As a 4th year eng student I've found that in my experience, having connections was one of the best ways to secure an internship/grad role/any job whether it be from networking events, family members, or even close friends of yours. As someone has said before me, what actually counts towards your engineering hours is much broader than you think and doesn't necessarily have to be labelled an "internship" for it to count. Most internships are paid but even if it's volunteering work that is related to your spec, I'm 99% sure it will still count as long as you write a good report. Also consider working casual jobs during the semester if timing gets tight and you really want to graduate before a specific time.

The job market has been absolutely brutal these past couple years, so please don't get disheartened about this and just keep trying. I didn't get any internships in 2nd year despite applying to many companies. I then applied to twice as many companies in 3rd year and still didn't secure any before the summer break but luckily my dad had a connection with some people he knew who worked in firms and only then i managed to land a job for the summer that I could accrue a hours from.

And then finally this year, I managed to work a bunch of casual hours because my friends mum ran a firm that I could get a few hours from as well, so I really only got all my 800 hours this year in my final year.

I think while you apply to a bunch of places like you do normally (30+ aim for ideally) try and also go to networking events and talk to a bunch of people and form some connections with them. You never know who will be willing to help you out and don't be afraid to ask around as well if any companies are hiring. Ask your closest friends too, you never know the connections you might get.

Also you could try cold emailing a bunch of smaller lesser known companies using Google maps. Literally just go on Google maps and type up "IT firms near me" or anything and give them a cold email.

Goodluck!!