Unpaid internships ‘block poor kids from landing well-paid jobs’ because they can’t afford to work for free, experts claim
Theresa May is being urged to introduce new laws banning unpaid internships to help balance out the workplace
POOR kids are being “locked out” of well-paid jobs because they can’t afford to work for free, a report reveals this week.
Unpaid internships have become the key to top career for modern youngsters – but many parents don’t have the spare cash to fund them.
It means graduates from better-off families find it much easier to become a doctor, lawyer, architect or accountant.
The scandal of the modern-day closed shop is revealed in a hard-hitting report by Theresa May’s social mobility adviser.
Former minister Alan Milburn will urge the PM to bring in new laws banning unpaid internships to give working-class kids a chance to compete.
He said work experience and internships have become the new “must have” in the graduate labour market.
Eight in ten new recruits to banking come from internships and it is about a third in other professions.
Some firms demand that wannabe employees put in a year’s unpaid work before they apply for a job.
This can cost £1,000 a month to cover rent and travel, according to the Social Mobility Commission report.
It says the damaging impact on efforts to improve the life chances of youngsters from low-income homes “cannot be understated.”
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The report says: “Internships are a new rung on the professional career ladder.
“They provide access to the best careers but all too often they are inaccessible to young people from struggling family backgrounds.
“Those without financial support from their parents are effectively excluded owing to means not merit and potentially locked out from sought-after careers.”
Mrs May has vowed to extend opportunity for youngsters from all backgrounds by building “a Britain that works for everyone”.
But Mr Milburn’s report reveals only four per cent of doctors, six per cent of barristers and 12 per cent of solicitors are from working-class backgrounds, the report states.
It adds: “Despite some progress in some companies, Britain remains a deeply elitist nation where the chance of getting a well-paid job in a top profession is still strongly correlated with social background.
“Children from working-class backgrounds – even if they are high-attainers – are less likely to secure such jobs because they have less access to networks and knowledge to navigate the system than their more affluent peers.”
Mr Milburn will call for new laws to “end the unfair activity of unpaid internships”.
He wants any work placement lasting more than four weeks to be classified as an internship with entrants paid at least the national minimum wage.
Mrs May clearly recognises the barriers some people face – and spoke about it on the steps of Downing Street last month – but she is understood to believe there are better ways to address the issue.