Did you ever intern at a company during your time at college or university? I interned at a financial services company, thinking that’s where I wanted to work after graduation, and it was an eye-opening experience. By that I mean I saw just how much I didn’t want to work at this financial services company. The work wasn’t horrible but it was often times mind-numbing, repetitive, and redundant. (Making copies of faxes and filing both in different locations, for example)
That’s when I was pleased to see the Department of Labor has released a new set of guidelines for all internships. The fact sheet provides a list of six criteria for interns to determine whether or not their internship is appropriate. Under this new set of guidelines, an internship must be “similar to training which would be given in an educational environment” and helpful to the intern, such as working closely with current employees and establishing contacts. Unpaid internships are covered as well: workers need to clearly understand the unpaid internship is UNPAID and a job offer is not guaranteed. There was never any guaranteed job during my internship but it was implied that if I did well…I’d get a good shot at a position should I want it after graduation.
According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, there are some schools worried that this fact sheet might lead to fewer internships in the future.
[Messiah College director of internships Michael] True worried that “employers would just pull in the carpet and say, ‘I’m sorry, we’re not going to offer those,’” he said. “‘This is just too big a risk for us.’”
It seems the majority of students, companies, and those mentioned by the Chronicle look on this news in a favorable light. Most say it will be helpful to have at least a little oversight from the government into how all internships are handled.
When colleges and employers work together, internships can be valuable educational experiences, [Janet Nepkie, a professor of music and music industry at the State University of New York at Oneonta] said. “I can offer assurance to companies that we will be able to show compliance,” she said. “We have a partnership here.”
