Almost half of employers (48%) who offer internships report offering unpaid placements according to <\/b>The Sutton Trust<\/i><\/b> study. <\/b><\/p>\n
The report \u2013 <\/span>Pay As You Go<\/span><\/i> – says that 39% of graduates in their twenties have done an internship, including half (46%) of young graduates under 24. Of those graduates who have completed an internship, over a quarter (27%) of them did so with no pay. <\/span><\/p>\n Media and the arts internships (fashion, theatre, tv, journalism etc.) are the most underpaid, with up to 86% on offer unpaid. <\/span><\/p>\n Only 31% of working-class graduates had taken an internship compared to 43% of middle-class graduates. The report found that middle class graduates were more likely to be funded by parents, have savings or use personal connections to obtain internships. <\/span><\/p>\n In comparison, those from working-class backgrounds were more likely to work a paid job to support themselves whilst they undertook their internship. <\/span><\/p>\n The report found that completing an internship was associated with higher salaries, for both middle-class and working-class graduates.<\/span><\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChrisDMarshall\/status\/1065940407148834816<\/p>\n The <\/span>Voice of London<\/span><\/i> spoke to <\/span>University of Westminster<\/span><\/i> fashion student, Megumi Keogh, 21, who has worked multiple unpaid internships in her field. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI have previously interned for a seamstress, London Fashion Week, Stylists, and University of Westminster Fashion week debut, all unpaid. At London Fashion week, all that was provided was lunch. I would leave my house at 5am and only get back at 1am the next morning. That was four days in a row of over 16 hours per day with no compensation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She said that the main ways for her to find internships were through friends of friends, or directly contacting companies to ask them if they have something available.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBecause they were all unpaid, I only choose to do internships that are for short periods of time (maximum one week) as I can\u2019t afford to take more than a week off from my paid job. I definitely can\u2019t afford to do full time internships.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She told us that most fashion internships require you to work \u201c9-5, five days a week, for at least three months, unpaid.\u201d She said \u201cThat is literally impossible for me to do as I\u2019m relying on my part-time job and student loan to live off.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She also told us \u201cWithout doing internships you can\u2019t compete with everyone else. They are needed to get a job in the fashion industry, they\u2019re expected of you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The report comes on the same day as a bill to ban unpaid internships that are over four weeks long is brought to the House of Commons. <\/span><\/p>\n The bill aims to see all internships that exceed a month to be paid at least the National Minimum Wage of \u00a37.05 for 21-24 year olds, but pushes for an ideal pay of the Living Wage of \u00a39 per hour (\u00a310.55 in London).<\/span><\/p>\n The Founder of <\/span>The Sutton Trust<\/span><\/i> and chairman of the <\/span>Education Endowment Foundation<\/span><\/i>, Sir Peter Lampl, said: <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cUnpaid internships prevent young people from low and moderate-income backgrounds from accessing careers in some of the most desirable sectors such as journalism, fashion, the arts and law.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe legal grey area around internships allow employers to offer unpaid internships with impunity. That is why the law should be changed\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n