This year I’ve noticed several spates of media interest in the role of unpaid interns.
Reportedly spurred on by the recession, there has been a significant rise in the number internships available, and there is concern that some firms are taking on a free pair of hands without giving anything back in return.
In March the TUC announced findings that one in three taking part in an internship went unpaid. A third of 6,000 such opportunities advertised by employers on the Government's Graduate Talent Pool website were unpaid, it claimed.
When speaking to The Daily Telegraph, General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "Whether they are unscrupulous or genuinely unaware of the rules, too many employers are ripping off talented young people…we're concerned that a growing number of interns are at risk of real exploitation."
In late July, think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and campaign group Internocracy together released a report contending that companies which offer unpaid internships are “almost certainly” breaking minimum wage law. They say the situation even extends to publicly-funded organisations, with such respectable bodies as Parliament and the BBC employing hundreds of unpaid interns every year.
I had always believed that we were offering a genuine opportunity, so to be told that I could be exploiting people and breaking the law in the process was alarming!
This certainly caught my attention. My public relations agency Curzon PR takes on interns and, expenses aside, they are not paid. I had always believed that we were offering a genuine opportunity, so to be told that I could be exploiting people and breaking the law in the process was alarming!
There is evidently a great deal of confusion among employers, but when I think back to my school and university days I can easily see why this would be the case. Companies have for years been encouraged by Government to take on inexperienced young people so they can gain a taste of a career path they are considering.
At around the age of 15 we were told find work experience placements lasting a fortnight. The school worked with local companies to help find us such opportunities, though I set up my own with a small advertising agency in Stockport. At university, where I read Advertising & Marketing, we were advised in no uncertain terms that it was crucial for us to find relevant work experience (I don’t think we were called interns in those days). I was fortunate to find a role with McCann Erickson, a major advertising agency that had its Manchester office within striking distance of my parent’s home.
In both cases the unpaid work that I did was not especially exciting. On some days I probably did feel a little exploited. However, I made the best of it and learned some of the realities of the world of work and the particular career that interested me. The role at McCann’s turned into my first job, so without hesitation I can pronounce my unpaid efforts to have been worthwhile. In turn, my company has turned unpaid internships into paid full-time jobs once someone has begun to prove themselves and so long as the need for their skills exists within the business.
This direct experience has coloured my view of internships and I’m convinced that to insist that the minimum wage be paid in all cases would be a mistake. It’s a huge cost to a company to take on members of staff who have much to learn before they can deliver real value. If payment needed to be made on top of free training and management time I fear that many opportunities that lead to properly paid jobs could be lost. In these straightened times especially, companies can ill afford the risk of hiring those with no experience.
I don’t doubt that there are unscrupulous employers who take advantage of unpaid interns, using them for menial tasks that don’t permit meaningful learning. However, it’s the opportunity to gain relevant experience that should be the measure of internships and not payment of the minimum wage.
I agree with the IPPR and Internocracy that internships should give value to the intern, but suggest these bodies consider the fullest implications of their demands for wages. Intransigence on this point could cause the doors to close and then everyone loses. Better to create a flexible code that evaluates the quality of internships based on opportunities for learning, and with an understanding of the workplace realities for different industries and pressures on organisations of varying sizes.
Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views or policy of the Institute of Directors
