Are you considering an internship?

Are you considering an internship?

Despite some positive signs that the economy may at long last be on the up, with house prices now stabilising and manufacturing confidence improving, now is not the time for complacency, either for employers or employees. Though a wave of economic optimism based on improving job figures in the U.S. and increased UK economic output (now at its strongest since 2007), has left the FTSE at its highest level for 10 months, problems still remain in the job market, especially when it comes to graduate recruitment.

The Federation of Small Businesses predicts that graduate unemployment will soar to unprecedented levels this year, as many businesses struggle to cope in a challenging economic environment. The cutbacks in recruiting university leavers, they believe, should be counteracted by the government’s new graduate employment scheme to create 5,000 small business internship placements.

Internships, which involve graduates taking a short-term, often unpaid, or expenses only, ‘work experience’ position are being pushed as part of The Government’s new Graduate Talent Pool. Unveiled by Peter Mandelson recently, The Graduate Talent Pool is an initiative introduced to improve both graduate employability skills and at the same time support business.

The concept, popular in the United States, is far from new here and there are already many examples of internship in action. In the most competitive graduate fields such as journalism, the music industry, PR and advertising internships have become an established part of the recruitment landscape. The Government’s initiative allied with the needs of employers and employees is now seeing a spread of internships further afield. Oxford Brookes University for example, partly in response to the current economic climate, but also in an effort to recycle their own graduates’ experience, expertise and enthusiasm has announced the recruitment of 20 former students as interns.

Some commentators are less than enthusiastic when it comes to the idea of internships. There is a concern that as the work is often unpaid, those from less privileged backgrounds are excluded and that professions become elitist, excluding those with a lack of funding. Alan Milburn, the Prime Minister’s adviser on social mobility has made a series of recommendations on improving the access of working class young people to the “closed shop” identified in some professions.

Internships have also been regarded on occasions as exploitative - a cheap pair of hands. There is also the complaint that interning leads only to more interning.

Despite the concerns internship might well be worth serious consideration. With no viable alternative employment, an internship could prove an excellent way of progressing your career opportunities, gain valuable experience, build your skill set, and increase your network of contacts. Remember that while a prospective employer is assessing you and your skills you can benefit from the opportunity to form an opinion on a company or industry. Employment is very much a two-way street and internship will hopefully leave you better informed and better prepared for when the graduate job market inevitably improves in the future.