Calls for paid internships to combat 'exploitation'

Forcing employers to pay interns could result in less places, as companies struggle to afford short-term employees

Internships
Image: Sarah G on flickr

Harriet Grecian
Wednesday 03 February 2010 | 09:00:00 UTC, The Journal Issue 30

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As graduate numbers increase, campaign groups have called for all internships to be paid in order to eradicate exploitation by employers.

Intern Aware last week launched a campaign in response to a report chaired by former Labour cabinet minister Alan Milburn, on the accessibility of the labour market for young people in Britain.

The report found that although higher education was now more accessible for people from poorer backgrounds, inequality existed within the internship system in Britain.

Becky Heath, co-founder of Internocracy, an organisation aiming to increase the quality of internships across the UK, told The Journal: “It's important that internships are paid because, firstly, it's the law if you agree set hours and responsibilities with the employer.

“Students can often be susceptible to exploitation through internships as, often, employers depict the opportunity as an investment in their future and a sure way into a career."

The group believe that all interns should receive the minimum wage for the work placements they undertake.

"This tactic is increasingly being used as more organisations latch onto the idea of internships as a way to access cheap and willing labour.

"Internocracy exists to ensure that employers are clear about their responsibilities to interns, and interns are not needlessly exploited,” said Ms Heath.

In the current job market students and graduates are feeling increased pressure to embark on work experience and internships in order to improve their CVs, but many are unable to support themselves through these voluntary placements.

Ian Tasker, assistant secretary of Scotland’s Trade Union Centre, is concerned at the lack of remuneration that young people see from these internships.

He said: “At the very least these positions should be treated in the same way as any other employment and paid accordingly, at least at the minimum wage rate applicable at any given time.

"To do anything else is just playing on the naivety of young people entering employment. The United Kingdom government and the Scottish Government should be looking at how we eradicate student hardship and not increase the amount of young people living below the poverty line.”

The introduction of an obligatory payment scheme could potentially result in fewer companies being able to afford offering placements, limiting the amounts of students being able to get work experience.

The campaign comes at the same time as the government's ‘Backing Young Britain’ scheme, launched on 25 January, through which £40 million will fund over 20,000 internships and training schemes in conjunction with a number of British companies.

Commenting on the aims of the scheme business secretary Lord Mandelson said: "Our national campaign to help every young person to find a job, training or work skills and experience is not just a response to the recession but an investment in our future as we build a stronger Britain."

Tom Richmond, Skills Advisor at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), spoke to The Journal about the importance that employers place on work experience.

He said, “We want people to be coming through the door with lots of experience in the workplace but at the same time financial difficulties could be hindering the most talented from getting a position. It would be great if there were no financial barriers but there is always the worry that intern places will then decrease."

Statistics from a CIPD 2009 learning and development survey show that 61 percent respondents said that new employees from school, college or university are deficient in business acumen and lack a strong commercial awareness.

55 percent reported a general lack of work ethic among new employees.

Vox pops for Journal internships article

Rob Runge, 22, Classics

“I don’t think being paid above basic expenses is reasonable. Everyone should definitely have the right to travel/lunch expenses but should otherwise appreciate the opportunity to work with a highly reputable company. The experience is payment itself.”

Ruth Stanley, 22, Ancient History and Latin

“I feel incredibly pressured to have numerous internships on my cv but am not in a position to dedicate large sections of my holidays to unpaid work. The enforcement of a basic wage for work experience might have allowed me to get ahead in the job application market – as it is I am extremely concerned for my future job prospects.”

Anon, 20, Sports Science

“I don’t think that so much importance should be placed on internships by prospective employers. Personally speaking, I think students should be allowed to spend their last few holidays doing whatever makes them happy.”

Yasmeen, 21, Physics

“I would say that as a student of science, I definitely feel the pressure to apply for and participate in internships. I suppose a lot of it is to do with the way that career paths can be so varied and stray far away from the original subject, as well as the fact that so many students I've spoken to have never actually had the intention to remain in their field of study, (myself included!). Rather, they plan to go and work in sectors such as finance etc. There also seems to be an air of expectation from prospective employers to have some form of internship on your CV.

Even my older sister who is in her final year studying Medicince kept pestering me over Christmas about applying for internships. I guess it's a form of validation of your interest and dedication to subjects which can be very dry.”

Alexa Cohen, 22, Politics

“I had an internship at Deustche Bank in Singapore. I was paid enough for transport and food. I put a lot of hours in, and if I was being paid minimum wage at another job, I would have earned a lot more. Unfortunately, it is something that you have to do to get your foot in the door.

There is a pressure to do internships. I think that with the increasing demand for internships there needs to be a corresponding supply of opportunities. Not enough companies offer internships. Perhaps instead of forcing companies to pay interns, they should rather subsidise smaller companies to provide internships, so that more people can gain the experience that they need.”

Fred Reade, 22, Neuroscience

“Yeah there’s definitely pressure to do internships, Not so much from professors or anything but just in general people consider it a big thing for getting a job in the field. And especially for London based companies (a lot of the good ones) doing it without being paid costs a total fortune if you don’t live there normally! I haven’t done any for just this reason!”

Ally Burns, 22, Neuroscience

“If you give up an entire summer it sucks if you have to support yourself with your own money as well. I've been lucky in getting summer lab work through knowing the right people which is the only reason I was able to do it. A few labs offer summer projects on a competitive but I'm not sure if they're paid at all. I've been incredibly lucky with jobs in labs so I'm probably not the best person to ask! I did some lab work in Vancouver last year which was initially voluntary after meeting a couple of people who worked in the lab while I was slightly drunk at a bus stop in town. I e-mailed one of them my CV and I got an interview with her boss about a month later. In the end they found a way to pay me through a work-study scheme for international students so for about half the time I was there I got paid. I think sometimes you just have to ask!”

Charlotte, 23, French and Spanish

“Internships are a fantastic opportunity to gain more experience and insight into a potential future career. However, unless you already live in London, or know people you can stay with, it is not feasible to move to the city and work for nothing.”

Makela Milne, 21, History of Art

“The whole point of internships is to gain valuable experience in a chosen field. This should be well-rounded and entail the positives and negatives of any specific role. One of the benefits of any job is payment, if you do the job why should you not get paid? By refusing to pay interns, the door of experience is closed to the majority of people who are unable to spend months working for free.”

Calum Pratt, 20, Engineering

“I know there is a lot of pressure on Engineers to do internships. Most of the big oil and pharmaceutical companies ask interns to stay on after graduation so it's a good way to get your foot in the door. I'm looking for an internship now and it's pretty hard to get one. All the engineering internships are paid at quite a competitive salary - sometimes as much as they pay a graduate engineer.”