UKC

Can someone explain the differences please?

In reply to L'Eeyore:

Apprentices do on the job learning as well as college work. Internships are temporary jobs for the inexperienced.

In reply to L'Eeyore:

Apprenticeships are government-funded training programmes that involve gaining a suite of qualifications at a specified level in the NVQ system (day release at college/training provider) while learning on the job.

Internships are just (generally) unpaid work experience, involve no qualifications, have no funding or regulation attached.

Thanks both of you.

In reply to L'Eeyore:
As far as I understand it, internships are a way of getting your foot in the door of often a prestigious company where a candidate ( who may have an internship recruiter as a kind of middle -man- I know this because I had an ex-gf that did this and both for her own company throughout Europe - language and internship- one of her skills was in matching people to jobs, at a fee of course) may have possible skills, aptitude and aspirations but no experience in that field or said company obviously.It was often school-leavers or say graduates from my guess is well-to do backgrounds possibly on a kind of gap-year. It allowed the companies to employ those people/interns on a trial period say 3 to six months initially without having to pay them anything or on minimal pay.In return the intern say had their lodgings covered and just enough to live on- and of course got the work experience in a/their "dream" or aspirational/desirable/trendy/successful -going-places company..After six months ( or couple months) they could gain full employment though it's not guaranteed.They might not want you.Like a chance to prove your worth.I know that an ex that did this- the young person paid say something like £2500 GBP( or double that, say up to 4G ) to her( say she had 12-20 successful placements/apps in a successful season- that is a pure guess BTW) and she matched them with say a trendy "desirable" company like Amazon (or Google) in Europe( say the candidate is German and the co. is based in Spain)- in return they got language lessons, rent paid and basic living expenses but no guarantee at the end of it.But there was still a pretty good chance of being hired if they want you.

Apprenticeships suggests a more long-term investment and willingness of committment in terms of energy,time and more importantly money in that individual both by the employer and employee/trainee....like any skilled craft ..over years and years.

To me internships seem to me for people with the benefit of a bit of lolly who are not quite sure of where they wish to end up long-term but just want to get stuck into the jobmarket with something high-end.They want to work for a trendy company but the internship fee is a way of getting in through the back-door through a trial or probationary period where the employer has you without having to pay much or anything or invest.It sounds almost like it is who you know because recruitment is not just done through external advertisement.In that respect some kind of middle person or conduit might be involved.

Seems like a way of them checking you out for competency and suitability with no or minimal investment.And it's way of getting your foot in the door with zero experience.And if it all does'nt pay off for both sides of the equation,no one has lost.

"If you£re hoping to get a place on a graduate scheme with a big employer, getting an internship is one of the best ways to improve your chances."

"How to find an internship
Internships are a particularly well established route to graduate recruitment in investment banking, management consulting, accountancy, finance and IT. You may find it difficult to get into these professions without an internship or similar extensive work experience under your belt. Internships are also available in a range of other career areas, such as marketing and property."

This is from this- https://targetjobs.co.uk/internships/381108-internships-with-big-graduate-r...

Like if you wished to work specifically for Google say you could have better chances if they offered an internship and then applied for that than just apply for a paid position and then get knocked back because the competition is fierce say or more importantly you don't have any experience.But if they see in your CV you have worked for them before even if it's a mere few weeks or months it's just enough your foot is in the door already.

Also one gets the impression an internship might give you real-life skills specific to that company or particular field.

So an internship with RBS is like different to someone doing all the accredited qualifications for banking say in general in order to progress long-term in that field.

Whereas an apprentice will learn theory and practice an intern will jump straight in with no potential losss of investment for both parties.Ultimately both sides are almost guaranteed to gain in theory (hopefully) if you both part ways.

