Internships: Are university students being exploited?

BY TAHLIA PRITCHARD 

In February this year the Fair Work Ombudsmen announced a new focus on educating employers and employees about the legitimacy of schemes for unpaid work experience, which includes internships and unpaid trial periods.

It’s not uncommon these days for many universities to encourage students to obtain an internship while studying for their degree. In some cases undertaking an internship is a compulsory subject for students, particularly for those in the fields of journalism, public relations, communications, law and education.

 

A study undertaken by website B&T revealed that interns in the media, marketing, PR and advertising industry felt as though they had been exploited. Of those surveyed, 43% said their unpaid internships were more valuable to the employer, while many of the survey participants spoke about being handed jobs that failed to develop their skills in the actual industry.

New guidelines state that the Fair Work Act is very clear that students do not need to be paid if they are enrolled in an academic subject that requires them to complete formal work experience or placement. However if a student is not enrolled in such a subject and does more that a few days of observation in the workplace, then they should be paid for their efforts.

For some fields these days, a university degree is simply not enough. Many jobs in the media industry, for example, are looking for workers who have had at least one to two years experience in the chosen field. This is where the idea of internships or work experience comes in handy for both employers and students alike.

As the ‘intern economy’ grows, an important question is being posed: when does an internship stop being a mutually beneficial experience and start becoming free labour?

In a survey conducted (figure one), 42% of students who had undertaken an internship before or were currently undertaking one stated that they thought unpaid internships were unfair. 66% of students then surveyed went on to say that if the internship had lasted longer than three months, and the student was still staying on, they should be getting paid. No student stated having a negative interning experience, however 33% listed themselves as feeling ‘indifferent’ about their internship, compared to feeling like they had a positive learning experience.

Figure 1: Do you think unpaid internships are unfair?

 

Of the students surveyed, only a small minority said they had felt exploited during their times as interns. One listed that potential employers tried to exploit her by asking her to work five days a week without pay, even though she was also a fulltime student. Of the students surveyed, all were undertaking degrees in media and communication, with subject specialties ranging from journalism to marketing and advertising to PR studies. Statistics show that students in the media field, particularly that of journalism, listed their interning experience as positive and found it mutually beneficial. PR students/interns reported back the most negatively, and were the most likely students to feel as though they had been exploited.

“I interned at (company name) in the fashion cupboard,” one participant stated. “It was under the guise of a PR internship, but it was very clear they were after free labour and didn’t provide much in the way of teaching OR a good working environment.”

The results of the survey did find however, all students agreed that internships were a necessity, and a good way to boost their work experience.

“Overall it’s a worthwhile thing to do before you graduate,” one student claimed. “Anything over one month of unpaid work is exploitation though. It’s unfair and employers know they can get away with it, since we’re desperate students who want to gain an edge over each other. Ultimately there needs to be a clear line drawn between what is okay, and what isn’t. Students aren’t slave labour, and we shouldn’t let ourselves be treated like we are.”

What are your thoughts on unpaid internships? A necessity or unfair exploitation?

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Survey conducted on Survey Monkey, in April/May 2013. 25 participants ageing from the ages of 18-25.