Intern Aware is a campaigning organisation dedicated to promoting fair access to the internship system.
Through mobilising activists across the country Intern Aware hopes to raise awareness of the inequalities caused by unremunerated internship schemes and make a change.
The campaign arises out of the Government’s recent report ‘Unleashing Aspirations: The Final Report of the Panel on Fair Access to the Professions’. In it, Milburn has stated, ‘Completing an internship is a great way to gain experience, confidence and knowledge about the world of work. In an increasingly competitive jobs market employers increasingly expect to see that candidates have interned in their chosen field.
However too often work experience schemes have inadequate or no remuneration and expenses. Schemes are concentrated in London where above average living costs often make access to internships for those from outside the capital financially impossible. Furthermore people from lower income backgrounds may face informational barriers, by which they are not able to call on as many contacts in professions to arrange internships as those from the professional/managerial class.’ Intern Aware seeks to put these recommendations into practice.
Access to internships is highly unequal and unfair, with many people being excluded from the opportunities which would allow them to get the jobs that they deserve.
- We call on government to remove loopholes from minimum wage legislation which allows employers to ask interns to work for free.
- We call on individuals and employers to ensure that they offer remuneration on internship schemes, to promote fairness and expand their pool of potential employees.
- We call on organisations committed to social justice to put their values into action by ensuring that they are at the forefront of modernising their employment practices.
The Campaign
