HOW NICE TO KNOW OUR PRIME MINISTER IS SLEEPING WELL AT NIGHT, WHILE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE ARE EXPLOITED / EXCLUDED BY TIGHT-FISTED EMPLOYERS – AND HIS GOVERNMENT DOES NOTHING AT ALL TO SUPPORT THEM
The Prime Minster has told the Daily Telegraph that he is “very relaxed” about the culture of internships – and has even awarded a placement at his office to a neighbour. He also admitted to benefitting from a “definite leg-up” internship himself, during the early years of his career.
These comments appear to show a shocking lack of understanding about an issue which Graduate Fog’s users know is already having a damaging impact on social mobility in this country. It also reinforces Graduate Fog’s belief that David Cameron simply doesn’t care about interns.
He also misses the point that the main problem with internships isn’t to do with connections – it’s to do with PAY.
Did you miss the interview? Here is an exerpt by Daily Telegraph journalist Allison Pearson:
He insists that he supports aspiration – the parents who want to do their best for their children, the sharp-elbowed middle classes. Would those be the same parents who Clegg says he plans to stop finding internships and work experience for their children? “Nick was trying to make a fair point,” says Cameron, mildly. “He was simply stating the danger of having a whole strata of people who never have the chance to get internships. Social mobility is in danger of stalling.”
In the next breath, the PM admits that he personally gives internships to children of friends and supporters. “Actually, I’ve got my neighbour coming in for an internship. In the modern world, of course you’re always going to have internships and interns – people who come and help in your office who come through all sorts of contacts, friendly, political, whatever. I do that and I’ll go on doing that. I feel very relaxed about it.”
The media has seized on Cameron’s admission as a demonstration of blinding differences between him and his deputy. In admitting to awarding internships himself, he has also admitted he is part of the problem. But – even more worryingly I think – his comments also show that our Prime Minister is a long way from ‘getting’ why this issue is so important.
As reported on Graduate Fog at the time of Clegg’s comments, I am concerned that media coverage of this story is confused and inconsistent. This means that we are still not getting to the heart of this problem – which is that most internships designed to be a ‘first rung on the ladder’ are not paid.
Perhaps surprisingly, comparatively few complaints on this website are from graduates who feel they have missed out on opportunities because somebody better connected has got there first.
As for these ‘sharp-elbowed parents’ that Clegg mentioned, do you really believe they in huge numbers? You certainly don’t seem to blame them for the fact that you’re struggling to gain the experience you need before applying for permanent graduate jobs.
Those of you who can’t afford to do unpaid internships are very clear on who you blame for keeping you locked out of the workforce – the tight-fisted EMPLOYERS who benefit from your work but won’t put their hand in their pocket to pay you what you’re worth.
The fact is that many internships are advertised widely. The big problem is that they are almost always unpaid. From what you tell me, THIS is by far the greater issue for those entering the workforce in 2011.
In most cases, interns are eligible for the National Minimum Wage, but employers don’t pay it because the law is simply not being enforced. THIS is what you are most angry with Cameron and Clegg for – their failure to get tough on employers who are taking advantage of young people’s desperation, in order to gain free labour for their organisation.
At present, most of Graduate Fog’s users believe that unpaid internships exploit those who do them and exclude those who can’t afford to do them. Ensuring that ALL interns were paid a proper wage for their work would widen access enormously, so that young workers from all backgrounds could compete on a more level playing field.
Yes, it’s annoying that a well-connected graduate may find it easier to secure some unpaid placements than a graduate without those connections. But the real issue is that whether that graduate is well-connected or not, they still won’t be paid for their work.
*Have I got this wrong?
Which bugs you more: that some young people are awarded internships because of who they (or their parents) know – or that the government has failed to clamp down on employers who continue to use interns as an endless supply of free labour?
Cameron seems to be saying he has no problem with Nepotism. What else can awarding internships through his contacts mean?
I hope he would fairly respond to any enterprising young person contacting his office through an unsolicited letter. Otherwise he shouldn’t be offering internships to his contacts as access to such leg ups is unfair and likely to benefit his presumably well connected friends and school chums.
I otherwise agree that my main issue is that internships are unpaid. He just doesn’t get this – I think he said the solution to the social mobility issue was to back internship schemes which attempt to widen access?
