 28 professional areas, from architects and quantity surveyors to building inspectors and interior designers, can now apply for 6,000 internship vacancies (Cohort 2) under the Affordable Housing Programme (AHP), advertised by the Public Service Commission in the October 20 issue of the government's MyGov newspaper. The places are open to degree and diploma holders who graduated in 2020 or later, each internship lasts twelve (12) months and is non renewable, and applications close on November 9, 2026. For Metaintro readers in Kenya's built-environment professions, this guide sets out how many places most fields have, who qualifies, what the stipend terms say, how to apply on the portal and how this round differs from the first one in 2025.

What Exactly Did the Public Service Commission Advertise?

The vacancies sit with the Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development, State Department for Housing and Urban Development, which has declared 6,000 vacancies for internship (Cohort 2) under the housing programme. The Public Service Commission runs the recruitment, and the notice is signed by its Secretary/CEO.

The places cover 28 professional areas, and the printed table in the MyGov notice ends with a total of 6000. The fields run from design and engineering through to data science and artificial intelligence, gender and development studies, building inspection, property management, environmental practice and interior design.

This is an internship call for a twelve-month, non renewable term, not permanent civil service jobs. The places are internship vacancies under the second cohort of the Affordable Housing Programme, and the stated aim is to give young professionals practical workplace experience and develop their technical skills.

The programme seeks to equip young professionals with relevant skills, expose them to real-world of work environment, and strengthen their capacity to contribute to the implementation of the Affordable Housing Programme and the country’s broader socio-economic development agenda, according to the PSC notice in MyGov.

Which Degree Holders Have the Most Places?

Degree holders in construction and design fields have the biggest allocations. Construction management leads with 500 positions for degree holders, and architecture follows with 475 vacancies.

Degree holders have places in these fields of the MyGov table.

• Construction Management, 500 places, and Architecture, 475 places, in the MyGov table
• Mechanical Engineering with 350 positions
• Quantity Surveying, Structural Engineering and Health and Safety, with 300 positions each
• Civil Engineering with 275 places
• Electrical Engineering and Landscape Architecture, with 250 vacancies each
• Land Surveying and Geo-Spatial with 230 places, and Urban and Regional Planning with 200 places
• Social Development with 115 places
• Data Science and/or Artificial Intelligence and Gender and Development Studies, each with 50 places
• Environmental Practitioners with 30 places, and Communication and Branding with 20 places

Realtors and Valuers are two degree rows that share one printed figure, 330 places across both rows, so the table does not split that number between the two fields.

Which Roles Are Open to Diploma Holders?

Diploma holders have rows of their own, mostly in assistant and inspector roles. Diploma holders can apply in these rows of the notice.

• Architectural Assistant with 330 slots
• Quantity Surveying Assistant and Inspector Civil Engineering, with 300 places each
• Building Inspector with 290 places
• Property Managers with 250 places
• Structural Assistant with 225 slots
• Inspector Electricals with 75 places
• Inspector of gas/refrigeration and Inspector Plumbing and Drainage, both listed as diploma-level areas

The printed table in the notice shows one figure, 175, across the gas and plumbing inspector rows.

The qualification column matters when you apply. Quantity Surveying needs a degree while Quantity Surveying Assistant needs a diploma in the MyGov table, so pick the row that matches the award you actually hold.

How Many Places Are There for Architects and Interior Designers?

Architecture is second only to construction management in this round. Degree holders in architecture have 475 places, diploma holders can apply for 330 Architectural Assistant places, and Landscape Architecture adds 250 vacancies for degree holders.

Interior design is a much smaller field. It has 30 places, open to Degree/Diploma holders, and the notice prints the award level for this row as Degree & Diploma, the only row in the table open to both.

Related design and build trades also appear in the list. Quantity surveying, structural engineering and construction management sit alongside architecture in the professional fields the notice covers.

Who Is Eligible to Apply?

Candidates must meet four requirements. For appointment to an internship position, a candidate must have a Bachelor's degree or Diploma, as specified for each of the above professional areas, from a recognized university, and the other conditions are these.

• Have graduated not earlier than the year 2020
• Be proficient in computer skills
• Have not benefited from a similar programme

The graduation rule is a hard cut-off. Applicants must have graduated in 2020 or later, so anyone who finished a degree or diploma before that year does not meet the stated requirement.

The notice does not say how computer proficiency will be assessed, so name the drafting, design, modelling or data software you use under the qualifications and experience sections the portal asks for.

The last condition rules out people who have already benefited from a similar programme. Applicants must not have previously benefited from a similar internship programme, and the notice does not define a similar programme.

The notice does not set an age limit or ask for work experience. The listed requirements in the PSC notice cover the qualification, graduation year, computer skills and previous programmes only, and the Commission states it is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

What Will Interns Do, and Where Will They Work?

The duties are broad and set by supervisors. Interns will be completing duties mutually agreed upon and assigned by the supervisors, and they will be documenting relevant skills acquired in their areas of deployment in the Affordable Housing Programme and Marketing project sites across the country.

Mentorship is part of the role. Interns are expected to be actively participating in any relevant mentorship activities and additional responsibilities designed for the programme.

Deployment is national. Interns will work at Affordable Housing Programme project sites across the country, including Marketing project sites. The notice does not list which counties or towns the interns will go to.

What Does the Internship Pay, and How Long Does It Last?

The internship is paid, but no amount is published. The interns will be paid a stipend by the State Department for Housing and Urban Development, at a rate as determined by the Government, and the stipend is described as a monthly stipend at a rate determined by the government in one report.

The term is fixed. The duration is Twelve (12) months, Non renewable, and the internship will run for 12 months and will not be renewable.

There is a formal record at the end. Interns who finish will be awarded a certificate by the State Department for Housing and Urban Development.

