Ask a student what they will be doing over the summer, and most will reply “an internship, if I can get one.”
The fear of falling graduate employment levels can be seen in the frantic search for experience, often unpaid, undertaken by many current students at university. But how many fully consider the implications of what they are signing up for?
As if our own understanding of the scant job prospects we face isn’t enough, the constant reminders of how important it is not to waste a summer applies further pressure. Parents and teaching staff constantly emphasise the need to be proactive. It may be true that future employers do look for relevant experience and that some schemes can be invaluable. However it’s also true that others can be exploitative, immoral, and even illegal.
Due to the fact that young people are so keen to gain ‘relevant experience’, companies are able to get away with saving money on often menial tasks that would otherwise require a fully remunerated employee. It is estimated that around 100,000 young people work as unpaid interns each year.
Aside from the fact that individuals are routinely being exploited for the profit of money-driven companies, the world of unpaid internships perpetuates the social divides that plague British society. One of the primary reasons for this is that the vast majority of internships are based in London; combined with the fact that so many are unpaid, the obstacles for those from less fortunate financial and geographical backgrounds can prove insurmountable.
This automatically makes securing placements, and quite possibly employment, far more difficult for those who have to support themselves. For example living costs in London can often exceed £1000 a month. Evidently, this prevents talented individuals from acquiring the experience they will need to further their career prospects.
One industry synonymous with unpaid work is fashion. Such is the demand for jobs that many will jump at the chance to act as free labour. Essentially this equates to massive, corporations profiting from the exploitation of students, who are desperate to do something they love.
Further to being heinously exploitative, an alarming amount of unpaid internships offered by many firms are simply illegal. Internaware.org seek to bring to light such abuses by employers.
Their campaign states that “under employment law, people who work set hours, do set tasks and contribute value to an organisation are ‘workers’ and are entitled to the minimum wage.”
Companies that offer to pay interns’ expenses should also by law pay substantially more. Even if students are willing and able to work for free, they should not give up their right to be paid fairly for the work that they do. If government, universities and students forced companies to obey employment laws, it would go some way to eliminating grossly unfair financial restrictions.
Of course, the benefits to be gained from internships can be very important to students’ development. Experience in the field you want to be part of can be enjoyable as well as valuable. The issue of employment rights is a complicated one, and it goes without saying that many schemes and companies obey them. It is also important to remember however that the nature of placements differs massively.
For those lucky enough to find themselves shadowing a experienced professional, internships can give an invaluable insight into the industry. In such a situation it’s likely that the intern is gaining more from the experience than the company.
Ultimately it is important to know what your signing up for. Director of the University of York’s careers department Liz Smith states, that the “main concern of careers is to ensure that students fully understand what is being offered to them by all employers.” They also welcome any concerns or complaints from students who feel they have been exploited or badly mistreated.
As long as these systems are in place and working efficiently, and students themselves are aware of their rights, then unpaid internships need not be an issue. Sadly, though, too many are willing to put themselves in a position in which they can be exploited and too few know what they are entitled to from potential employers just for the sake of saying they did an internship.
An example of the need to consider the experience you are signing up for is the case of Southwestern Advantage, an American company who recruit on campus at York. Company employees collect students’ details, offering the chance to travel and make money over the summer. They seek students to work as door-to-door salespeople in the USA, selling educational books, software and online learning programmes. One group of students were not alone in being approached in Vanbrugh dining hall by Charlie Parkin, a sales manager in Southwestern’s graduate programme.
Until recently Southwestern did not advertise themselves as a internship at all, but rather as a less formal “chance to work in America” programme. As the internship craze took off Southwestern took the opportunity to jump on the bandwagon, formalising their programme into what they label as an internship.
The internship itself offers no salary and no contribution towards flights and it is for this reason that the Students’ Union at Durham, along with other UK universities, have in the past refused to welcome or endorse Southwestern’s summer programme.
However due to the nature of the work there is an opportunity for participants to make money. The student is sold the products by Southwestern at wholesale price and sells them for a profit to households. There is no upfront cost for the products and any unsold products can be returned to the company for full credit.
Through running their own business, the company claims the average income of a first year salesperson is over $9,000. But this is not guaranteed and the company itself, along with previous participants, admit the programme is arduous and not for everyone.
Simon Kreienbaum, a York student who took part in the company’s ‘internship’ last summer, and intends to return again this year in a recruitment and leadership role, told of his positive experience with Southwestern. He did, though, concede that it was “the hardest thing I had ever done,” and admits that the success of the experience may be down to the individuals on both sides.
“I don’t think I want to recruit tonnes of people,” he told Vision. “You have to take care of people throughout the summer, I want to make sure everyone has a good experience. I have heard stories of people who recruit like twenty people in their first year as a student manager – and lots of them went home because it wasn’t for them. Clearly its harder for you to make sure everyone has a good time if you have to take care of twenty people rather than three or five.”
He does, though, explain that the selection process does a good job of educating students as to what they should expect from the scheme. Applicants must attend multiple information sessions and daily follow-up interviews before committing to join Southwestern.
The company also suggests that one of the key benefits to their programme is an award winning sales training school before the summer where students are introduced to key success principles and transferable life skills. Southwestern say that they recognise the investment that students make when applying to work abroad for the summer and in return they too make a significant investment in each participant before the summer begins. Southwestern estimate that the cost of preparing overseas participants for the summer programme amounts to in excess of $500 per student.
On average, though, the company profits regardless of what the participant gains from the programme. In a broader sense, the same can be said for unpaid internships in the UK. Whether an intern has a good experience or not, companies big and small benefit from the unpaid labour.
What does all of this mean for York students? Concerning Southwestern, Liz Smith states that the University “would not wish to deny these students access to understanding this opportunity.” She added that they were satisfied with the safeguards in place to ensure that students are treated properly by Southwestern and other companies seeking to recruit from the University.
Although York has rescinded its support for unpaid internships, it is of utmost importance that students remain informed, and vigilant against the risks involved in unpaid internships.