ARE FASHION INDUSTRY INTERNSHIPS TURNING FROM "EXPERIENCE TO EXPLOITATION"?

The Fashion world may seem glamorous, but many interns are being exploited in their quest to gain industry experience. Interns usually work incredibly long hours and are put under enormous pressure. They are still willing to do all this because the are desperate for the experience and for the chance to work for big-name brands. 

Young people put up with these conditions because internships have become essential for anyone who wants a career in the Fashion industry. Nobody will hire you if you don't have work experience and the only way to gain this experience in this economy is to get an unpaid internship. One might have to intern for 6 months or even a year. The promise of a paid job at the end of an internship is very much faded, as young people are accepting that they have to work for free for as long as it may take.

Some companies might even be breaking national minimum wage rules. If someone is engaged on a regular basis for an extended period of time to do something, which is considered a core part of a clothing manufacturer's operation, then that person may well be considered an employee or worker and would be entitled to the minimum wage.

Some think that a more fundamental change is needed, such as setting a limit on how long someone is allowed to work unpaid. Three months would seem like an appropriate limit for the length of internships, because an organization should know by then whether they want to give someone a job or not. Internships should be about giving people an insight into the sector they are interested in working in, but they should not flip over into working for free.

Not all internships are bad. As they were originally designed, internships are fantastic opportunities that provide real-world experience as a transition from school to work and  interns can play an important and mutually beneficial role in helping fledgling designers off the ground. Some start-ups depend on interns to survive. Usually interns might even get a better experience in small companies because they give you responsibility and real tasks instead of making coffee and running errands. You can make a real difference.

But increasing popularity of unpaid internships may actually be making it more difficult for new graduates to get employment. Why would a company fork out £15,000 to £20,000 a year for an entry-level fashion designer, when they have an endless supply of people willing to do it for free? Unpaid internships may be good for an individual young person, and they are certainly good for employers who get free labour – but what do they do to the society as a whole?