Unpaid internships are proliferating. Photo XiXinXing/shutterstock.com
Unpaid internships are combining with rising living costs to shut poorer youngsters out of many careers, according to a study from social mobility campaigners the Sutton Trust.
Even if transport costs are provided, it costs youngsters at least £1,019 a month to do an unpaid internship in London .
Though the trust says it has seen some improvement, unpaid internships continue to be offered, often without being formally advertised.
Current research suggests that over 40 per cent of young people who have carried out an internship have done so unpaid. The most recent government estimate – from 2010 – is that there are 70,000 interns in Britain at any one time.
• A longer version of this article is on the web at Internships 'shutting out' youngsters, says report