David Willett’s Internship
HE, In The News, Internships, Politics Tuesday, January 18th, 2011
Trying to make a success of something that you shouldn’t – unless your Chemical Ali, of course – Minister for Universities and Science “Two Brains” Willetts commenting on the High Fliers annual report on the graduate recruitment market in 2011 seems to think working for nothing is something to applaud.
He is quoted as saying:
“Whilst we welcome signs of an improvement, the job market remains competitive for new graduates, as it does for everyone, and graduates need to work hard to maximise their chances of success. However, a degree remains a good investment in the long term.”
“Internships are an important way of young people getting into the professional jobs market. This is a route being followed by increasing numbers of graduates and – as part of our programme to get Britain working – we continue to encourage employers to offer work experience and internships to help graduates develop valuable skills and boost their employment chances.”
“Over 28,000 internships vacancies have been advertised by employers on the Graduate Talent Pool website since its launch in July 2009. The Graduate Talent Pool is a free website which brings together employers and graduates. There are currently nearly 1,855 internships available, over half of which are paid.”
Yadda, spin, tosh.
Or, put another way, only half of the interns are paid ANYTHING. The other half of these young people – 927 – aren’t paid a single thing. Nada. They are purely and simply working in media companies, banks or wherever to be exploited in the name of getting a foot on the ladder.
David, if you think its okay to be exploited in this way why don’t you work for nothing for months on end. Let’s see how you get on.
We’re all in this together, after all.