Are unpaid internships exploiting young Bristol jobseekers?

Redland is home to a lot of students and every year, some of these students become graduates and choose to stay on in Bristol because, let's face it, it is such a brilliant city. However, like everywhere else in the UK (and pretty much the whole of the world) there is a distinct shortage of jobs.

Bristol University has just revealed details of a new Bristol Plus Awards scheme to help add value to students' CVs and help them secure gainful employment but will it really have an effect? The University says the scheme, which has been running for two years. is endorsed by 17 top graduate employers, including the NHS, Rolls Royce and Airbus, but surely that's a moot point if there aren't any jobs available? And when you delve into the details, it appears to be another way of exploiting young peoples' desire to get a decent job by making them do unpaid internships.

Students who sign up for the award are expected to complete 50 hours of work experience, either as a volunteer, in a part-time job or an internship. They must also attend four workshops on employability skills, including interview techniques, take part in an intensive skills-related activity and write a summary of the skills they have gained.

The scheme, launched two years ago, has seen students clock up their 50 hours through a variety of activities – work experience, charity fundraising, organising sporting events or voluntary work in the community. Sarah Whittam, Careers Advisor at the University, said: "It's been really encouraging to see the rise in the number of students taking part. They see it as a worthwhile scheme to complement their studies and help them to get on the career ladder. Employers are much more demanding than they used to be. They want more than a degree, they want evidence of life and work experience and the Bristol PLuS Awards are designed to formalise these extra-curricular achievements."

There was a thought-provoking piece in the Observer newspaper over the weekend about how graduates and other young (and some not so young) jobseekers are campaigning for a wage after months of free labour, dressed up as 'internships'. The media and PR industries have always been known for this but it seems that everyone is getting in on the act now, from retail outlets to big accountancy firms. With so many 'internships' on offer, it's almost a pre-requisite to getting a job now. If, at the application stage, you can't prove relevant experience (which these days translates as direct experience in the company you want to work for or one very similar – none of this transferable skills stuff we're used to) then chances are you won't get a look in.

But this is forging massive inequalities in the workplace, meaning only youngsters from well-off families are in with a chance of getting a job. If you're working for free, full-time for X amount of weeks or months then how are you supposed to earn money to pay your rent, bills and other living costs? The harsh fact of the matter is, that unless you have support from a partner or your parents it's just a no go for you. Instead, you try and find a job, any job, and you're perpetually pipped to the post by rich kids. How's that for meritocracy?

Unemployed (in the technical sense of the word) Redland resident Tammy Grayson, 22, has completed three unpaid internships since graduating last year and is about to embark upon a fourth. All the while she has been forced to claim jobseekers allowance as she cannot afford to work for free and live. She was nearly forced to return home to live with her parents in the countryside but feels Bristol has more opportunity – sadly it has not proved fruitful as of yet.

She said: "I almost didn't take this fourth internship as it is a full time position for more than a month, meaning I won't be able to get another job until the end of next month, but my friend pointed out that if I didn't do it, someone else would; and that there was a possibility of paid work at the end of it – I just wonder why it isn't paid from the start? Fair enough working for free for a day or two, or even a week, to see if you're suitable for the job but more than that and it really is just free labour."

And what about the effect on established and experiences professionals. Why would a company pay a decent wage to someone with a wealth of experience, when they could train an intern up and get a constant supply of free labour? It means that even people who've been employed for upwards of five years are having to partake in unpaid work as a pre-cursor to getting a paid position. It's beyond me why there isn't legislation to protect against this? After all, the economy is never going to get back on track if we're all working for free and struggling to make ends meet...

Photo by Newtown Grafitti via Flickr