The Internships Which Don’t Meet The Usual Definition of Internship.

One thing that has surprised me recently is how some ‘jobs’ have been advertised as ‘internships’ when in fact they are very different to what you would expect for an internship.  Extracts of two such examples are below:

Graphic Design Internship - Envytations, Manchester

We are seeking an experienced Graphic Designer either full or part time on an unpaid basis - to own the creation and maintenance of both our marketing assets and content created to support the product and other marketing goals.

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Must have access to Adobe Creative Cloud or similar Graphic Design package & be an expert in this field. 

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We are looking for a candidate with a positive Go Do attitude, ability to work independently, passion for design and a strong work ethic. 

Web Design Intern - Gratuu Ltd, Manchester

We are looking for a candidate with a positive Go Do attitude, ability to work independently, passion for design and strong work ethic. The candidate must have experience and access to Adobe Suite and good knowledge of web/ mobile design, good communication skills and attention to detail.

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Job Type: Unpaid internship

In both these cases the adverts have been placed by commercial businesses who aren’t looking for a trainee to come in and sit alongside someone experienced in order to gain experience, they are looking for someone experienced who is able to complete tasks independently which are essential to their respective businesses.  Additional, they are looking for people who already have the relevant software for undertaking the work, when the required software isn’t free or software which is included with any new computer.  It’s not dis-similar to advertising for a delivery driver intern and then not providing a vehicle to use while making deliveries!

In the title of this blog and opening paragraph I’ve chosen my wording carefully because according to the information provided on www.gov.uk the term internship has no legal status, so it cannot be claimed that these positions aren’t internships.  Conversely, a trainee manager role paying £25,000 per annum could also be called an internship.  However, questions have to be asked as to why a commercial business would need to rely on an experienced person working on a voluntary basis.  Is it because the business owner doesn’t want to take the financial risks which come up with owning a business?  Or is it because there’s a shortage of work in some areas meaning that experienced people are willing to offer their skills on a voluntary basis for a commercial business?  The government keeps telling us unemployment is going down but I don’t think they're telling us the full story when they make that claim.

I should also stress that the above two adverts (which are no longer live) are the not the only examples of unpaid internship roles where the business is advertising that it is looking for experienced people, just examples I happened to come across. Also in this post I am no way trying to imply that either Envytations or Gratuu have done anything that isn’t legal.

Issues Politicians May Have Overlooked

With Brexit, defence, taxation and the level of public spending getting all the media attention in the build up to next week’s election here are some ideas which I think political parties should be considering but I haven’t heard them mention in their campaigning.

Regulating advertising on British websites and international websites which target British customers.

It’s not unreasonable for a website to have adverts on it but there seems to be no limits to how many adverts a single webpage can have, nothing to prevent video adverts auto playing or nothing to prevent news based websites having adverts showing what can be described as ‘fake news.’ Advert heavy webpages can be inaccessible to those viewing on older devices and can lead to people seeing their data allowance running out much quicker than they expect.  Consequently, many people installing ad blockers, which then unfairly blocks ads on websites belonging to companies which have implemented advertising in a fair and reasonable manner, who then lose advertising revenue.

Consideration for those saving up to buy their first home in the benefits system.

If you lose your job while saving up for your first home and have over £6,000 in savings at the time you lose your job then you are not eligible to receive as much in benefits as someone who has already purchased a home and has under £6,000 in savings, even if their house is worth £1m. This seems an unfair system which is preventing young people from getting on the housing ladder.

Companies selling to British customers should have call handlers in Britain.

If a company provides a 24/7 phone number then it’s not unreasonable for a call at 3am to be answered by someone in another country.  However, there should be times when you can call and have your call answered in Britain as communication difficulties often occur when trying to explain a complex problem to someone in another country, especially when English is their second or third language.  Also British call handlers shouldn’t be reserved for undertaking ‘upgrades and cancellations’ as seems to be the case with many phone operators.

Option to switch to new terms for those who took out Student Loans between 1998 and 2003.

For students who started University in 2004 or later in England & Wales the Labour government introduced new student loan terms to make repayments fairer.  This included a term to write off anything which hadn’t been repaid after 25 years, while those who took out student loans between 1998 and 2003 won’t see their student loan written off until they are 65 (unless of course it’s fully repaid before then.)  I accept new T&Cs should not be forced on anyone but feel those who started university between 1998 and 2003 should be given the option of being allowed to switch to the favourable post-2003 terms if they wish.

Changes to ‘positive discrimination.’

It seems ‘positive discrimination’ is only used as an argument in some cases e.g. to get more female workers in to technology and engineering roles.  While I think there are many talented women who could work in technology and engineering and aren’t I feel if ‘positive discrimination’ remains legal then it should cover every type of job role, not just the lucrative ones or fashionable ones.  For example, campaigns should also include getting more women into driving buses, being refugee collectors and working on building sites.  There should also be ones for getting men in to working in roles such as receptionists or primary school teachers.  I feel the latter is very important as many primary schools have all female teaching staff, so children from a young age can get the impression that a primary school teacher is a woman’s role.