Most of these internships are in retail, media and fashion were unpaid, this an according to a survey that was taken out by 2,600 graduates and 1,000 business leaders. The report comes for a wanted ban for unpaid internships of more than four weeks. This will be brought up in the House of Commons very soon.
The founder of Sutton Trust, Sir Peter Lampl said: “Unpaid internships prevent young people from low and moderate-income backgrounds from accessing careers in some of the most desirable sectors such as journalism, fashion, the arts and law,”
“This is a huge social mobility issue. It prevents these young people from getting a foot on the ladder.”
The highest proportion of unpaid internships were found to be in retail (89%), arts (86%), and the media (83%). However, in IT only 26% were unpaid internships.
At the moment the minimum wage must be paid to interns who work a set number of hours or are given specific tasks by managers; most graduates and employers do not know or are confused by the rules of internships. The result of the survey showed that 43% of interns live with family or friends, 26% needed money from parents and 27% took a paid job to fund the internship.
What is an internship?
An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organisation, usually lasting for a fixed time or period. They are normally taken by students or graduates to help gain experience and skills before going into a work place. Interns can last a few weeks and during the summer holidays. Interns usually have to be 18 to 25 years old, some employers may stretch this depends on the place of work.
Internships will help you:
- Increase your skills and knowledge
- Improve your understanding of a particular job or industry
- Show you how roles work that you may have not considered
- Give you chance to experience the industry before doing into it
- Help you gain an insight of the organisation.
