Three quarters of people back ban on unpaid work experience over four weeks, study finds

The study came from the Social Mobility Commission.
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Martin Coulter23 October 2017

Three quarters of the British public support a ban on unpaid internships, according to a new study.

The poll of 5,000 people was published ahead of the second reading of a Lords Bill on Friday seeking to end unpaid internships, which remain vital to attaining a career in some industries.

The report, published by YouGov and the Social Mobility Commission, found 72 per cent of respondents supported stopping unpaid work placements.

This research follows a report from the Institute for Public Policy Research in April which claimed the number of unpaid internships had risen by 50 per cent since 2010. An estimated 70,000 unpaid internships are undertaken every year in Britain.

The results also showed that 80 per cent of the 4,723 British adults surveyed wanted companies to be required to advertise their internships and work experience opportunities openly.

The commission's chairman, former Labour MP Alan Milburn, said: "They have become a route to a good professional job, but access to them tends to depend on who not what you know and young people from low income backgrounds are excluded because they are unpaid.

"They miss out on a great career opportunity and employers miss out from a wider pool of talent. Unpaid internships are damaging for social mobility."

An attempt to ban unpaid internships was blocked in Parliament last November.

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