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BackEverybody speaks about the “Internship Generation”. Now, the EUROBAROMETER has conducted an empirical study to analyse the situation of interns. At the same time, the Forschungs- und Beratungsstelle Arbeitswelt (FORBA), a non-profit making research institute, published a study commissioned by the Austrian Ministry of Social Affairs, which assesses the Austrian situation of interns. What becomes clear overall is that this patchy, sometimes opaque field requires the enforcement of labour and social law standards.
Internships – widespread and often unpaid
To conduct its study, EUROBAROMETER interviewed almost 13,000 people aged between 18 and 35 living in the EU and asked them about their experiences. Almost half of the interviewees had already completed one or more internships. 36 % of these had already completed three or more internships.
The study also shows that the number of internships increases whilst the equal number of apprenticeships has gone down. Whilst in Austria internships and apprenticeships balance each other (in case of apprenticeships EU-wide the largest share), in the Netherlands with her very liberalised labour market only 24 % do an apprenticeship, whilst 79 % have experience based on internships. The authors of the study conclude from this that companies often regard internships as an escape route into a less regulated area.
The precarious situation can be explained by some additional figures, the authors collected. 35 % of interviewees did not sign an internship contract and only 40 % were paid. The last figure is even more alarming, if one considers the fact that even in case of internships lasting more than 6 months only slightly more interns were paid. Of those, who were paid, only 46 % said that their pay was sufficient to cover the most essential costs, such as rent and food.
However, an inconsistent picture emerges in respect of the usefulness of internships for interns. Even though 89 % state that they gained useful knowledge for their future professional life 71 % comment that their internship had helped them to find a job, or would help them in future, another picture emerges with regard to the famous foot in the door. Only a quarter reports that they were offered employment after they had completed their internship, whilst the same number was offered an extension of their internship. The latter indicates that internships were often used as a “carrot held in front of the nose” to avoid regular employment/working conditions.
The situation in Austria does not look any better. The already mentioned FORBA study established that 13 % of graduates in Austria do internships, of whom a quarter is not paid and the pay of a further third is below the de minimis threshold.
Lots to do
Both studies show that there is still a lot to do with regard to internships. This applies even more as this sector is completely unregulated in most countries. One gets the overall impression that many companies and organisations use internships to get cheap or non-paid employees, whose only reward is an entry on their CV. The fact that interns are often underpaid or not paid at all is not only unfair for the people affected, but also for those who do not have the financial resources to work six months without payment.
In particular in view of the widespread youth unemployment in Europe and efforts made at European level to introduce initiatives such as the youth guarantee to get young people into jobs, but also into internships, it is obvious that the rights of young employees have to be improved. Otherwise, there might be the danger that internships in view of the depressing perspectives on the labour market are all too often misused. The Commission has announced to publish quality standards for internships before the end of December. It remains to be seen what such a non-binding framework will be enough to improve the situation at least slightly.
To conduct its study, EUROBAROMETER interviewed almost 13,000 people aged between 18 and 35 living in the EU and asked them about their experiences. Almost half of the interviewees had already completed one or more internships. 36 % of these had already completed three or more internships.
The study also shows that the number of internships increases whilst the equal number of apprenticeships has gone down. Whilst in Austria internships and apprenticeships balance each other (in case of apprenticeships EU-wide the largest share), in the Netherlands with her very liberalised labour market only 24 % do an apprenticeship, whilst 79 % have experience based on internships. The authors of the study conclude from this that companies often regard internships as an escape route into a less regulated area.
The precarious situation can be explained by some additional figures, the authors collected. 35 % of interviewees did not sign an internship contract and only 40 % were paid. The last figure is even more alarming, if one considers the fact that even in case of internships lasting more than 6 months only slightly more interns were paid. Of those, who were paid, only 46 % said that their pay was sufficient to cover the most essential costs, such as rent and food.
However, an inconsistent picture emerges in respect of the usefulness of internships for interns. Even though 89 % state that they gained useful knowledge for their future professional life 71 % comment that their internship had helped them to find a job, or would help them in future, another picture emerges with regard to the famous foot in the door. Only a quarter reports that they were offered employment after they had completed their internship, whilst the same number was offered an extension of their internship. The latter indicates that internships were often used as a “carrot held in front of the nose” to avoid regular employment/working conditions.
The situation in Austria does not look any better. The already mentioned FORBA study established that 13 % of graduates in Austria do internships, of whom a quarter is not paid and the pay of a further third is below the de minimis threshold.
Lots to do
Both studies show that there is still a lot to do with regard to internships. This applies even more as this sector is completely unregulated in most countries. One gets the overall impression that many companies and organisations use internships to get cheap or non-paid employees, whose only reward is an entry on their CV. The fact that interns are often underpaid or not paid at all is not only unfair for the people affected, but also for those who do not have the financial resources to work six months without payment.
In particular in view of the widespread youth unemployment in Europe and efforts made at European level to introduce initiatives such as the youth guarantee to get young people into jobs, but also into internships, it is obvious that the rights of young employees have to be improved. Otherwise, there might be the danger that internships in view of the depressing perspectives on the labour market are all too often misused. The Commission has announced to publish quality standards for internships before the end of December. It remains to be seen what such a non-binding framework will be enough to improve the situation at least slightly.