Stages professionnels à vendre

Career-boosting internships for sale

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The pressure to get experience on their CV leads students not only to work for

free in internships, but to pay for the privilege… if they can afford it.

About a decade ago the word internships was barely used in a British context.

There was work experience, but that was something you did for a couple of

weeks while you were at school. Today, internships are both ubiquitous and

highly contentious. There are campaigns denouncing the ethics of requiring

young people already saddled with thousands of pounds of debt from their

degree studies to do unpaid work, and debate over the morality of a system that

allows those from well-to-do families to exploit their connections and secure

opportunities that give them even greater advantage over those from humbler

backgrounds.

Yet with competition for graduate jobs more intense than ever – last week a

survey showed applications were likely to be up by a third this year – internships

are still widely accepted as crucial for those seeking the best positions after

university. Demand shows no sign of dropping – and now it seems increasingly

that the pressure to bag a career-boosting placement is leading students not just

to work for free, but to pay for the privilege.

Firms offering to arrange internships abroad for a fee, usually in China or

Australia, are growing in size and number. One, CRCC Asia, has increased the

number of placements it offers in Beijing and Shanghai, in areas including law

and green technology, fivefold in three years.

This year, 3,600 students applied for its one or two month internships, easily

filling the 1,300 places. It expects to expand further next year and possibly start

offering opportunities in Hong Kong. Students, who are assessed for suitability,

pay £1,495 for a month in Beijing and £100 more for Shanghai. As well as a fee

for arranging

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