Views from the Sieve

I think the club are out of order asking for a 12 month unpaid intern. The lucky applicant will be expected to work both during the week and on match days, for a year, for no pay whatsoever.

Are we going to ask stewards and turnstile operators to work on a voluntary internship basis? Bar staff? Players?

Unpaid internships are wrong. If there's a job to be done, pay the person who does it.

I'm currently at university where I am doing an internship for a year. Luckily I'm being paid. However if I was not being paid I would not care whatsoever, like most other placement students.

The point of students doing placement years is not to get paid, it's so we can get worthwhile experience so that when we apply for jobs, we have something that other graduates can't offer. The experience is so much more valuable than any pay packet. And if the club was paying a wage of say £18k I'm sure everyone would moan that it could have been used on wages. The student gets the experience that they want, and the club gets an extra pair of hands.

I understand that the experience is valuable. But if you are carrying out a job, you should be paid. Unpaid internships are a bar to many people whose parents cannot subsidise them for another year and exploitative. As a community club, I'd have expected higher moral standards.

Students can still apply for funding from the government, and although nothing says it on the advertisement I'd expect them to be able to claim expenses still.

But even if not the club is still helping a student out, as the internship genuinely can be, and probably will be for the successful applicant, the difference between getting a top graduate job and getting no graduate job at all. Especially in a field such as sports science.

Can't see what the problem is, we had practically a whole squad who did sweet FA last season got relegated and still got paid. :D

NBDag wrote:the internship genuinely can be, and probably will be for the successful applicant, the difference between getting a top graduate job and getting no graduate job at all. Especially in a field such as sports science.

Which is why it is exploitative. I work in the law and a huge barrier in people entering the profession was historically, unpaid pupilage for barristers and articles for solicitors. This meant only those whose parents could subsidise then got in. The introduction of a minimum salary for trainee solicitors opened up the profession for many who wouldn't have been able to afford working for free - and I include myself in that.

This is a case of classic modern Britain. Someone getting annoyed about something that doesn't affect them while the person it doesn't affect sees it as completely reasonable.

I'm allowed to have an opinion, he's allowed to have an opinion. It's a matter for discussion. A discussion about something concerning our club. A discussion about something concerning our club on a discussion forum Set up for the very purpose of discussing all things daggers.

I also saw the advert and I was very concerned too about what was required for no pay.
In my line of work I'm very outspoken about unpaid internships and this seems very unfair.
I hope the club will reconsider and pay someone in line with the NMW/NLW guidelines.

Alan wrote:I'm allowed to have an opinion, he's allowed to have an opinion. It's a matter for discussion. A discussion about something concerning our club. A discussion about something concerning our club on a discussion forum Set up for the very purpose of discussing all things daggers.

100% Agree

Auntie Merge wrote:I also saw the advert and I was very concerned too about what was required for no pay.
In my line of work I'm very outspoken about unpaid internships and this seems very unfair.
I hope the club will reconsider and pay someone in line with the NMW/NLW guidelines.

Would rather have a new player. Interns are gown adults and can make their own decisions.

Don't take the position of an unpaid internee then.

Cant see the problem,the vast amount of people leaving Uni with degree's in all sorts of useless subjects or a period of unpaid internment generally get a good well paid job based upon those credentials regardless of practical ability or they at least jump the queue.Companies pay for the capacity to take in information and act on it,hence qualifications are always a good thing(I got none by the way,well none worth talking about but I did surprisingly ok).Its just a move in a game where the internee and the company know the score.The internee is thinking £££££ and experience at the end of it,the club in this case can aid an internee with this valuable entry to their CV and cover a recognised sports science internship.

I spent a good few grand on a client once,no guarantee of business at the end of it.A big risk at the time but I played the game and got the contract,dont always work.Was the client taking the piss out of me if he hadn't put the work my way ? No ! I had an ulterior motive knew exactly what I wanted to achieve and fortunately it paid off.

Similar sort of thing I think.

Spending a few grand on entertaining trying to win a client isn't quite the same as the client asking you to work for free for a whole year though, is it?

Alan wrote:Spending a few grand on entertaining trying to win a client isn't quite the same as the client asking you to work for free for a whole year though, is it?

I said in certain respects it's similar. The internee gambles that doing unpaid internship will enhance their cv and chances of a better paid job. In 10 years time when the internee is earning £80k+ the same people feeling sorry for them now will be moaning about their inflated wage and how unfair it all is. It's all about choices Alan nobody is being forced here.As an employer I'd seriously consider an applicant that had shown such determination. Personally I think I'm on your side a bit, I couldn't let anyone work for me for nothing.

Alan wrote:I'm allowed to have an opinion, he's allowed to have an opinion. It's a matter for discussion. A discussion about something concerning our club. A discussion about something concerning our club on a discussion forum Set up for the very purpose of discussing all things daggers.

Really? That happens to be exactly what I did. Cheers for reminding me what a forum is though.