Companies that employ unpaid interns; use the children of staff to do menial tasks are “part of a scam that disfigures and damages Britain.” So says someone I’ve long thought would be tedious company, journalist Johann Hari. He points out though that for many students leaving university, getting a foot on the ladder is very hard. “Many of the best jobs require her to work unpaid for months on end before she has enough points on her CV to even start applying for paid positions. Automatically, most of the population is ruled out and only the children of the rich remain to pick the juiciest plums.” Johann had trouble with his own plums when we tried to become a journalist. Are there really students passing out this summer, where their dream job has already gone to an undergraduate with better social connections? I suspect so. Hari’s beef means that the talent in the country is therefore still only coming from a tiny pool – like the Clintons in the USA. Gordon Brown wants to turn the tide by paying for three months of work experience for everyone, and six months for people from the poorest families, forcing private companies to advertise positions like the public sector currently does. No wonder the Conservaties hate it. Er…one thing Johann, what do your colleagues at The Independent think about your views on nepotism? As Private Eye has pointed out, boss; MD; and CEO have all used their positions to their son, nephew and niece positions at the firm respectively!!

Tags: internships and placements, news and publishing, pay and salary, The Independent, work experience for students and graduates

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