Monday 17 October 2011

PR Week leads campaign for paid internships


What's the chances of this happening in journalism? A campaign is being launched this week by PR Week and the Public Relations Consultants Association trade body to end the practice of unpaid internships in the PR industry.

To launch the campaign, the PRCA will place a list on its website of all PRCA member agencies who commit to paying at least the National Minimum Wage to interns.

PR Week says: "The list, researched in June, includes just 21 out of 264 member agencies - a mere one in 13. Among the handful of big agencies committed to paying up are Cohn & Wolfe and MHP Communications."

In an exclusive column for PR Week, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has thrown his weight behind the campaign and urges PR agencies to scrap unpaid internships.

"The fact is, workplaces across Britain desperately need to be opened up, and PR is no exception. Too often it's who you know - not what you know - that counts," writes Clegg.

In the article, Clegg urges "every company across the PR industry' to sign up to his social mobility strategy 'business compact".

The compact calls on businesses to commit to opening up internships to everyone, not just the well off.

  • To read Clegg's full article you have to subscribe to PR Week.

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