Earlier this year, The Sutton Trust published a report on unpaid and underpaid internships, concluding that the current access to internships disproportionately benefits middle-class graduates over working class graduates and arguing that unpaid internships exclude young people without pre-existing financial support.
The report, published in January, recommends that unpaid internships over four weeks in length should be banned outright, and that all internship positions should be publicly advertised, rather than informally offered – only 1 in 10 internships are found through open advertisement. It also recommends that HMRC should promote information on internships, and conduct an information campaign to inform young people of their right to pay.
More than half of graduates aged 21 – 29 who took part in the research reported completing at least one internship, an increase of 12% from 2018. 59% of employers – rising to 80% in London – who took part, reported offering internships, which is an increase from 48% in 2018.
However, 1 in 5 internships currently offer no financial compensation at all, and 40% of unpaid interns rely on financial support from parents or relatives. There has also been an increase in the gap between those participating in internships from different socioeconomic backgrounds. The number of working-class graduates taking part in internships has risen from 31% to 36%, whilst the percentage of middle-class graduates has grown from 43% to 55%.
26% of respondents from a working-class background said they could not afford to take an internship, compared with 15% from middle-class background. 44% of those who attended private schools said they had completed multiple internships, compared with just 18% from state schools.
Nick Harrison, Chief Executive of The Sutton Trust, said: “Internships are an increasingly critical route into the best jobs, and it’s shocking that in this day and age, many employers still pay interns below the minimum wage, or worse, nothing at all. They should be ashamed.”
He added: “As well as paying interns properly, there’s also a whole lot more that employers must do to make sure they’re accessing a wider pool of talent, such as advertising internship opportunities rather than taking in family and friends of their existing staff or biggest customers.”
