We have been critical in the past of companies like Intern Star who aim to match companies with cheap graduate labour, and make a profit as well.
Inspiring Interns is another such company – which boasts on their website of having 10+ interns working for them at any one time.
A week or so ago we received an account of an internship with them which read more like an advert. We don’t run this site to give free publicity to companies we don’t agree with, so in the interests of fairness we asked another ex-intern to write a rebuttal. Both accounts are below, and you can make up your own minds…
I am currently completing a placement at graduate internship agency called Inspiring Interns. And it’s a company that lives up to its name.
I have found that an ABB A-levels, a 2:1 from a red brick uni and a MA leaves me close, yet so far from an elusive full-time ‘graduate’ job. To my frustration even ‘graduate entry level’ jobs require experience of some sort.
Graduates are faced with a catch 22 situation. Without a job, you can’t get any experience, but without experience you can’t get a job. That’s where Inspiring Interns comes in.
They hook you up with a company who will take you on and train you. The company will pay for your travel and lunch expenses, which many scream is exploitation, but I think is the lucky break that most graduates desperately need. And it’s one of the few offers open to them. Moreover, the majority of Inspiring’s internships lead to paid, full-time roles.
After many a day looking for jobs online, I opted to work for free at Inspiring Interns because I wanted to get out of my house, and proactively do something to get a job.
I’m very lucky. I’m not on the dole. Because if I was, I wouldn’t be allowed to take up this opportunity. I’m not working in Mc Whatever to pay the rent, because I live at home. To put it simply, I’m relying on my parents. But it’s the only way I can move my life forwards.
Most people wait for lucky breaks. I went to Inspiring Interns because they bring them to you.
Across the world, millions of graduates, are sitting at home waiting for a break. They are Not in Education, Employment or Training. Having been told my parents, teachers and politicians, throughout my life that an education will get you ahead, many young people are sat at home disillusioned and depressed, or working in a McDead-end job wondering why on earth they tried so hard at getting ahead in the first place. Luckily with Inspiring Interns, I no longer need to be a NEET.
And the rebuttal:
As a recent intern with friends currently looking for internships, I have recently been made aware of an organisation called Inspiring Interns which proclaims itself as where ‘great interns meet great companies’.
It also proudly boasts that they should know about interns as they ‘typically have 10+ at a time’.
The problem with this marketing spiel is that Inspiring Interns is actually exploiting young people in order to make a quick buck in the recession. You see, none of the interns on their books seem to be paid.
Under their costs section, it details how Inspiring Interns gets £500 per month for arranging the internship – while the intern only receives £220 at most for lunch and travel expenses.
Now, I’m no expert in the legal ramifications of what this organisation does, but this looks to be clearly in breach of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 (NMWA). By also lining up companies to take interns on which might conflict with the NMWA, Inspiring Interns doesn’t seem to be letting these companies know that they might be breaking the law by offering these internships.
On top of the very dubious work of Inspiring Interns in relation to the NMWA, the company also benefits from using the government’s very own Graduate Talent Pool to advertise these clearly exploitative positions which only a select few can afford. This is somewhat at odds with the whole ‘Backing Young Britain’ campaign the government has been running in recent months…
Oh, and BT – who recently axed their Graduate scheme – awarded Inspiring Interns a trophy for ‘Essence of the Entrepreneur’. An AWARD?! This shows how out of touch BT clearly are if they are handing out awards to people and organisations who are using the national problem of youth unemployment during the recession to make money out of skirting round the NMWA.
I hope that one day soon organisations like Inspiring Interns are not accepted by either interns looking for an internship or organisations who want to commit to offering young people an opportunity which doesn’t involve exploiting them.
Tell us what you think…
I would rather be in a job paying minimum wage than working an internship that pays nowt.
This whole idea of people not being paid whilst working full time is just LUDICROUS, in the words of the all-knowing Duncan Bannatyne.
You are completely unfair and out of order for having a go at Inspiring Interns.
They do a great job and yes – they charge for their services – but this because they are a RECRUITMENT company – how much do you honestly think Reed etc are charging for their services?!
They are a business, not a charity and hence, yes, have to make money. But at least they are doing it helping young people to get that essential first foot on the career ladder. Do your research before you start the attacks…
Hi Gareth, unfortunately all the information we have published on the blog can be found on Inspiring Interns’ website- we published the more negative post that was sent to us because it tallied with this information and as you can see we have published a positive report of the work that Inspiring Interns does as well- it’s really for readers to decide what they think about Inspiring Interns (although obviously you know which side we come down on!)
There is one crucial difference between Reed and Inspiring Interns and that is if you are temping for Reed or if you get a job through Reed then you will be paid a wage, not just expenses. So we’re just going to have to agree to disagree…
Rosy, IA
I did temp through Reed once actually, and basically got given a call centre job (after weeks can I add) – as did 5 other of my friends / associates – ones that though paid – were poorly done so (£6.50 ph), were demoralising, uninspiring and had little further prospects (except perhaps making it to ‘team leader’ a stupid title for someone willing to take on more stress for very little extra pay). Whereas my internship (arranged through Inspiring Interns) led to a more challenging, technical, enjoyable and higher paid position.
So yes, I guess we are just going to have to agree to disagree…
I think this is quite a pointless article. Firstly the title give the impression that the internships that Inspiring Interns arrange do not give decent training or experience…and secondly you seem to attack them from making money which is what business is all about. Even work experience for graduates is hard to come by these days so a company that sets students up with decent internships deserves money in my opinion.
FYI ‘internships’ have been going on for decades especially in sectors where it is difficult to gain entry there just haven’t been internship company’s and sites to help. Im a graduate with a 2.1 in politics and international relations, I’m not a moron and still cant get a job in this climate. I live at home and would happily do a 2-3month internship where they pay for travel expenses and lunch to learn expertise in difficult areas because without experience graduates are getting Flaming nowhere. That’s the sad realistic truth of the situation now and grads who don’t realise it and don’t have experience aren’t likely to get anywhere… I wish them luck in their break because frankly it’s unlikely to come.
Internships which do not pay minimum wage should be abolished- SIMPLE
I guess like a lot of others I spent months looking for a job, before coming across Inspiring Interns. I completed an internship arranged by them, which did lead to my current full time position that I’m very happy with, here are my thoughts..
As a company, they make their money from getting desperate people to work for free, and charging companies £500 per month for the privilege (+10% of the interns 1st year salary if they are kept on for full time work). This to me is a catch 22, as a company paying Inspiring Interns £500 p/m, and around £100-£200 in expenses might as well be paying a graduate minimum wage to do the same thing, which seems a but absurd. On the flip side, it is very useful to have an agency finding and collating information on companies , and sorting through candidates, and this can’t be done without them charging.
Hmmm…
I was very lucky to be living at home during the internship, so had no rent to pay, and they also let me work at the internship part time, whilst I worked a retail job as well. There are a lot of people to whom this kind of arrangement is not an option, and are excluded from this opportunity, which is a downside for sure.
I didn’t mind working for free too much, as I knew it was short term, had prospects and meant I was (finally) moving forward.
I think Inspiring Interns is one of the better agencies. They genuinely did seem to care, were very clear about what expenses I would receive, were very upfront about which opportunities could lead to employment, and had a lot of quality positions that I’d struggled to find elsewhere.
I don’t want to sing their praises too much as they do exploit people, but they do at least deliver on what they promise too, which is a far cry from the job centre forcing you to work at Pound Land….
It’s a luxury but if you can afford it I would say it’s a probably a good way in to the world of work.. :/