Internships - the road to serfdom?
People from low-income families struggle to compete in the internship-based jobs market of the creative industries. Photograph: Think Publick/Flickr
You know things have reached a new low-point when even interns start to campaign to protect themselves from employers.
Youth Fight for Jobs and the Carrot Workers Collective, both campaign groups, are attracting hundreds of members, many of whom look back on formidable, but unpaid careers, mostly in the creative industries.
Theoretically, employers should make a clear distinction between work experience, internships and apprenticeships. Work experience placements should be short and structured; internships should last for longer and be paid. In practice, they often pay little attention to official terminology – let alone their moral and legal obligations.
The Government and industry bodies such as the Periodical Publishers Association (PPA) are adamant that unpaid work experience should be short and “focus on providing opportunities for learning and enables individuals to immerse themselves in the industry, helping them to understand the key skills and personal qualities needed to pursue a career in that sector”.
But with the recession well set, employers in attractive sectors such as journalism and advertising are leaning on free labour more than ever before.
Even the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) - not usually to be found championing workers’ rights - admits that the recession may be exacerbating things.
While Youth Fight for Jobs emulates labour unions, the Carrot Workers Collective takes a more philosophical approach to the issue.
Their Counter Internship Guide defines extended periods of unpaid work as a “condition of late capitalist cultural economy” and a “rehearsal for uncertain career paths, hyper-active networking, strategic lunching and infinite flexibility”.
In theory, internships are a great way to start a career. In practice, they are often abused as a cheap alternative to hiring entry-level staff. Photograph: William Couch.
It is also peppered with thoughts on the semantics of EU directives and academic references. Intellectual interns of the world, unite! This is not about a couple of under-performing and over-theorising moaners, who are miffed about not getting a job offer after two weeks of filing and making tea.
Many interns become qualified, experienced workers in the course of “paying their dues”, often being given the same responsibilities as entry-level employees.
Media and communications have always been the worst perpetrators when it comes to class-based selection and exploitation of interns, says Heather Collier, director of the National Council for Work Experience.
Because the sector is perceived as lucrative and glamorous, it attracts a higher number of volunteers than any other sector. But, according to Ms Collier, instead of selecting the best people, the industry relies on picking from a limited pool of people that “can afford to do it for nothing”.
That means “white, middle-class people, predominantly”. As a veteran intern at various media companies, I can confirm that most Western communications agencies, newsrooms and marketing departments have one thing in common: they are about as diverse as a polo tournament.
They are populated by cliques of well-heeled, well-connected and well-bred individuals. No wonder, considering that even profitable media brands such as the Financial Times use unpaid long-term interns.
A former intern at the business news giant, who preferred not to be named, lost hope of being offered a paid position at the end of his work experience when another intern confided in him that, after a year’s hard work, she was not even getting travel expenses or lunch on the house.
Both, the National Council for Work Experience and the CBI point out that interns must also get their act together and make sure their know their rights and make the most of the support schemes available to them, such as the Graduate Talent Pool and the Higher Education Funding Council.
But there is no denying that employers, especially in the creative industries, are firmly in the driving seat.
London’s legions of bright-eyed young jobseekers are having to learn a tough lesson: common sense and hard work are a dangerous thing to count on - especially when it comes to free labour during a recession.
Tags: Carrot Workers Collective, Confederation of British Industry, exploitation, internships, labour rights, National Council for Work Experience, Periodical Publishers Association, Youth Fight for Jobs
