This Is Not Just an Internship… It’s a Brokerage Internship
Written by Tom Slatter – Head of Impact and Insight at The Brokerage
Internships are a vital route into work for many young people. A recent report by the Sutton Trust gave a damning indictment of internships in the UK, but we’re pleased to say companies that partner with The Brokerage to provide internships for working-class young people are bucking the trend.
The report – Unpaid and Underpaid Internships – highlighted that the current internship status quo is not good.
Currently, 20% of internships are not paid at all and a further 23% are paid under the national living wage, leaving them inaccessible for young people who can’t fall back on the bank of mum and dad.
Only 1 in 10 internships are advertised, so most are only available to those with existing connections, and young people from working-class backgrounds are increasingly less likely to secure internships than their better-off peers.
The Brokerage is different
None of these things are true for Brokerage internships. Brokerage internships are all paid at least the London Living Wage. As a social mobility charity, our internships are only open to young people from lower socioeconomic or working-class backgrounds and the recruitment process is competitive. Crucially, internships make a real difference to the young people who take part and can be a crucial element in securing a professional career in the future.
“This internship has opened my eyes up and deepened my passion even more for a career in finance or even potentially law from having some conversations with the legal team. It has made me realise there’s always numerous avenues to get to the destination you want to get to and realising this expanded my vision for my future even more. Furthermore, it has made me more ambitious and more determined to work much harder academically to get myself out there in the corporate world.”
– Brokerage intern at a wealth management firm
Our own recent analysis of feedback from managers highlights how positive they find having interns. Managers told us Brokerage interns bring curiosity, enthusiasm, commitment and a willingness to learn. Moreover, they can help with genuine, business-critical tasks – of course at a junior level – not merely complete work experience ‘busy work’.
“[Our intern] should continue to be proactive, enthusiastic and a team player in his future endeavours as he has done over these last 8 weeks. He has fit well with the corporate culture, which can be difficult to do in your first professional job and has taken everything in his stride. He has worked on various lines of business and has always been keen to take on other projects/tasks and learn as much as possible.” – Manager at one of The Brokerage’s insurance partners.
Internships do work
We know Brokerage internships work. They work for partners that frequently hire interns into permanent roles, and we know our candidates stay with the company we place them in for an average of 4.5 years. Internships work for our candidates who are more likely to secure professional careers than peers who do not secure the same work experience. The internships even work for the wider industry, with the majority of our banking interns for example going on to start a career in banking.
One of the good things the Sutton Trust internships report highlights is that most employers want the status quo to change – for internships to be fair for all, not just reserved for those with connections and the bank of mum and dad. All the employers who partner with the Brokerage are going one step further – they are taking steps to make that change happen.
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