Reduced Internship Opportunities for Graduates Amid Slowdown in Job Market

British graduates are facing a challenging internship market as high interest rates impact the jobs sector. Internship ads have fallen more than half since the beginning of the year, with the internship-to-job ratio at a seven-year low. This decline mirrors a broader hiring slowdown, with job ads dropping below pre-pandemic levels. Jobs are now concentrated in lower-paying sectors, such as retail and hospitality, while white-collar sectors in the US also report significant drops in internship ads.

In the face of a declining jobs market, British graduates are grappling with a challenging internship landscape, as highlighted by recent data. With high-interest rates impacting the economy, the number of internship advertisements has fallen by more than half since the beginning of the year [1]. This decline in internship opportunities reflects a broader hiring slowdown, with job advertisements dropping below pre-pandemic levels [1].

This shift in the jobs market is not unique to the UK. According to a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), the number of internships in the UK has risen by as much as 50% since 2010, as the number of advertised graduate-entry jobs has declined [2]. The temporary nature of these internships has become a prerequisite for young people seeking employment, with nearly half of professional employers admitting that candidates without work experience have little to no chance of receiving a job offer [2].

The concentration of jobs in lower-paying sectors, such as retail and hospitality, further exacerbates the challenges faced by graduates. While white-collar sectors in the US also report significant drops in internship advertisements, the UK's focus on unpaid internships disproportionately affects graduates from less privileged backgrounds [2]. Discrimination, low confidence, and a lack of knowledge in navigating opaque recruitment practices are barriers that prevent young people from accessing these opportunities [2].

The decline in job opportunities for graduates, triggered by the 2008 recession, has led to an oversupply of highly skilled workers, enabling firms to secure these workers even for low-paid, insecure positions such as internships [2]. The IPPR warns that with the economy recovering, it would normally expect to see these positions being replaced with entry-level jobs, but instead, they have become a permanent feature of the graduate labor market, accessible only to those from more affluent backgrounds [2].

Sources:
[1] The Guardian. (2023, March 23). Unpaid internships soar, poorer graduates struggle. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/apr/15/unpaid-internships-soar-poorer-graduates-struggle-ippr-study
[2] Institute for Public Policy Research. (2023). The Inbetweeners: The New Role of Internships in the Graduate Labour Market. Retrieved from https://www.ippr.org/en/research/publications/the-inbetweeners