Unpaid Internships: The Only Route To Success?

Right under our noses a poisonous, if not deadly epidemic has struck. No it’s not the measles, its unpaid internships – and whose fault is it anyway?

The education system, parliament and employers have all faced criticism, but the majority of the graduate population remain mute on the issue. Now is the time to talk. 

It might sound like a difficult challenge, undoubtedly the transition from university to the working world is tough. Nevertheless, graduates need to accept this challenge and promote debate around the subject of unpaid internships. The norm should not be months, or even years, of unpaid work. There must be other options for unemployed graduates, and school leavers to penetrate the job market?

The new normal

Today, the traditional two week placement has transformed into three month extravaganzas with a fifth of young people now entering their chosen industry via unpaid work. Employers have been criticised for utilising interns as a means of cheap labour that they can easily exploit in a climate where unemployment rules and austerity reins – but there is still little debate around the subject.

I was recently told a story about a graduate paying £650 a month for an internship, where they were promised a job. After some digging, I discovered the paid job they were promised was not at the firm, but rather they would succeed in getting a job in the ‘real world’. I was shocked. The term ‘traineeship’ has been used to disguise this internship where individuals were paying to gain skills uncannily similar to many unpaid internships.

Many young people are unwilling to discuss the subject because they are worried that they will be classed as a troublemaker before their career has actually begun. When there are thousands of graduates willing to complete unpaid internships it is extremely difficult for one individual to reject the norm and simply say ‘no’.

Rob Blythe, co-founder and director of Instant Impact, a recruitment company which unites fast growing SMEs with the best students and graduates from top universities, explains: “I definitely don’t think unpaid internships are a good thing in general, I think there is a level of exploitation there. You wouldn’t not pay a factory worker, you wouldn’t not pay any other member of staff just because it is a short term commitment – doesn’t mean it should be unpaid by any stretch of the imagination. I think graduates should be fighting back unpaid internships and really be pushing to be paid in every role. This misconception is that it is somehow appropriate to not pay an intern because it is an internship period, but as they actually add value they should be paid.”

Recent Trade Union Congress (TUC) research revealed that “internships in London are out of reach of most of the UK’s youngsters.” A whopping 78 per cent of 18 to 34-year-olds could not afford to live in London to undergo an unpaid internship. The media are known to brand internships:  “a rich girl’s game”, however, countless interns work part time on top of their 37 hour of unpaid work.

We all can agree it is slightly odd that the common route to paid professional careers is unpaid work. Internships are the wrong introduction to the working world. Long periods of unpaid work result in graduates feeling undervalued and disillusioned. This system is blocking new talent and entrepreneurial spirit entering business.

However, Blythe touches on an important point: “The difficulty with that though is if you are competing against other people who are willing to take unpaid work and get a step on the career ladder then you are kind of shooting yourself in the foot not getting that experience. Companies do look for experience, be that paid or unpaid.”

Law
The majority (84 per cent) of employees who have worked in a company that employs interns believe they are a useful addition to their organisation, revealed research commissioned by Internocracy.  Only 12 per cent of managers understand that for-profit companies may be breaking the law if they offer unpaid placements.

Employing an unpaid intern for long periods of time, regardless of how the job was advertised, the title or contract, for-profit organisations could be breaking the National Minimum Wage (NMW) Act 1998. To date, all interns who have taken their employer to court have won. (You only need to think back to the prominent news story concerning the Poundland court case in February, where a judge ruled in favour of a jobless graduate.)

In December, Labour MP Hazel Blears introduced the Internships (Advertising and Regulation) Bill. This legislation aims to ban the advertising of unpaid internships and regulate the conditions of employment. However, only last month the second reading of the Bill was proposed.

Libby Page, campaigns and policy coordinator at Intern Aware, a national campaign group for paid internships, says: “The recession in the UK has resulted in many employers using unpaid interns to undertake jobs that would otherwise be undertaken by paid employees. This may be seen as a short-term cost cutting scheme but in the long term it is actually damaging to businesses as it means they are not able to recruit from a wide talent pool, rather from people who can afford to intern for free.”

Graduate choices

Despite continued recession, the Coalition’s austerity programme, and unemployment murmuring, graduates should remember they still have options. If you are the in the 78 per cent that cannot afford to work for long periods for free why not gain vital experience from a shorter placement?

Eulogy! a top 15 independent PR agency offers these types of placements throughout the year, helping young people trying to break into the industry. Adrian Brady, CEO and founder of Eulogy! notes: “There can be a lot of value to internships, however an awful lot of companies are using it as a source of cheap labour and are not truly offering opportunities to young candidates. Our typical rules on internships here, is what we want are very short internships which give people a genuine opportunity and we don’t take advantage of them by taking them in for six months on no pay.”

There is no denying it – internships are here to stay. They offer a chance for young people to gain key skills and expertise to succeed in business. But graduates need to have the confidence to talk about their problems and realise they have choices –committing to shorter placements or holding out for that paid placement. However, the current epidemic unpaid internships must stop. Graduates need to be a valued element of a work force in order to allow Britain to a place where businesses flourish and young professionals are given genuine opportunities.

See also: Unpaid Internships in History