Guide to Internships

Employers » Useful Recruiter Information » Guide to Internships

Welcome to the recruiter guide on Internships by the CIPD Policy Adviser on Skills - Tom Richmond and Arran Russell the current Public Policy Intern.

If you would like to find out more about the work of the Public Policy Team at the CIPD, please visit their website at www.cipd.co.uk/publicpolicy

This guide is aimed at employers that are either thinking of starting an internship programme for the first time or wish to improve their current offering. Earlier this year, we produced the 'Internship Charter' - a voluntary code of practice with six principles that can support employers when devising and implementing high-quality internship schemes. The principles cited in the Charter are:

RECRUITMENT
PAYMENT AND DURATION
INDUCTION
TREATMENT
SUPERVISION
REFERENCE AND FEEDBACK

Each of these six principles is given a dedicated section within this guide, along with the relevant excerpt from our original Internship Charter, and goes on to suggest how each of the principles can be addressed in a way that gives the greatest benefit to both the intern and the employer. If you are short of time or would like a quick idea of what is included in this guide, you can jump straight to the sections at the back of the guide, where you will find:

- a checklist for employers to use when assessing the quality of their programme
- a voluntary written agreement that gives you the option of formally recognising your commitment to the principles in this guide
- web links to other organisations and initiatives regarding internships.

There are a number of different phrases used to describe non-contractual work that offers a young person some experience in the workplace. This may be during their time at school (typically lasting a couple of weeks and referred to as 'work experience') or university (usually lasting up to a year and called 'work placements'), or they may have just finished education and be entering the labour market for the first time. However, we have recently seen 'internships' come to be associated largely, although by no means exclusively, with graduates entering the labour market and wanting to enter a particular profession. As the Final Report of the Panel on Fair Access to the Professions, headed by the Rt. Hon. Alan Milburn MP (hereafter the Milburn Report), noted in its chapter devoted to internships:

'Internships are an essential part of the career ladder in many professions. They are part and parcel of a modern, flexible economy and are useful both for the interns and for employers...where once they were an informal means of gaining practical insight into a particular career, today they are a rung on the ladder to success.'

The prime purpose of internships is to provide interns with a meaningful experience that enhances their employability and skills. That said, there are clear business benefits to running a good internship scheme, such as gaining a new and motivated member of staff, bringing new skills and perspectives to your organisation and potentially improving productivity. Although there is still some debate over issues such as whether or not internships should always be paid positions, we feel that the quality of the experience is the most important factor for the intern, as the short-term economic costs of an internship can often be offset by the long-term advantages to the intern's career - but this is only true if the internship is of sufficient quality.