That intern-ship has sailed; why not paying your interns could mean everyone misses out

Unpaid internships have been a source of controversy for several years. A quick Google search will bring up many an article, including the Guardian and the NUS. Not quite so prevalent are articles on internships in the charity sector. And the sector goes suspiciously quiet when the thorny subject comes up.

Charities can employ unpaid interns because they can count them as volunteers. As someone in our office pointed out, since charities rely on and indeed run on volunteers it’s hard to draw the line between the necessary accepting help for free and exploitation. Charities couldn’t afford to pay everyone that does something for them. But for me, it just doesn’t seem right that a charity does not pay its interns.

Dealing with the classic irony first brings us to Amnesty International. They fight for human rights all over the world and run an extensive internship program, but they do not pay their interns. Neither does Free the Slaves. Oxfam had an income of over £365 million last year, while the NSPCC and Macmillan Cancer Support both got close to £150 million. All offer unpaid internships.

I myself have been on unpaid work experience at a prominent charity. The difference was that I contacted them myself, they took me in for a week and I gained some crucial experience without which I wouldn’t have got my current job; a paid internship. But expecting someone to work full time, or even several days a week, without pay to support themselves is not right. If charities are campaigning for change, surely they have a duty to help the very people who in the future might help effect that change.

Obviously I am not saying that charities should exist purely to provide paid employment. But aside from the moral aspect, I think they are missing an opportunity in that they are thinning out potential applicants based not on skills, but on wealth. Anyone who can't support themselves for six months will not apply. First-time workers are usually very motivated, work long hours and will often accept a low salary. But when that project needs finishing at 8pm on a Friday night, is an unpaid intern really going to cancel ‘date night’ to work on it?

Furthermore, thanks to the job market it’s now possible to get someone with relevant work experience, a first class degree and a Masters for almost minimum wage. And you might be able to choose from five of them. Our recent internship vacancies produced a huge number of superbly qualified candidates.

The point is, aside from it being the right thing to do, paying interns is going to open up your organisation to some top quality applicants. Assuming you choose the right one, you get a motivated and talented person who is essentially undertaking a six month job interview and competency test and what better pool to recruit permanent staff from? We currently have two former interns as permanent staff. But then, we also offer paid days off to volunteer at charities.

The job market should be a meritocracy; give us all access, sit back and let us impress you. After all, charity starts at home right?

Rob White