I delivered my presentation using a slideshow of visuals, adverts and information I had pieced together, to peers I thought would benefit from my experiences and my research. I was addressing the issue of unpaid internships, something I feel the Arts Industry has noticed as occurring more regularly and that most young creatives have come to expect. This issue is something I am quite passionate about, especially as I feel that I, and others I know, have been taken advantage of during an Internship that was not paid.

Zoe Horn Haywood Powerpoint talk on Unpaid Internships – Above shows excerpts from the Arts Council Guidelines on ‘Internships in the Arts’.

See my presentation on Unpaid Internships here: Zoe Horn Haywood: Unpaid internships – “Got My Goat” presentations, Future Producers, Watershed 2013. from Watershed Bristol on Vimeo.

I had some really good feedback and interaction with the group.

Rosie Cooke posed the question : If education alone isn’t enough to get people ready for the work place how do we broach that gap? My response was that placements should be a necessity within courses. Students should be encouraged to complete such programs as part of their education, as they do in may other professions.

Hannah Williams Walton asked the question: What about in instances where the person doing the intern really needs it as an introduction to industry and the work place, having no previous experience? I feel that in many cases internships are beneficial to people, however in some cases people are advertising for Interns that DO have prior experience, DO have an extensive knowledge and are asked to complete difficult tasks prompted by their own initiative. In my opinion Interns who receive no pay should not be held so responsible and should have no prior experience or knowledge of the role they are entering.

Luke Tucker asked what I thought about: The fact that some very reputable institutions ran unpaid internships and now after criticism have withdrawn this opportunity as they could not justify paying wages to them. I suggested that if those companies where benefiting in any way from Interns working from them and that they where producing work that someone else might otherwise be paid to do, then yes those placements should be investigated and reviewed. An internship should be more beneficial for the intern than for the company, especially if the intern receives no money.

I also spoke to Amy Draper who explained that she found her 5 month unpaid internship extremely beneficial and that she landed a job at the end of it. She learnt a lot and all her work was reviewed to help her develop at every stage. However she did mention how by the end of the 5 months she had begun to work as a regular employee with the same responsibility as paid workers. I do wonder how many other people would be able to financially support themselves in such a way after years of education and the current cost of living.

I do think there is a great deal of benefit to be had from experience that an Internship can offer, however I think the system has thoroughly been abused and tighter regulations should be in place to ensure the welfare of employees, that there is zero discrimination of applicants to a role, and realistic time limits should be set on anything unpaid, along with a clear understanding of what both parties achieve/gain from the experience.

I am constantly involved in this discussion and will always take an interest in how young people in the arts are being treated by the industry. Im now keen to see a wider range of help for people and will start to look into whether universities and colleges educate their students on the matter and try to guide them away from being taken advantage of. I am also keen to read the magazine Intern and see what the nation has to say on the matter.