In light of research from the Sutton Trust social mobility think tank revealing that low levels of pay, concentration in urban centres, and an over-reliance on personal connections are stopping students from lower-income backgrounds from accessing internships, what is the Welsh Government doing to widen working class access to internship opportunities?
Internships are an important element of a wider set of strategies to give Welsh learners opportunities to develop their employability skills and enter the world of work.
Higher education (HE) institutions in Wales offer internships to students and graduates within their own institutions. They also work with employers to identify further internships opportunities for their students. Some internship opportunities are funded through fee and access plan commitments, and are specifically targeted at individuals under-represented in higher education such as disabled students and students from low income backgrounds.
The pan-Wales GO Wales: Achieve through Work Experience programme provides tailored, flexible work experience for full-time students under the age of 25, ranging from one day to six weeks. Operating as a partnership between the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and Welsh universities, the ethos of the programme is to help those facing barriers to gain work experience. The programme can help make this possible by offering some financial support including travel expenses, reasonable adjustments in the workplace and care/childcare costs.
We are also investing £1.3m in an overseas pilot over the next three years. The pilot will offer a mix of short-term opportunities for Welsh students at Welsh HE institutions, including study, volunteering and internships.
I have allocated £440k to further education colleges in the current academic year, to support the roll-out of an integrated ‘Employment Bureau’ model to help learners enter employment. This model was developed and piloted by a rural college, Pembrokeshire College, to bring all of its employer engagement activities together. Learners are supported to find work placements, part-time employment, and to develop their CVs, job applications and interview skills. To date, the college has offered more than 800 work placements to provide learners with the opportunity to experience the world of work. Following a successful pilot, every college in Wales is receiving funding to adopt this approach. Employment Bureau opportunities are being made available to students from all backgrounds and across all sectors and modes of study.
Careers advisers encourage young people to engage in work experience, and Careers Wales’ website has a section on work experience and internships with practical information on how to approach employers. Careers Wales encourages Welsh businesses to offer work experience through its Education Business Exchange and other projects.
We also continue to support the Business Class employer engagement project, which has established more than 80 partnerships between secondary schools and employers. This programme aims to improve young people’s understanding of the world of work, their awareness of career choices, and the development of their employability skills. Support includes mentoring, work experience, CV and interview skills.