Work experience has become the most important prerequisite for a successful job application. According to a recent report nearly 50% of the recruiters highlight that graduates with no working experience are unlikely to be successful during the selection process. While youth websites are stuffed with internship offers, the quality of the offered internships should be the number one priority in the minds of the candidates.
On November 10, 2015 five cities participate in a simultaneous event, the International Interns Day that aims to bring into discussion the safeguarding of a meaningful internship.
Each year 4.5 million students decide to take an internship opportunity in Europe. 59% of them though remain unpaid and 40% of youths continue to work without a contract. The high competition in the job market urges many to accept such positions with the thought that it might lead to a full-time employment afterwards.
Facts though point to the opposite direction. In 2013 the National Association of Colleges and Employers concluded that hiring rates for those who had chosen to complete an unpaid internship (37%) were almost the same as for those who had not completed any internship at all (35%). Students who had in their working background a paid internship, on the other hand, were far more likely (63%) to secure employment. Additionally those who completed an unpaid internship tended to take lower-paying jobs than those with no internship at all. At the top of the rank stand those who completed a paid internship, far outpacing the rest.
International Interns Day, a simultaneous event in Brussels, Paris, Geneva, Melbourne and New York brings together 20 NGOs from 8 partnering countries with a common purpose: empower the interns’ community and achieve concrete political change. European Youth Forum and InternsGoPro, the lead organizers have been highly vocalized on the issue. With an online ratings system of internship programmes, the European Label for Quality Internship the network of organizations tries to help students identify the best possibilities all over Europe.
The specific programme per city can be found in the official website and Twitter.
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