新一代萬年實習生

Young workers have borne the brunt of economic hardship in the labour market since the 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 dont secure a regular full-time job—and sometimes arent paid adequately—for years.

Even in a country like France， where what the French call 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 pro bono： a 2013 EU report found that 59% of 18- to 35-year-olds across 27 EU member states hadnt 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 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 theres almost no way to really know how big the issue is in the U.S. And according to a YouGov 2014 poll， interns in the UK dont fare much better than their U.S. 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 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 didnt need a college degree to do it; an 8-year-old could have，” she said.

Perlins research on internships found that more than 75% of university students in the U.S. did at least one internship during their schooling. And 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 in a row， well past graduation.

Nuno Loureiros experience 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 NGOs are definitely taking advantage of this job market， which is completely 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 culminated in the passage of a ground-breaking law in 2014 to improve conditions for the countrys hundreds of thousands of stagiaires. It includes measures like setting a limit of six months on the majority of internships and raising the monthly 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.

Whats Next？

Young people are also pushing back. Isnardi， the NYU student， who now works at a labour and employment law firm， successfully petitioned NYU in 2014 to remove unpaid internships that dont 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 mobilizing to change the situation，” he said.

Pierre-Julien Bosser， who did four internships over two years， founded 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 wont 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 days 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。英國大約有26%的公司要么沒有支付任何報酬給實習生們，要么只支付補貼，一般是500英鎊左右（744美元）。

占盡便宜

美國和整個歐洲的年輕人都愈發地為這種現狀感到灰心喪氣。

克里斯蒂娜·伊斯納迪還是紐約大學的一名學生時，為了修夠學分，做過四份無償實習工作。有一次是在一個片場的攝影部實習，她付了1200美元給學校才得到這個職位。而實際上她的工作跟勤雜工差不多。

她說：“這份工作絕對不需要大學學歷;一個八歲的孩子都能做。”

佩林關于實習工作的調查發現，美國超過75%的大學生在校期間至少做過一份實習工作。還有傳聞說，近年來歐洲有個普遍現象，畢業后像畢業前一樣參加實習的大學生越來越多，不僅僅是為了賺履歷的頭份工作，往往在畢業后很久，他們接二連三換的工作都是實習。

努諾·洛雷羅的經歷就是個很典型的例子。2008年他帶著國際關系專業的學位離開葡萄牙，前往比利時布魯塞爾。他在葡萄牙常駐歐盟代表處獲得了一個無酬的實習崗位，有一次甚至代替一位正式代表參與了多成員國談判。

“回過頭來想一想，我覺得我本該得到薪水的，但當時為了閱歷我是心甘情愿的。”洛雷羅說。在接下來三年多的時間里，他又做了另外六份實習工作，其中只有一份是有薪酬的。他說：“如今勞動力市場上有太多兼具實力與積極性的年輕人，企業和非政府組織無疑是利用了這一現況占盡便宜。”

推進優質實習

一些宣傳團體成功地引起了公眾的注意，關注北美和歐洲實習生所面臨的困境。2014年，超過10個宣傳團體組成了國際公平實習聯盟，致力幫助各國不同組織進一步提高其行動的受關注度。

2014年，為了改善成千上萬實習生的工作條件，法國出臺了開創性的法律，激烈的草根抗爭行動也隨之達到了頂峰。出臺的措施包括給大部分實習崗位設定最長六個月的期限，把每月的補貼額度從400歐元（456美元）左右提高到500歐元（570美元）以上。

歐盟也于2014年3月采用了一個培訓生質量體系，準備應對歐洲可疑實習崗位增加的問題。該體系號召歐盟成員國確保他們國家的法律能保證實習工作是“在安全和公平環境下的高質量工作經歷”。目標是通過一些措施來提高實習工作的監管透明度和質量，例如要求實習工作須簽訂書面協議，來保障培訓內容和工作環境。

展望未來

年輕人也在抗爭。目前就職于一家勞務與就業法律事務所的紐約大學畢業生伊斯納迪于2014年成功請愿紐約大學廢止無償實習期。無償實習期與美國勞工局就業服務網站上的指導方針相抵觸。目前她還在游說國會議員擴展民權以保障無酬實習生的權益。

洛雷羅成立了布魯塞爾實習生的非政府組織（名為B！ngo）來倡導優質實習。他說：“民間團體和私營部門正在動員大家改變現狀。”

皮埃爾·于連·博賽在兩年多的時間里做過四份實習工作，他和另外兩位曾經同是實習生的朋友一起成立了“實習生轉正”組織，號召企業提供有意義的有償實習崗位，并給這樣的企業頒發證書，以資鼓勵。

博賽說：“企業現在知道無酬實習是嚴重的壓迫，所以他們轉而支付一點點報酬，比如一個月200歐元（228美元），最終年輕人還是一樣遭受經濟無保障之苦。”

佩林在郵件里說到，這股“實習生經濟”的熱潮不會停止，更不可能逆轉過來，除非有比經濟好轉更大的變革發生。他說：“唯有一次重大的文化變遷才能帶來真正的改變，才能恢復辛苦的工作和公平的薪水之間的關聯，對象包括初入職場的年輕人。這次變遷大概才剛剛開始。”