Bunch of cheap skinflints

Quote: Rock God X "Yeah, to hell with social mobility. The poor should just know their place.'"

Not only that, but you're potentially shutting out talent.

Quote: Rock God X "So any company that has volunteers aren't looking good?

Isn't that part of the skills necessary in the job to gain? You'll find that many people would rather do something than nothing. You'd be short changing them by not getting them involved as much as possible and helping them possess them skills. Watching only achieves so much.

Says who?! I've never met an employer with that attitude at all.
Employers look at how you've spent your time. If you've spent 6 months in unpaid work then you've spent 6 months getting experience. If you've spent 2 weeks volunteering and 5 months doing nothing then what impression will that have? An internship is very much like an apprenticeship. Gives you the experience you need to do the job and puts you in a great position to get the job. It helps people get jobs, and to say it makes companies look like they're getting "free labour" and that they won't look good of it shows a complete lack of understanding of employment IMO.

If you can't afford it, you don't do it. It's as simple as that. There are all sorts of professions, careers, training, etc. that people simply cannot afford without being from a wealthy background. That's just life unfortunately. Unless you can tell me who is going to foot the bill for the intern to be paid or trained (if the company cannot afford it) then you're basically saying it's better to not have the opportunity at all because some people might not be able to afford it than it is to offer something that can gain a select few people a set of skills.'"

We have to deal with the World as it is, rather than as we'd wish it to be - so if the only way to get experience is to work unpaid, you might hold your nose and accept that. All I'm saying is whenever anybody offers you a great opportunity, whatever it is, have a good hard think about whether it really is. I might be cynical, but if anybody thinks the intern system is [inever[/i exploitative, then that is naive. This particular one might be great - some are, and if you're not doing anything else, I guess they can be decent cv fodder. I stand by what I said about a month being enough though -maybe 2 at a real push. We get unsolicited requests from young people all the time, and occasionally in moments of weakness I'll let one come in and mildly inconvenience me for 2 or 3 weeks - I wouldn't want them for longer than that though, for their sake as well as mine.