Are Internships Exploitive?

I have very mixed feelings about internships for students and recent graduates. I have encouraged my own kids to seek them and they both have had excellent experiences, which in my son's case turned into a full time job. However, employers, who can otherwise afford it, are bringing young people into their businesses for little and often no pay. These young people have absolutely no bargaining power and are at the whim of the employer. They are also potentially taking work from others that the employer would have to pay.

I can see it from the employers' perspective - they are providing on the job training to young people who are otherwise relatively unemployable. To many companies, this is an opportunity to give back to the community by bringing young people into their business. Important skills are learned and the young person is better prepared for their first paying gig. In return, the company gets free or low cost labour.

However, from the young person's perspective, they are providing their time and energy and are receiving very little remuneration in return. Often they are doing low value tasks for which the employer would have to pay someone else. While it is true that they have the opportunity to learn important skills which will stand them in good stead for future employment, the young person has absolutely no bargaining power to ensure that they are treated fairly, particularly since unemployment rates are so high for their demographic.

Furthermore, students and young people looking for entry level opportunities don't have the financial ability to carry the cost of the internship. While they may not have mortgages and car loans to pay (mind you, many of them do), they do have to pay tuition and carry student loans.

To me it seems a bit exploitive. With governments cutting back education and student job funding, there will be more pressure on industry to provide internship opportunities and more and more young people will be joining the work force for little or no pay for an "internship experience". As far as I am aware, there is little in the way of regulation or governmental protection for these young people, other than minimum wage laws perhaps.

There is also a class issue that arises as young people from affluent families are better able to take a low or no pay internship than a student from more modest means. My kids had the luxury of having internship experiences for little or no pay as my wife and I are prepared to underwrite their education, including the costs of launching their careers through internship experiences. Not every student can afford to do so.

Now I am not advocating unionizing interns or anything as draconian as all that. However, I think there should be a debate around the issue of internships and some consensus as to what is fair in the circumstances. My own view is that unless there is a formal (perhaps accredited) educational benefit coming from the internship, the young person should be paid fairly for their work. What do you think?