Gaining work experience

Twenty years ago, students typically took low skill “summer jobs” simply to earn money. Now, most offices and organizations feature youngsters putting in unpaid time for work experience. It might be a week or two, or even half a year.

The practice has its critics. Union leaders are decidedly edgy about free labour competing for jobs with their members. There are charges of exploitation and bad treatment. The caricature has unpaid interns working photocopiers or being sent to collect sandwiches or laundry for management, without gaining any useful hands-on experience.

Some critics detect class bias in unpaid work experience, saying that only affluent middle class children can afford to work without pay, and that the middle classes network with friends to manoeuvre their children into suitable positions with key firms.