Changing internships in the UK...
Welcome to the manifesto site for the Interns’ Campaign for Change.
With the help of our Interns’ Advisory Board, we’ve been crowdsourcing ideas for the Manifesto, and after much discussion have come up with the main issues below.
We plan to put together the Interns’ Manifesto in the next month and would welcome all your votes, comments and discussions!
This is where you can contribute your own ideas for changing internships in the UK so that:
(1) they are open to everyone regardless of their background.
(2) they are of a good quality in every organisation – and not just about making tea and opening the post…
30 results found
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93 votes
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59 votes
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a youth-driven quality mark to identify the organisations with the best internships
This would help young people to recognise where they'll get a good experience and plenty of opportunities.
49 votes -
organisations should have to adhere to a minimum set of standards
...such as a code of conduct for running internships.
34 votes -
24 votes
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23 votes
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for organisations to define the nature of the work before the internship starts
Just because an advert for an internship sounds great, the intern may be stuck doing admin or duties that should be the remit of paid employees. Organisations should define the expected balance of work and be upfront about the opportunity.
19 votes -
An organisation you can turn to protect your rights if being treated unfairly.
If you are interning and have been promised expenses but the boss tries to wriggle out of paying them it would be nice to have someone to turn to who can tell the employer the rights an intern has.
15 votes -
14 votes
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internships should be advertised to everyone
Interns shouldn't have to rely on an unfair 'old boys network' to get their internship.
12 votes -
A letter to companies/MPs advertising unpaid internships reminding them of their duty of care/law
Everytime an unpaid internship is spotted (excluding charities), Internocracy writes to them reminding them of the rules/laws/best practice surrounding internships, whilst encouraging them to consider providing the National Minimum Wage where the placement is longer than 4 weeks.
11 votes -
10 votes
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10 votes
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10 votes
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8 votes
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8 votes
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to allow interns to quit without fear of retribution should they find a paid job elsewhere
My current boss is threatening to ruin my future because I am trying to leave an unpaid internship for a paid one in the same field. The freedom to leave (with 2-weeks notice of course) should be standard practice in internships.
8 votes -
making young people more aware of the benefits of internships
Through school presentations, information and workshops at university careers services, and by raising the issue of internships in the media and with policymakers.
6 votes -
interns should be able to develop a certain project or specialism during their time at work
This would not only benefit the intern, but the employer would benefit from the specialist knowledge, skills or connections an intern would develop.
6 votes -
that every organisation should have a structured internship programme
Ensuring that organisations are clear about the process of the internship, and are not encouraged to draft in streams of interns as a 'cheap option' whenever there's an overflow of work.
5 votes
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