Internships and Work Experience, new symptoms, old problem
It’s gratifying to see extensive coverage at the end of this week, from the Guardian amongst others, concerning the dawning awareness that huge numbers of skilled graduates are being effectively forced into a tier of unpaid work masquerading under the guise of “internships”. Those named and shamed include our own MPs with their interns, and many of the sectors that Arts students will emerge into – those deemed to be most attractive and competitive including journalism and media. The reality is that this problem existed even before the recession, and the creative industries have been allowed to build a reliance on this exploited workforce for far too long. If this push is what’s needed to achieve change it’s welcome, but a longer term culture shift that deals with more than the symptoms brought on the by recession is needed. If the Arts, and indeed the Government, are ever going to be an inclusive and accessible sector, those emerging into work must be paid fairly for their skilled labour. That many are not even receiving National Minimum Wage after years of education and professional development is astonishing, and we should not be afraid to take a strong stance on how wrong this is.
The Arts Group’s Chair, Kit Friend, has been in talks with the Arts Council England and others, and discussions with the DCMS and LSE around the subject are expected soon. The Arts Group’s policy on Emerging Workers will be released here imminently following discussion at our last meeting.
Click here to google “Internships Exploitation” and browse the coverage
