Unpaid Labour in Marketing, Advertising, and PR Degrees
Internships in the UK are perceived as pathways to employment, but the issue of unpaid internships in marketing, advertising, and public relations remains underexplored. This paper examines the challenges and implications of unpaid labour in these fields, shedding light on students' experiences and motivations.
Download Presentation
Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author.If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.
You are allowed to download the files provided on this website for personal or commercial use, subject to the condition that they are used lawfully. All files are the property of their respective owners.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author.
E N D
Presentation Transcript
Internships for all? A critical review of unpaid labour and questions for marketing, advertising and public relations students in the UK: A working paper BSA Work, Employment and Society Conference, 2016 Liz Yeomans, Ioannis Kostopoulos and Sallyann Halliday, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK
Introduction An internship, or period of work experience, is widely acknowledged as a way into employment (BIS, 2012). Employers favour those students and graduates who have gained work experience to those who have not (Gault, Leach and Duey, 2010). However, while an internship is normatively understood as a way into desired careers in marketing, advertising and public relations, the question of unpaid internships free labour ; also titled provisional , precarious and ambiguous labour - is insufficiently problematised in much of the literature in these fields, even though the challenges for universities in implementing internship programmes is well documented (Divine et al 2007). What is missing is a critical, comprehensive understanding of the experiences, aspirations and motivations of students on marketing, advertising and public relations courses in relation to their social and cultural contexts and the graduate labour market.
Marketing, advertising and PR degrees and internships Within the UK, approximately 500,000 employed in the marketing, advertising and public relations professional fields (Office for National Statistics, 2015). Part of the cultural industries (Hesmondhalgh, 2013), practitioners within these three fields operate as promotional intermediaries , working on behalf of commercial interests to sell not only commodities but to shape values, norms and beliefs about society, markets and human relations (Davis, 2013, p. 29). Most universities now offer generic Marketing, Advertising or Public Relations courses, combined degrees, or specialised degrees (e.g. Fashion Marketing; Sports Marketing) to cover the demand from employers (Unistats, 2016). Internships considered as crucial parts of undergraduate and postgraduate courses curricula because of the requirement to develop, practical, job related skills in order to become business professionals (Li, Greenberg and Nicholls, 2007).
Professional associations diversity policies Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR Public Relations and Communication Association (PRCA) Only CIPR and PRCA have developed policies on fair wages for interns. http://www.prca.org.uk/campaigns/better-internships/pr-and- communications-employers-pay-their-interns https://www.cipr.co.uk/content/policy-resources/toolkits-and-best- practice-guides/internship-and-work-placement-toolkit
The social capital debate Social capital theory (Bourdieu) is often used as a rationale for unpaid work for those students from underprivileged backgrounds who lack social capital. Social capital acquired through the contacts made on an internship can be used as a resource to enhance their CV. Siebert and Wilson (2013) argue that there is little evidence to support this claim. Furthermore, those who cannot afford to work for free are excluded from opportunities to acquire the social capital they need to become successful in their discipline (Hesmondhalgh, 2010; Siebert and Wilson, 2013; Percival and Hesmondhalgh, 2014).
UK policy context Internships and fair wages Wilson Review (BIS, 2012) - an undergraduate internship arranged through the University and integrated within the degree programme is recognised as a valuable asset in future employability. Indeed they are now being identified explicitly in the employability offer of Universities (Wilson, 2012, p.39) Employment rights and pay for interns (HMRC, 2015)* Competitive graduate recruitment market increased competition for jobs The market is shrinking according to Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) shrunk by 8% in 2016 due to Brexit and shift of government focus towards apprenticeships and the employer levy for these Over-supply of graduates for the number of jobs available employers recruiting those who have proven their abilities during a work placement since this is considered a more reliable way of employing graduates (High Fliers Research, 2016)
Universities internship programmes Formal internship and industrial placement schemes exist, varying between 3 months and 1 year. University approved schemes - characterised by a gap between employers expectations and those of the students (Beggs, Ross and Goodwin, 2008; Daugherty, 2011); poor organisation within universities (Perry and Borg-Myatt, 2007); and lack of fairness in the way interns are treated by colleagues and supervisors (Alpert, Heaney and Kuhn, 2009).
Employing organisations The creative/cultural industries represent the more glamorous sectors i.e. fashion, music, offering a career with the possibility of combining work and play (Hesmondhalgh, 2010). Unpaid internships reported to be widespread in these industries. While individual organisations may profess diversity policies and access on merit, in actuality, the required social and cultural capitals (e.g. polish ) may limit who has access (Stuber, 2009; Ashley and Empson, 2016). Young workers in the creative industries accept that as individuals they will have to do what it takes to open up the opportunities they want (Siebert and Wilson, 2013; Shade and Jacobson, 2015).
Student as individualised and aspirational labourer ? The key motivation for undertaking unpaid work is often the promise of paid employment increasingly the case that graduates without work experience won t find a job (Siebert and Wilson, 2013: 711-712). BUT for students of marketing, advertising and public relations, it is not just any job but a career that they aspire to in their chosen field. Often gendered, class based, and relational. Duffy (2016) coins the term aspirational labourer to denote situations where the job is perceived as a status object or symbolic benefit overcoming issues of low or no pay. Links to notion of self-exploitation (Hesmondhalgh, 2010; Frenette, 2013; Mears, 2015). Neoliberal worker requirement for self-commodification and individualised labour (Hesmondhalgh, 2010); and an attitude of internalised flexibility means that the status quo is not challenged (Bradley and Devadason, 2008).
Questions for marketing, advertising and PR students in the UK Drawing on the wealth of literature within the sociology of work and the creative/cultural industries, from the UK, Canada and the US, much of it based on insightful qualitative studies, we can begin to pose questions for further empirical investigation through a comprehensive study of marketing, advertising and PR students across the UK as a first step in the research process. Following Siebert and Wilson (2013) we must therefore seek to understand students logics in negotiating career paths, and include the perspectives of those unable to access internships, as well as current workers who could be negatively impacted on by the unpaid intern s presence in the workplace.
