Internships are increasingly sought after by students. On LinkedIn alone, as of September 2022, there are 1000 internships listed in London. Imagine how many internships you can find in the whole of the United Kingdom!
This type of career path offers considerable advantages, in particular the salary offered to students and recent graduates, which enables them to gain a little independence and finance their studies or jumpstart their careers.
But how much can an intern earn during their internship? Here's what you need to know about internship pay.
What Is an Internship Contract?
Whether you are a florist, a watchmaker, or an accountant - an internship allows you to learn a trade through hands-on experience.
An internship contract is a form of short-term work that allows a student to study while working in a company in their field of study in order to gain experience and earn a salary.
Interns, however, can also be recent university graduates, people looking to change their careers and more!
Internship jobs are a real opportunity for students and other job-hunters to progress, see the reality of a job and earn a salary that allows them to live during their studies.
Who Can Do an Internship?
The internship contract, while more common for university graduates, is not only dedicated to students in initial training.
There are three types of contracts that usually get easily confused. If you’re just starting out your career and aren’t sure what the different types of starting jobs there are out there, here are the three most common jobs contracts that you may run into:
- Internship: more common type of contract that involves short-term work and usually does not involve classroom work
- Traineeship: this contract actually is an education and training program that usually to prepares you for an apprenticeship in a specific career
- Apprenticeship: This contract is long term, has hands-on work and usually involves classroom training usually for younger people as a foundational skills course
Initial training allows student workers to obtain the skills necessary to either continue in their job or in a completely new job. It is therefore possible to follow an internship contract with a permanent job contract.
There is usually no age limit for access to the internship contract. However, there are a lot of graduate jobs aimed at university students who want to acquire skills in a specific field and have recently graduated.
As a rule of thumb, the internship contract is usually designed for people between 16 and 29 years of age. Take a look at traineeships and apprenticeships if you’re interested in learning more about other types of work.
Internship Pay Depends on Age
In the United Kingdom, regional differences exist when it comes to paying according to things like the cost of living, the average market wage and more! However, the most important thing that will determine your wage as an intern is first and foremost your age.
It doesn’t matter whether you live in London or in a small town in the UK, the amount you’re entitled to receive is different depending on your age. There are two terms you should get familiar with before looking into the average wage for different job titles.
National Minimum Wage
You are entitled to the National Minimum Wage in the UK as long as you are an employee. Take a look at the minimum wage per age bands in the UK as of 2022.
| Age Range | National Minimum Wage (pounds) |
|---|---|
| 16-17 | 4.81 |
| 18-20 | 6.83 |
| 21-22 | 9.18 |
Apprenticeship Wage in the UK
If you are an apprentice and under the age of 19 years old, you are entitled to the minimum wage of £4.81. However, if you are an apprentice who is past their first apprenticeship year and are over the age of 19 then you are entitled to the regular minimum wage.
Average Intern Salary in the United Kingdom
Here is the average internship salary in the UK according to some of the UK’s biggest job board sites.
| Job Board | Average Annual Salary Reported (pounds) | # Of Salaries Based On |
|---|---|---|
| Indeed | 22,400 | 595 |
| Glassdoor | 27,595 | 113 |
| UK Talent | 23,363 | 3225 |
| Totaljobs | 25,000 | 63 |
Please keep in mind, however, that interns don’t necessarily have to have an annual contract. As we mentioned, interns usually have short-term contracts.
Another important factor in your internship salary will be the type of company as well as the size of the company. The career you’re interested in will highly affect the type of pay you will receive as an intern.
For example, the lowest paid internships in the UK in 2020 was internships in HR according to HR Magazine.
Keep in mind that the best internship will be one that gives you the correct and fair workers’ rights and comps. It will also be the internship that best suits your career path.
Paid Holidays as an Intern in the UK
The student intern has a double advantage: that of being a student and an employee at the same time. The intern, therefore, benefits from the reductions linked to student status and the advantages of an employee. Namely, paid holidays.
Paid holidays can be especially important as a student intern, especially as you get closer to your graduation and need time off to do your student work. An intern benefits from the same paid leave as any other employee.
They can therefore take advantage of 5.6 weeks of paid holiday per year. In total, this means that an intern can take 39 days off per year. Students may also be allowed to take paid leave to prepare for the exams for the diploma they are studying for. This allows them to take a break and focus on revision.
If you are in a traineeship, you are entitled to statutory rights to paid holidays. This will depend on your contract and will also depend on whether or not your work experience has some sort of on-the-job training.
In general, holidays allow students to take a break from the sometimes hectic pace of student work life. These holidays are real holidays and are not taken in order to attend classes.
Internship therefore has considerable advantages in terms of pay. Although the salary does not exceed the minimum wage, it allows students to finance their studies and gain some independence. It is a real solution for many students.
Also, with unprecedented progress in technology, students can do well-paid internships right from their homes and student accommodations. Remote internships are on the rise, providing flexibility to students who wish to work.
For recent graduates, this type of contract affords them the perfect amount of experience just before they get an offer to a permanent full-time job.
Have you ever thought about internships?
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