To intern or not to intern?

With news coming out that BBC has used more than 6000 unpaid interns, it continues the debate as to whether internships are a loophole in the national minimum wage legislation or an effective training and development exercise for people taking the roles?

Answer to both: Yes!

Ideally, an internship is designed to offer graduates or those starting out in a chosen career a time limited work experience placement, which includes an element of training and can be used to gain experience and create opportunities, even a prospect of a paid role at the end of it. Over a third of internships are currently unpaid, with a loophole in national minimum wage legislation creating confusion over whether interns should be paid. Back in August The HR Dept backed the CIPD proposal for a £2.50 per hour guaranteed minimum training wage, in line with current minimum rates of pay for apprentices.

It is probably likely, as with apprenticeships, that it isn’t just the graduates who are seeking internships as a way to either seek gainful employment and or gain valuable experience in an industry but also older workers looking to boost their prospects during times when full time paid roles are harder to come by.

Perhaps there should now be a show called ‘The Intern’.