Internship in the UK: Why it is contested & also
a misunderstood process of skill formation –
emerging issues from the Creative & Finance
Sectors
David Guile and Ann Lahiff
ESRC-funded Research Centre – Learning and Life-chances in Knowledge
Economies & Societies – Institute of Education, University of London
Research funded by: The Commercial Education Trust, the London
Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Argument
Internship is demonised as un-paid/unsupervised work or
work experience
This demonisation conflates internship with unpaid/unsupervised work/work experience
Yet, historically, internship has always been a process of skill
formation
In light of this, it is important to:
• differentiate between internship and un-paid/unsupervised
work or work experience
• identify models of internship that facilitate skill formation
• identify their implication for the UK’s ‘skills” agenda
Origins of internship
The English word intern derived from the French word
interne (see below) which was derived from the Late Latin
word internus (inward, internal; domestic) which was in turn
derived from the Latin word inter (between)
• The earliest definition we could find was:
1879 : American English “one working under supervision as
part of professional training”, especially “doctor in training in
a hospital”, from the French interne “assistant doctor,”
literally: “resident within a school”.
Internship – a good or bad idea?
Bad
•
•
•
•
Internships are: “illegal” (IPPR)
“finishing school for the middle classes” (Williams, 2010)
“form of exploitation” (de Grunwald, 2010)
favour the most well-off members of society (Clegg)
Good
• “internships are an important way of young people getting
into the job market’ (Willetts, 2011)
• ‘The biggest UK firms are set to increase their graduate
intake this year, with more positions than ever going to
people who have already worked for the company as
interns, research has shown” (Higher Fliers, 2011)
Problem with this framing
of internship
National discussion of internship as:
• ‘exploitative’ employer behaviour
Understandable, at one level, because:
• some very bad practice ‘out there’
At another level, what is being lost sight of is:
• internship is a model of skill formation
• what & how people learn from internship varies in different
sectors according to how they use internship
As a consequence, we cannot see:
• how internship does at present & could do more so in future
contribute to UK’s skill agenda
Why is this happening?
Reporting of internship:
• clashes with people’s sense of ‘fair play’
But, there is another hitherto unidentified reason
why people are vexed:
• legacy of the traditional ‘linear’ model of recruitment in
people’s minds
Explore this issue by researching:
• internship in Creative & Finance Industries
Internship in the Creative and Finance sectors –
what’s happening and why?
Creative and Finance sectors chosen for these reasons:
• sectors are characterized by very different organisational structures &, as
a result, patterns of internship
Finance sector (banks, investment & professional service
companies) consists of:
• considerable number of multinational companies, a relatively small
number of Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) and a high
preponderance of permanent employment.
Creative sector consists of:
• small number of multinational companies, high number of SMEs and a
high preponderance of contract-based employment.
Internship tends to be:
• formally organized in the Finance sector and informally generated in the
Creative sector.
Researching internship: conceptual &
methodological issues
Key questions: how to –
•
•
conceptualise a process that occurs within the work process
gain access to corporations & Small & Medium Size Enterprises to interview key people
Conceptualisation
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Use concepts from Socio-cultural theory (object of activity, relational activity, mediating
artifacts, distributed cognition) to guide formulation of model of internship
Access – gained via:
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intermediaries/brokers (people who work regularly with large corporations & SMEs), for
example, University Careers Departments, University Students Unions, Sector Skills
Councils etc., personal contacts.
Interviews conducted with:
•
interns/interns line or project and HR managers /ex-interns/sector-specific bodies
(SSCs)/campaigning bodies (NUS/InternAware etc.)
Outcome
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ideal typical models of purpose, process & outcome of internship
Steering Group comments on emerging issues & plan dissemination
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(CBI, CIPD, NUS, Creative Skillset, Financial Skills Partnership, UKCES etc)
Traditional Model of Graduate Recruitment
Graduate from
University
Employers advertise
jobs
Selection, interview
and job offer
Full time employment
‘learn the ropes’
Traditional Model of Graduate Recruitment 2
Problem:
• model no longer applies in some sectors (Finance)
• model rarely applied in other sectors (Creative)
Result:
• national discussion of internship is skewed because
contributors think internship is favouring some & denying
other students access to employment
But, internship in Creative & Finance sectors is
• facilitating access & skill formation in different ways
Internship as an integral element of company
recruitment
Apply for internship during
second year & successful
applications undertake
internship in summer break
Return to complete final year of
degree in knowledge that
has/does not have an offer of
employment
Undertake
internship
Undertake6-week
6-week
internship
structured by
structured
byteam
team
supported
&&
line
supportedby
bytraining,
training,mentor
mentor
manager
line manager
paid
paid
Full time employment
company-specific knowledge, skill
& judgement
burgeoning company social capital
Internship as an integral element of company
recruitment 2
Why?
• companies have moved their traditional model of postgraduation recruitment into the second year of a first
degree/first year of MBA/MsC to ‘beat off the competition’
• enables companies to enculturate successful students so
they start ‘ahead of curve’ when they join
• students then act as campus ‘champions’ for companies to
encourage other students to apply for internship
Internship as strategy to develop vocational
practice & social capital
Internship
features:
Internship:
Graduate from
university
self-generated (pitch)
•discover internship
possibility via networks/social
media (apply)
• sometimes companies
(upper-end of SME scale)
advertise
structured by
project goals
supported via
project team &
interns’ agecny
unpaid/stipend/expe
nses
Internship
outcome:
knowledge, skill &
judgement
increased social
capital
Freelance/contra
ct-based work,
or business
start-up
Internship as strategy to develop vocational
practice & social capital 2
Why?
• SMEs secure contracts, sub-contract & receive sub-contracts
for projects
• access to much of creative sector is about graduates
‘pitching’ for entry position in above context
• degrees rarely develop the vocational practice needed to
contribute immediately to SMEs’ projects
• internships become positions to elaborate & extend
knowledge & skill developed in HE but supplement it with
practical judgement & social capital (network to gain
contract)
Issues arising from first phase of research
What are we now doing - asking more employers & interns about:
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•
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how they learn as members of project teams where roles are transgressive?
what types of knowledge, skill & judgement & social capital are they developing?
why does this K,S,&J have to be developed in context of work rather than
education?
Where next for the research?
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identify more models of internship (Enternship)
identify processes that support learning & develop a classification of all models
Identify implications for:
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current policies/practices for Key/Employability skills in HE
future direction of Careers Advice pre-HE & during HE
inclusion of internship in national polices for skill formation
Dissemination:
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late February/early March