Internships: the experience, the economics, the ethics

Today I’m talking internships: the experience, the economics, and, of course, the ethics.

Done well, internships provide students with an invaluable experiential insight into their chosen industry, and employers with a fresh perspective on their businesses. Done badly, the line between work experience and worker exploitation begins to blur.

But where exactly is that line, and at what point is it crossed?

• Where nepotism and elitism collide. In the UK, 11,000 internships are advertised each year. Not as many as you’d think? That’s because it’s estimated at least another 60,000 go unadvertised, often being reserved for the family and friends of clients and colleagues.
• When they’re unpaid and unregulated. Of the 4.5 million European students who embark on an internship each year, 59% go unpaid, and 40% have no form of contract.
• Where internships replace ‘entry level’ positions. In the UK, the increase in internships (50% since 2010) has risen as dramatically as the decline in advertised graduate jobs. From publishing to PR, in many industries, internships are the ‘first rung’.
• When ‘intern culture’ is really just a euphemism for unpaid work. Some evidence suggests that the millennial reliance on internships is contributing to the darker — and well documented — consequences of our gig economy.
• Where it hampers diversity and equality efforts. An overwhelming 70% of unpaid interns at the UN are women: compared with 40% of salaried staff, and only 10% of leadership positions.

So how did internships become quite so compulsory and charged?

The problem is perpetuated by the myth that, without one, you can’t get a job. In reality, research shows that unpaid internships actually damage long term earnings prospects, and that employability is higher for students who only accept paid or co-operative internships.

No one wants a job market that is inaccessible to those who can’t afford a head start; so how can businesses make sure they are not part of the problem?

The law is clear (ish): while UK legislation forbids unpaid internships — the government recently announced an enforcement drive — to date there have not been any prosecutions. Meanwhile in the US, Labor Department guidelines have been revised to relax previous restrictions on employers offering unpaid internships.

While loopholes exist on both sides of the pond, if an intern will be attending regularly, and doing set duties, it’s reasonable that they should be treated as an employee.

I’m conscious that we should strive to celebrate the progressive as well as call out the unethical. So, rather than name and shame those who don’t treat their interns fairly, perhaps we should take a leaf out of Silicon Valley’s book.

The tech sector has lately been getting a bad rap for some of its practices, but when it comes to internships, the Valley is doing something right. From startups to giants: interns at Silicon Valley’s many tech companies can expect good wages, real-world projects, support and mentorship, and full access to company benefits for the duration of their placement.

The law might be murky, but the ethics are clear.

To ensure a fairer workplace for interns — and I don’t say this very often — let’s be more tech.

P.S. Many of us were once interns. Many more of us may hire interns. I’d love to hear your experiences and thoughts on how we can build a fairer workplace from the ground up.