Setting out plans to ensure that all new graduates still out of work after six months would have access to a "high quality" internship, training or help to become self-employed, the prime minister said the Conservative policy on helping young people find work wasn't a "guarantee" but a "gamble" with their future.
The Government's common best practice code for high-quality internships makes the persuasive case that "paying a salary for internships helps to facilitate wider access to the profession and will attract the best candidates for the role".
Study after study shows that effective, high-quality internships create a better prepared workforce, and paid internships are most often the effective, high-quality ones.
A promise that new graduates still out of work after six months will have access to a high-quality internship or training, as well as help to become self-employed.
Tailored for arts and culture organisations, the document highlights not only what an internship is ("there is no formal, legal definition") but also what rights employers and interns have regarding pay (interns rightly considered as "workers" must be paid) and how organisations can create a high-quality internship experience.
And with such variety in the quality of internships out there, you need to make sure you know what you're getting.
Interns, and groups representing them, should give equal attention to how we can improve the quality of internships, such as establishing a code of best practice, to ensure that interns gain the most from their time.
We work with employers, such as Adecco and Microsoft, to develop a toolkit for organisations to make sure that they are providing good quality, fair internships, based on our charter.
By interns taking the quality of internships into their own hands we hope that they will shed light on malpractice and make transparent the huge problems that exist.Undertaking an internship has become a kind of rite of passage for our young people, but one that only a small proportion can benefit from.