On successful completion of the Internship Programme, the interns will be awarded a certificate by the State Department for Housing and Urban Development, according to the PSC notice in MyGov.

How Do You Apply Through the PSC Portal?

Applications go through the PSC job portal. Interested and qualified applicants should apply through the Public Service Commission's job portal accessible through www.publicservice.go.ke or www.psckjobs.go.ke by 9th November, 2026.

Applying on the PSC recruitment system takes these steps.

• First-time users register by providing an ID / Passport Number, Surname, current Email address and a password
• Returning users log in using the ID / Passport Number and the Password created at registration
• Before submitting, fill in personal details, professional and academic qualifications, experience, membership to professional bodies, referees and any other relevant information, because incomplete applications will not be considered
• Print and keep a copy of the Feedback Report (application summary)
• Applicants can amend/revisit their application(s) at any time BEFORE the Advert Closure Date

Honesty on the form matters. Under Section 100(4) of the Public Service Commission Act 2017, giving false or misleading information to the Commission can, on conviction, lead to a fine not exceeding Kshs. 200,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both. For help, the portal lists the email contactcentre@publicservice.go.ke and asks applicants to include their ID or passport number and full name.

The portal asks for professional and academic qualifications and experience, so write those sections with the care you would give an internship cover letter.

How Is Cohort 2 Different From the First Cohort in 2025?

This is the second round of the same programme, and it is bigger. The first notice declared 4000 vacancies for internship (Cohort 1), and it was published in a My Gov notice reported on 22 July 2025 with a closing date of September 6, 2025. This round declares 6,000 vacancies.

The graduation window has moved. The 2025 round was open to individuals who graduated in 2018 or later, while the 2026 notice asks for candidates who graduated not earlier than the year 2020. The 2026 notice also adds the condition that candidates have not benefited from a similar programme, which does not appear among the requirements in the 2025 notice.

The mix of fields has changed. The 2025 notice listed Architecture at 300, Construction Management at 250 and Interior Design at 50, against 475, 500 and 30 in the 2026 notice. Office roles in the 2025 list, such as Legal, Accountants, Economics, Actuarial, Human Resource and Supply Chain Management, are not among the professional areas in the 2026 table.

Assistant and inspector rows grew sharply. The 2025 notice listed Building Inspector, Inspector Civil Engineering, Quantity Surveying Assistant and Structural Assistant at 60 places each, while the 2026 table gives them 290, 300, 300 and 225 places. Several degree rows rose too. Health and Safety had 180 places, and Mechanical, Civil and Electrical Engineering had 200 each in 2025, against 300, 350, 275 and 250 this round. Land surveying and landscape architecture graduates also gained ground, since the Land Surveying/Geo Spatial and Landscape Architecture rows each had 100 places in the 2025 notice, and the 2026 table gives them 230 and 250 places. Several fields shrank, including these two. Communication and Branding had 150 places and Environment Practitioners 150 in Cohort 1, and the 2026 notice gives them 20 and 30 places.

The core terms match. The 2025 round promised a government-determined stipend paid throughout the 12 months, and the 2026 round again runs for twelve (12) months, non renewable with a stipend set by the government.

What This Means for Kenyan Graduates, and What Should You Do Next?

Construction, design and engineering graduates hold the largest allocations in this round. Construction management, architecture and mechanical engineering alone hold 500, 475 and 350 places, and diploma holders have whole rows of their own in the inspector and assistant categories. The trade-off is that the stipend rate is not published and the term is non renewable, so treat it as a paid year of site experience, not a permanent post.

• Check your graduation year first. The cut-off is graduated not earlier than the year 2020, and anyone who has benefited from a similar programme is excluded.
• Apply in the right row. Degree and diploma rows are separate, so a diploma holder in quantity surveying applies as a Quantity Surveying Assistant.
• Complete every section of the portal profile. The PSC job portal will not consider incomplete applications, so add your qualifications, professional body memberships and referees.
• Do not wait for the deadline. Applications close on 9th November, 2026, and the PSC portal lets you edit your application until the closing date.
• Look past the big engineering rows. Graduates in social development, data science or communication can apply too, with 115, 50 and 20 places in those three fields.
• Expect any region. Postings are at project sites across the country.

Engineering graduates on the coast weighing other routes into site work can compare this call with the job and training pledge for Lamu graduates at the Dangote refinery.

Related Articles

• How to Write an Internship Interview Thank You Letter That Gets You the Offer
• Employers Say New Grads Arrive Missing the Basics and Here Is What to Learn First
• Why a Brutal First Job Market Can Dent Graduate Pay for Years, and How to Fight It
• The Construction Hiring Boom Is Now Cooling, and Workers Will Feel It
• Construction Robots Enter US Homebuilding and What It Means for Skilled Trades Jobs
• Exciting Career Opportunities in Architecture at Leading Firms
• Careers in Timber Design at BCV Architecture + Interiors
• New Aviation Mechanics Are Landing Jobs Before They Graduate
• Empowering Growth: Africa's Leading Development Hubs for Global Opportunities

People Also Asked

Q: How many Affordable Housing internships has the PSC advertised?

A: The notice declares 6,000 vacancies for internship (Cohort 2) under the Affordable Housing Programme, spread across degree and diploma fields.

Q: Who can apply for the housing internships?

A: Applicants need a degree or diploma in the listed field from a recognised university and must have graduated in 2020 or later, with computer skills and no previous similar internship.

Q: When is the deadline and how much is the stipend?

A: Applications close on November 9, 2026, and the stipend is paid at a rate as determined by the Government, with no amount published in the notice.

Ready to explore? Metaintro brings together 50M jobs in one place. Create a free profile and start your search today.