In reply to hikerpike:


Internship is problematic because it covers a wide range of options.
An internship at a major tech company such as google or with one of the main investment banks will generally be well paid and include proper training and development. Although exceptions they will normally be over the summer holidays and aimed at undergrads.
On the flip side you have the media and fashion variants which is a tad more exploitative. There people are less likely to get paid beyond expenses and it will really be just doing entry level work for free in order to get experience which hopefully might turn into a real job. These will be for grads as opposed to undergrads during the hols.

In reply to hikerpike:
Some good descriptions and differentiation in your post and others but the point that I would make is that internships are for those that performed extremely well in education and have aspirations of a glittering career, apprenticeships are for the less academic as a route into employment.

In essence they both perform the same function, but the raw material is very different. We've employed both and are under no illusions that interns see us a stepping stone, not a destination, while apprentices aren more focused on security and becoming a recognised employee.

In reply to L'Eeyore:

Aren't internships slave labour these days? I've read of internships where the intern has to pay for them. Isn't 'The devil wears Prada' about an intern?

In reply to Toerag:


I think it varies. You hear stories like that particularly from fashion and media world. I work for a firm in the oil industry and every summer we provide a flat and a salary to a few undergrads for a couple of months 'internship'. If they're good they get offered a job.

In reply to bigbobbyking:

Yes, I've a friend who did a 12 month internship with Rolls Royce who was paid and got a proper training package. I know some charities who offer "internships" that are little better than indentured labour - working for "experience" with no hope of a job at the end, but it's ok, because it's for charity (apparently) and my very limited experience of political internships suggests that's worse still.

In reply to bigbobbyking:


Yes, it does vary, even in places like the media world. My older daughter, for example, with a history degree, no background in journalism and no family or friend connections, cold-contacted a media organisation who weren't even advertising internships and blagged her way into a 2 week placement. You could say it was exploitative as there was no salary and she had to support herself from savings she'd made in a previous job. However, within a week she was writing articles for their website and halfway through the second week was offered a full time job at a decent salary. Three years later she's still with the organisation as Night Editor for their web content, and has a decent freelance portfolio as well.

In reply to Toerag:

Interesting. I don't have any direct experience of either Internships or modern day Apprenticeships. I've heard good and bad about both.

Part of the reason for the post was to try to compare 'now' and 'years ago'. I did a formal 3 year apprenticeship and handed in my notice as soon as I received the certificate, my twin brother joined a local bike shop under the YTS (much derided at the time) and is still there as a manager now and the shops have grown to something that would no longer be recognised as a LBS.

In reply to Toerag:


Arguably they have always been fundamentally expoitative and unfair. But, yes, I think there is a trend for organsations to use 'internships' as a way of paying people even less than they otherwise would for fairly basic and non-specialist jobs.

In reply to L'Eeyore:

There still are proper apprenticeships out there. My son completed one with Network Rail. He was paid a desent amount during the training and got a job at the end. Job has good T&Cs, sickpay, unsocial hours allowance and pension. Now been promoted twice. If you've got a son or daughter of a technical frame of mind this is a very good option.

In reply to Removed UserDeleted bagger:

Apprenticeships are currently a massive thing. In London (where I know about), a lot of people leave school at 16 and start apprenticeships.

In reply to L'Eeyore:
I found my way into work via a modern apprenticeship program.

I aspired to becoming a graphic designer originally after leaving school. I then discovered an apprenticeship for a Design Engineer position fairly locally.

My feedback is entirely positive, it combined the academics required (employer funder my higher national, foundation degree, and then I embarked onto a degree course however moved jobs), with 'learning by doing' the rest of the week. I was surrounded by highly skilled, experienced engineers throughout.

As of recently, employers no longer have to pay national insurance contributions to apprentices under the age of 25 - making it more attractive for employers, something this government is pushing.

At 27 I have no education debt and a career doing something I enjoy. I have had a few promotions since completion of the program, and would like to think the culmination of the last 10 years since leaving school has given me a good initial grounding for moving forward.

So to summarise, I think there are still good apprenticeship programs out there.