News

Don't write off internships

Published 18 November 2011

Young job seekers are more likely to achieve successful careers if they take up internships linked to education programmes, according to new research.

Professor Jackie O'Reilly, professor of comparative employment relations at the University of Brighton, said: "There are now more than one million young people unemployed and many are left with little choice but to take on unpaid internships.

"Much criticism has been directed at the use of internships as a means of cheap labour but our research shows that placements tied to educational attainment are more likely to result in successful employment trajectories for young people.

"It is not just getting work experience on its own that will secure young people a job; it is making sure that this is tied to a recognisable qualification that reaps value."

This is one of the key findings from a research project being conducted at the university's Centre for Research on Management and Employment (CROME) together with the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) from a grant awarded by the Santander Universities group to understand changes to the vocational and educational training systems in Spain and the UK.

Professor O'Reilly said today's "grim" job figures were partly due to employers' reluctance to take on new workers: "The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's (CIPD) labour market outlook, a survey of employers, published this week suggested that the recent economic crisis has made employers nervous about recruiting staff as they 'wait and see' what is likely to happen next before they invest in further expansion. They predict a long and protracted prospect for jobs in the UK.

Professor O'Reilly warned against knee-jerk cutting of public service jobs.

She said: "The competitive position of the UK economy in the past was followed by a period of job growth that benefited the Exchequer through tax receipts of those employed.

"Cutting back on jobs through the austerity package may change the balance sheets of public sector debt, but it will increase the benefits packages being paid out to the millions of unemployed. Government reforms to old programmes will also incur additional costs in setting these up."

Professor O'Reilly said EU-funded research at CROME that examines work-life balance issues has also shown that removing maternity and paternity benefits is not going to have any effect on employment, nor will it encourage employee engagement, a sentiment echoed by John Philpott from the CIPD.

She said research is continuing at CROME on policies that can be developed to encourage job skills and innovation. She said: "Finding new and creative ways of managing economic and employment uncertainties is going to be the main focus for employers in the next decade."