新一代萬年實習生

Young workers have borne the 1）brunt of economic hardship in the labour market since the 2）Great Recession.

The most recent 2014 unemployment rates for under-25s in Europe and the U.S. shows a whopping 54% unemployment rate for those under 25 in Spain， 43% in Italy， nearly 24% in France， 18% in the UK and 12% in the U.S.

Though these figures have in some cases improved in the last few years， persistent high unemployment has led more and more new graduates to internships as a way to get a foot in the door at companies around the globe. And in some cases， long-term internships both during and after university have become the main way to get into the workforce as a young professional. But， more concerning to some is that too many young people are moving from one internship to the next， especially in Europe. They don’t secure a regular full-time job—and sometimes aren’t paid adequately—for years.

Even in a country like France， where what the French call 3）stages have been a common hurdle to accessing the job market for decades， the number of internships shot up from 600，000 in 2006 to 1.6 million in 2012， according to French government statistics.

Working for Free

What is even more worrying for young workers is that this job experience is often 4）pro bono： a 2013 EU report found that 59% of 18- to 35-year-olds across 27 EU member states hadn’t received any financial compensation for their most recent internship.

The U.S. has also seen a rise in unpaid internships over the past decade， according to Ross Perlin， author of 5）Intern Nation. He estimates up to half of these are unpaid， though unlike in Europe many are part of university curricula or organised summer programmes for those still in the midst of their studies. However， critics contend that there’s almost no way to really know how big the issue is in the U.S. And according to a 6）YouGov 2014 poll， interns in the UK don’t fare much better than their U.S. 7）counterparts. Some 26% of UK companies pay either nothing or only expenses for interns， typically about ￡500 （$744）.

Taking Advantage

Increasingly， young people in both the U.S. and across Europe are feeling frustrated with the 8）status quo.

Christina Isnardi did four unpaid internships for academic credit while a student at New York University. In one instance， she paid $1，200 to NYU to intern in the camera department on a production set. In reality she was little more than a gofer.

“I definitely didn’t need a college degree to do it； an 8-year-old could have，” she said.

Perlin’s research on internships found that more than 75% of university students in the U.S. did at least one internship during their schooling. And 9）anecdotally， there are increasing reports of recent graduates taking on similar internships after commencement， a practice that is commonplace in Europe， not just for a first job experience， but often several internships 10）in a row， well past graduation.

Nuno Loureiro’s experience 11）exemplifies this. He left Portugal for Brussels in 2008 with a degree in International Relations. He landed an unpaid internship at the Portuguese Permanent Representation to the EU， and on one occasion even replaced the official representative in negotiations with other member states.

“In retrospect， I think I should have been paid， but at the time I did it willingly because it was experience，” he said. He went on to do six more internships over three years， only one of which was paid. “Companies and 12）NGOs are definitely taking advantage of this job market， which is completely 13）saturated with highly-qualified and highly motivated young people，” he said.

Towards Quality Internships

Advocacy groups have successfully raised public awareness about the plight of interns in both North America and Europe. In 2014， more than 10 such groups formed the International Coalition for Fair Internships to further heighten the visibility of the actions of individual associations in different countries.

Intense grassroots action in France 14）culminated in the 15）passage of a 16）ground-breaking law in 2014 to improve conditions for the country’s hundreds of thousands of 17）stagiaires. It includes measures like setting a limit of six months on the majority of internships and raising the monthly 18）indemnity from around 400 euros （$456） per month to just over 500 euros （$570）.

The European Union has also moved to address the increase in questionable internships across Europe by adopting a Quality Framework on Traineeships in March 2014. The framework calls on EU member states to ensure their national laws guarantee internships are “high-quality work experience under safe and fair conditions”. The aim is to improve internship transparency and quality through such measures as requiring internships be based on a written agreement covering learning content and working conditions.

What’s Next？

Young people are also pushing back. Isnardi， the NYU student， who now works at a labour and employment law firm， successfully 19）petitioned NYU in 2014 to remove unpaid internships that don’t comply with U.S. Department of Labor guidelines from its career-services site. She is also currently lobbying members of Congress to extend civil rights protections to unpaid interns.

Loureiro founded the Brussels Interns’ NGO （B！ngo） to promote quality internships. “Civil society and the private sector are 20）mobilizing to change the situation，” he said.

Pierre-Julien Bosser， who did four internships over two years， founded 21）InternsGoPro with two other former interns to encourage companies to offer meaningful paid internships by providing certifications for those that do.

“Companies now know that unpaid internships equal bad press， so what they do is they pay them a little， say， 200 euros （$228） a month， and in the end the young people suffer from the same economic insecurity，” he said.

Perlin said in an email that the rise of the intern economy won’t be halted， let alone reversed， without something bigger than a better economy. “The only thing that will make a real difference is a major cultural shift， perhaps just starting， that restores the link between a hard day’s work and a fair wage， including for young people，” he said.

自經濟大衰退以來，年輕工作者們已飽受經濟困難對勞動力市場的沖擊。

最新的2014年歐洲和美國25歲以下青年失業率數據顯示，西班牙的失業率高達54%，意大利是43%，法國接近24%，英國是18%，美國是12%。

雖然在過去幾年里，這些數值在某些情況下有所下降，但持續的高失業率讓全球越來越多的畢業生把實習作為進入企業的敲門磚。在一些情況下，畢業前后的長時間實習成為了年輕的專業人才邁進職場的主要方式。但讓一些人擔憂的是，很多年輕人做完一份實習工作又接著做另一份實習工作，這種情況在歐洲尤為顯著。他們沒有穩定的全職工作——有時候甚至拿不到足額的薪水——連續好幾年都是如此。

即便是在法國這樣的國家，幾十年來，實習期也是通往職場的普遍障礙。法國政府的統計數據顯示，2006至2012年間，實習生人數由60萬上升到160萬。

無償工作

更令人為年輕工作者擔憂的是，這種實習工作往往是無償的：歐盟2013年的一份報告顯示，在27個歐盟成員國里，有59%的18至35歲的年輕人在最近的一份實習工作中沒有獲得任何經濟補償。

《實習國度》的作者羅斯·佩林認為，在過去的十年里，美國無償實習的人越來越多。他估算多達一半的實習生沒有拿到酬勞，雖然與歐洲不同的是，美國的實習生很多都是在校學生，實習是大學課程的一部分，或是學校組織的暑期項目。然而，評論家認為幾乎沒有辦法能夠真正獲知美國的無償實習問題有多嚴重。英國的“你來統治”民調機構2014年的民意調查顯示，英國實習生的境況并不比美國的樂觀。……