That’s fine if the interns are to be paid. Otherwise it’s wrong that employers be encouraged and supported not to pay their young staff.
@joddle
I agree with you. I just don’t see how Cameron and his cronies can’t see that every time they give one young person a ‘leg-up’, they are effectively pushing another young person down. The ones that benefit tend to be from already privileged backgrounds (and good schools) and the ones that suffer are not. Is this really so hard to understand? Therefore, he is effectively keeping the already privileged in privileged positions, and keeping everybody else ‘down’.
I know – the idea of widening access to a few internship shemes to benefit those from particularly disadvantaged backgrounds would the wrong move here. If the internships are still not paid, then it won’t work as these grads still wont’ be able to take up the placements.
Also, if the internships ARE paid – and offered only to those from particularly disadvantaged backgrounds, then where does that leave everybody else? And how would this even work? Would access to these schemes be means-tested? ie if your parents have a combined income of under 30k, say, you qualify? These workers are over 21, and usually very well-educated. Why should their parents’ bank balance have anything to do with where they end up working? Interns are adults, and they have rights to be paid a fair wage for their work. Their parents’ earnings should not be relevant.
And what about those who are deemed just a little bit too privileged to qualify for these schemes designed for ‘disadvantaged’ grads – should they have to work for free for months (even years), because their parents earn a little bit more money? How is THAT fair? I am also concerned this could create a divide between young people that is unhelpful and could be corrosive – as poorer graduate would effectively be being given an unfair edge over those who are from slightly less disadvantaged backgrounds.
The more hare-brained ideas like this i hear, the more I am convinced that Cameron and Clegg are deliberately ignoring the obvious solution to this problem. The ONLY way to make internships fair for everybody is to pay young workers properly for the work they do. Then there is no need to start making arbitary judgements about which grads are deemed disadvantaged enough to qualify for certain schemes. Nobody should have to work for nothing, no matter how much (or little) money their parents have.
Both Cameron and Clegg are making a right old meal of this issue, when really it’s quite simple.
Forget about means-testing internships or banning ‘sharp elbowed’ parents from giving internships to their family, friends and neighbours. The solution to this problem is screamingly obvious: Award internships to the best candidate for the job, and pay them a fair wage for their work. The employer gets the best person for the job, and the intern is rewarded in actual money for their work, so that they can pay for rent, heating, food etc. Sorry Cameron and Clegg, but what more is there to ‘get’ about this issue? Honestly folks, it’s not that hard…
Well to Cameron internships are apparently a fact of life in the modern world. Erm… doesn’t he realise that he is in government and it is possible to legislate against them? Even sending out a clear message that unpaid internships are illegal would sound an alarm bell for greedy employers.
Enforce the illegality of unpaid internships = no intervention necessary = problem solved.
I was interested to learn about the work of the Social Mobility Foundation who support bright school pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds to get into top universities. They also run these internship schemes. Could Cameron’s idea be to give money to social enterprises/charities like this to organise leg up internships for the disadvantaged?
Why should we need to pay a middle man to make unpaid internships appear fairer? As if a few poor students getting internships in top banks and law firms will supposedly make everything alright!
The Social Mobility Foundation and possibly the Conservative Party view social mobility as going from the bottom to the top in a single generation. However, it’s much more complicated than this. There always seems to be an emphasis on helping the few rather than the many.
Perhaps Cameron is unaware how widely practiced unpaid internships are? Perhaps I can organise one in a retail outlet or a junior admin role for his offspring, using my contacts..
Nepotism doesn’t bother me, it is a fact of life, if my parents had these connections I would be using them. I don’t hold it against anyone who gets an internship through nepotism – “lucky you, now ssshh!”
The fact that politicians are bringing this up is a little odd and it is distracting from the real issue of actual jobs for graduates and paid internships. There are no easy solutions to this problem, and I think Cameron and Clegg are becoming aware of that, hence this debate has started and words like ‘social mobility’ are being bandied about.
‘Enforce the illegality of unpaid internships’
Agreed!
The man has had far too cossetted a life experience even if you agree with him on other things so that he is what I call a no real life.
We can all pontificate with connections to propel us where we want to be and especially if we have the weapon of last resort: inherited millions in the bank.Just like President JFK in his day whose father effectively bought him the White House.He’s not exactly Duncan Bannatyne or Lord Sugar and done it the hard way.