Subject: The Intern

Yesterday the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg claimed to be calling time on the "who you know" culture that prevents many young people from modest backgrounds securing work experience and internships.

Steps outlined will see the civil service will banning "informal" internships or work experience lasting more than a week. Companies will be urged to sign a new "business compact" under which work experience slots would be advertised in local schools.

HM Revenue & Customs will launch a crackdown in professions such as law and journalism where work experience is commonplace.

The culture of internships it could be said is rife in the voluntary sector, many large Charities offer long internships with no pay and ultimately no job at the end of it. I also recognise that some charities offer great paid internships packed full of training and experiences which ultimately lead to paid employment.

The questions I would like to discuss are:

• Will yesterdays announcements on internships change the way you pay and recruit interns?
• Where do you draw the line between a volunteer and an intern?
• Do you feel larger charities will start to act more responsibly in the way they treat interns after yesterdays announcement?
• Do you feel that it is unrealistic for small charities to pay interns?

Discuss...