Head to Head: Should the industry eliminate unpaid internships?
In this series, Mumbrella invites the industry’s senior PR professionals to share their opposing views on the industry’s biggest issues. This week, Ogilvy PR’s Graham White goes head to head with Neon Black’s Soraya Calavassy on whether or not there is room for unpaid internships in the PR and comms industry.
Hiring the right young talent is a regular battle for the PR and communications industry.
In order to combat the problem, Ogilvy PR’s group managing director of technology and business, Graham White, believes the industry needs to start focusing on paid opportunities for graduates.
On the flip side, Neon Black’s Soraya Calavassy says experience is key, and paid or unpaid internships are the best way to secure new talent.
Yes, argues, Graham White, group managing director technology and business, Ogilvy Public Relations:
“Outside approved university course work”
“Interns who gain university credits in exchange for their time”
Aren’t they both arguing the same side?
I agree with Calavassy on this one: have programs that create real value, with people who are committed and create values within that person that money isn’t everything, rather than running the gauntlet for 20 years and then realising the same thing after all the stress!
Unpaid internships are modern day slavery. If someone is working for your company, no matter how experienced they are, they deserve to be paid.
I agree with Graham (only partly because he is my boss).
Whilst the argument that it’s about learning and observing and deciding whether PR is for them stacks up, I believe that’s what probation periods are for.
In reality many agencies use the intern as a free resource to produce billable work that is in-turn sold for a profit to a client. And that’s not fair to the client or the intern.
As an intern, I created reports that clients were billed for. That is why it is wrong.
And anyone who has other reasons to argue for having free labour, you’re helping widen the wealth divide.
Ogilvy believes strongly that our interns deserve to be paid (and that complies with labour codes as well!). Our paid internships in the US draw huge interest and the acceptance rate is right up there with the most exclusive universities– however we intentionally seek diversity in our annual pool of candidates. It’s not a club for rich kids who can afford an unpaid internship. The insidious and unintentional consequences of unpaid internships is segregation. I know. I grew up very poor and worked waiting tables or construction jobs rather than doing internships. Our interns also get exposure to real, challenging work, not just entry-level routine tasks. They have not only an manager and an intern coordinator, but a mentor as well. We love hiring our former interns, so it’s a great pipeline for talent. One of my great joys was taking the interns out for a lunch discussion on their first and last days of work. When you value that young talent and budget time and people resources to manage the process, you get better outcomes.