A&S - B1.2 - WORKING FOR FREE

Some companies offer students or recent graduates what they call internships, which are extended periods of work experience where someone can be working full-time without an actual contract and, in many cases, without even being paid.

The problem with unpaid internships is that they exclude or rule out a lot of people from the benefits of an internship, which is bad for social mobility.

If you can't afford to work for free, it can be very difficult to do an internship in expensive cities like London.

An unpaid internship would not appeal to me because I can barely afford to live in London.

Internships are periods of work at companies, usually unpaid, as a way for students or new graduates to get experience in a particular field.

The cost of unpaid internships can make social mobility very difficult, as poorer candidates can't afford to work for free.

Having established connections with a company can help you get an internship, or in other words, make it easier to get into the company.

Rob and Sam are not well-connected, but they still made it to BBC Learning English.