Tory event takes bids for work as interns

An auction of internships to the highest bidder at a recent Conservative fundraising event has been condemned by a champion of work experience.

At a recent Tories’ annual Black and White Party, leading City and PR firms auctioned intern places at their companies to raise funds for the party. Among the internships on offer were five in City businesses, auctioned for a combined £14,000; a week at PR giant Bell Pottinger and two weeks at high society's favourite magazine The Tatler.

Mike Hill, chief executive of the Higher Education Careers Services Unit, which runs the National Council for Work Experience, said the event was “extremely demoralising for the majority of struggling graduates out there”.

“It’s bad enough that organisations find people to work unpaid by labelling a position as an internship, but to sell the experience to the highest bidder is one step too far,” he said. “A work placement should be open to everyone and selection based on talent. By favouring those most privileged, the experience goes to the people who’ve got the money, and the industry doesn’t get the right person for it — they just get someone who can afford it — reducing rather than widening their talent pipeline.”

www.humanresourcesmagazine.com/news/1054780/Auctioning-internships-privileged-step-far/