This is something that should resonate with a lot of people at the moment. As Cameron’s “employment” figures go up thanks to zero hour contracts and free labour many people are finding themselves working “internships” or “work experience” placements in the hope that one of them helps them to find a job. While the promise of that experience is a good one, we need to be very careful about why those placements are being offered and what the benefits are.
Your CV will look a little better, certainly, with the addition of some placements and experience but, at the same time, what are you giving up for that? Not only your time, usually unpaid, is given up – but oftentimes these placements are in big, expensive cities so it’s costing you money to work. The company, too, loses nothing as they gain free labour for extended periods of time (usually with multiple people over the year.