Internships in the Arts and Creative sectors receive a boost from higher powers

The Arts Council England and Creative & Cultural Skills have recently published guidelines on internships in the arts. This has been welcomed by Lifestep as we strongly believe in the benefits a good internship can have for those seeking to boost employability.

It was only recently that our Prime Minister David Cameron promised to tackle youth unemployment with a drive to get the young doing work experience, apprenticeships and internships. However, recent reports have highlighted that some sectors, most notably the glamorous industries of politics, media and fashion, have ruthlessly exploited interns. In many cases they do not receive expenses for food and travel. In the worst cases, young people are paying up to £100 a day to  be interns in the company.

For these reasons, the mutually beneficial advice and the legal guidelines put forward by the Arts Council England and Creative & Cultural Skills is such a good thing to read. Some of the recommendations made by the report include:

• Paying interns at least the national minimum wage as well as ensuring that organisations are obliged to operate within the requirements of the National Minimum Wage Act.
• It recommends internships are well planned and based on a wider internship and equal opportunities policy.
• The recruitment process should be open, transparent and fair.
• The internship should offer meaningful experiences and responsibilities that contribute to the aims of the organisation.

Through publishing these recommendations, Arts Council England is ensuring the support and development of a future generation of highly skilled arts leaders. The creative sector is heavily reliant on unpaid labour so these guidelines ensure young people can get the most out of experiences and that the in the future the sector has access to properly trained talent that will allow the sector to grow.

Links: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/publication_archive/internships-arts/

Internships in a Charity

The last blogs have focused on very industry specific case studies for internships. Sector specific internships are clearly excellent opportunities for those who know what industry they want to work in. However, if you do not manage to get a place on the KPMG internship programme and you want to work in accountancy or similarly with the Lloyd’s programme and you want to work in insurance, then it is not the end of the world. The trick is to be flexible and proactive. You do not necessarily have to do an internship in your dream industry to guarantee a job in that sector later on. Employers look for well-rounded individuals who can display the qualities and skills that will make them employable.

One of the best and ever increasingly popular places to do an internship is with a charity. Typically this will be unpaid so donations are not wasted but travel expenses and a food allowance are often covered. Working at a charity offers an excellent opportunity for an intern to amass a wide range of skills that will be crucial when looking for full time employment in the industry of your choice. The role will be varied and graduates will have the opportunity to work in a number of disciplines from fundraising and organising events to marketing and PR so there is often an opportunity to do work that is directly relevant to another industry. Such is the rush to get an internship that Cancer Research is running a competition with 10 prizes of 3 week summer placements to be won. Places are not awarded to those who raise the most money but rather those who come up with the best and most innovative ways of raising money. Working in a charity is a great opportunity for a graduate to build a portfolio of work that will be impressive and demonstrate the skills required to work in a number of industries.

Links:

http://aboutus.cancerresearchuk.org/jobs/

http://www.charityjob.co.uk/

Case Study – Insurance industry wakes up to the benefits of internships

It is not just graduates who are waking up to the importance of internships, employers are too. Lloyd’s of London, the world’s leading and oldest specialist insurance and reinsurance market has recently begun a generalist graduate programme. In 2008 it was recognised that there was a need for young talent. Now in its fourth year they received 1000 applicants for the generalist entry programme and 11 were offered positions this year with a further 9 graduates joining a new specialist claims programme. Furthermore, there is a 10 week summer internship which next year will take on 6 second year students.

The generalist programme lasts 18 months with three six month placements covering different aspects of the organisation. As well as being able to choose from a range of disciplines there is a salary of £26,000. Upon completion they may join the corporation, which supports and regulates the market, and work in its internal regulatory affairs or they might get jobs as an assistant underwriter in a firm. The specialist claims graduate programme caters for those wishing for a fast-track in working in insurance claims. Over a 12 month period graduate trainees will experience two placements with claims ranging across the marine, aviation and energy sectors.

No matter what is reported in the news there will always be a need for bright young graduates. Internships are a great way of getting that first job. Many employers offer interns jobs directly on completion and those that do not get a job leave with their skills and reputation greatly enhanced and will find it much easier to get a job in the industry they have done that internship in. So make yourself stand out, show a bit of hunger and get an internship!

Useful Links: http://www.lloyds.com/Lloyds/Careers/Graduates

Get to the front of the queue with an internship

As we all know competition for jobs is fierce and the fact of the matter is 1 in 4 students from 2011 still do not have a full time employment. Employers have told us at Lifestep that academic achievement and a respectable degree are no longer enough to guarantee a good first job. Nowadays, all employers want to know what you have done to make yourself more employable, and what you have done to set yourself apart. It is crucial that you can demonstrate to employers the skills and behaviours that are transferable to the work place.

This easier said than done and developing your transferable skills will require more than just your experiences at university or on a gap year. The specific transferable skills that employers are looking are; working with others, resilience, leadership and drive. All of these are particularly relevant to the work place and that is why the best place to develop them is when working. For this reason internships have proven to be so valuable for those looking to improve their employability.

Internships have proven to be one of the best ways to increase your chances of getting a good first job and consequentially, they are becoming ever more popular. The professional services company Ernst & Young received 2,800 applicants for 750 places, up 200 per cent form last year. In fact entries opened 3 months early this year to accommodate the enormous demand.  But why is demand so high?  In the case of Ernst & Young, 90 per cent of interns are offered jobs at the company. It is felt that those who have undertaken the internship perform more strongly once a full time member of the company. Similarly, KPMG, another professional services company takes on 150 interns on a paid vacation programme and many of those involved are later offered jobs in the firm.

Internships allow for a rounded training experience in all departments and it gives both parties time to get to know each other so once fully employed, those who have done internships really do hit the ground running.

Useful Links:

http://www.ey.com/UK/en/Careers/Students

http://www.kpmgcareers.co.uk/Graduates/default.aspx?pg=2

http://lifestep.co.uk/