Jessica Nazaire, senior account director at PR firm Jack & Grace: “Firstly, we believe that unpaid internships are a barrier to social mobility, and in our view, are exploitative of those trying to break into the industry – which is why we’ll always pay our interns. We’ve found that making paid-internships work takes a bit of thought and effort. You’re balancing wanting to provide a great experience for the intern and the need for them to contribute meaningfully to the agency’s work.

"We carefully interview candidates to make sure they’ll thrive with our super-flexible-working model (not everyone does). We always appoint a line manager for interns and build a structured work programme that combines essential tasks with valuable learning opportunities – like sitting in on client workshops.

“Hiring interns gives us the chance to find new talent and assess their skills over an extended period, beyond what interviews can show. It’s a win-win. And for our team, it’s a great opportunity to develop their own mentorship and leadership skills, by guiding the intern in their development and fostering a positive learning environment.

Natalie Luke, founder and MD of PR firm Aduro Communications: “As a team, we are committed to attracting greater numbers of applicants from all communities and over the last year 42% are from ethnic backgrounds; we partner with the Taylor Bennett Foundation supporting their candidates through workshops and webinars, Brixton Finishing School, and People Like Us, where we spoke at their last event.

“Additionally our pipeline of reliably brilliant talent is driven by a successful and in-demand work experience scheme feeding intern recruitment. This runs every week of the year (except Christmas/New Year) and lasts for a few days or up to two weeks. It’s designed around what suits the applicant’s circumstances. Although work experience is unpaid, we pay for all travel within London and lunches.

“This strategy is key to our internships – in 2023, 30% of those on work experience were then taken on as an intern. That initial period gives both parties time to decide if it’s the right fit. We are not an agency that requires a degree-level education, we recruit based on who someone is and what they can offer to us as a team and agency.

“In the past decade, ten interns have gone on to become full-time employees starting as an assistant account executive, with one intern from 2020 now serving as an account director. Our yearly training programme is devised with input from the whole team to ensure it meets their needs and it is then delivered by external trainers as well as internally by colleagues.

“Paid internships have been offered since we formed the agency in 2012 and crucially time-limited to two months – after which a salary increase is given and a decision on an ongoing role made clear. We will never drag out an internship as a way of getting a cheaper employee.

Morenike Onajobi, senior people partner at PR firm Edelman: “Internships are a vital part of our strategy to engage early career candidates and provide them with valuable insights and experiences in the communications industry. Over the past year, we have focused on partnerships with organisations like Brixton Finishing School and 10,000 Black Interns to educate and open doors for diverse candidates.

“These partnerships allow us to offer work experience at one of the world's leading communications firms while educating interns on the industry and its evolution more widely, such as the differences between advertising, communications, PR, marketing, and more. How the departments collaborate and the process of pitch, idea generation all the way through to the final award-winning product at the end.

“Gen Z bring fresh perspectives and valuable insights into how to communicate effectively with younger demographics. For example, an intern from the 10,000 Black Interns programme recently introduced us to The Halo Code, which protects employees with natural hair and protective hairstyles. This initiative has been adopted across our EMEA network, demonstrating the mutual learning and growth that internships facilitate.

“To make the most of internships, it is crucial to identify the right partnerships and ensure a two-way learning process. By listening and learning from interns, we can advance our industry and create a more inclusive and innovative environment.

Gemma Moroney, co-founder of PR firm Shook: “We run paid internships that start as a three month contract paid at London Living Wage, with the hope people will then transfer to a six month trainee contract and then progress to account executive.

“There are no entry requirements like degrees or even a CV, people just answer three questions to apply initially. We’ve shared the opportunities via places like Run the Check, to reach a broad range of possible applications. We’ve had a brilliant range of people through this scheme, from Rita Ugi (our latest and very fabulous intern) to Lydia Waller who now works for Jamie Oliver, Naomi Gallagher who went on to be a copywriter, Jada Bruney who is now absolutely smashing it as a creative at C4 and Josh Carleton-Smith who is a current and fantastic account executive.

“We also do an annual paid six work experience scheme with Joined Up Thinking, a fantastic charity that gives young Londoners a route into the creative industries. Sophia Somera joined us that way last year and quickly made her creativity felt, going on to become a trainee account executive.

“Paid internships are vital. They give people a route into an industry that can be tough to break into. They break down entry requirement barriers. They give people who don’t know anyone in the industry a chance to try it out.

“My way in was doing secretarial temping in the morning and dashing over for afternoon work experience at an agency, which seems wild now. And then, starting as a team secretary at H&K, which was a brilliant supporter of giving people chances to progress. These routes don't really exist now. That’s why we need paid internships.

“And in case it’s not obvious, unpaid long term work experience and internships are not cool. I would like to say they’re a thing of the past but all too often when we interview interns, we hear they’ve been working for free to get a foot in the door. Not cool. You can make all the excuses you want but there really is no excuse for that.

Emma Parrish, business director at PR firm Kindred: “We re-launched our internship programme in early 2023. Prior to that we’d offered ad-hoc work experience placements which ended up servicing clients’ nephews or someone’s mate’s daughter. It wasn’t particularly structured, I’m not sure the people doing their two weeks’ experience got much out of it, and it certainly wasn’t helping diversify the pipeline of talent into the industry.

“In line with our equity, diversity and inclusion strategy, we set out to make the industry more representative of the communities we communicate with, partnering with Creative Access to develop a 6-month paid internship programme that offered a start in comms to people from underrepresented backgrounds. It pays London Living Wage, is open to those who were eligible for free school meals, went to state school, are from lower income households, are from an ethnically diverse background, have a disability, and/or are gender diverse. We created a structured programme which offers training, has interns work on live client briefs and work as core team members, while being upskilled in different areas of the business.

“Creative Access helped train our hiring team and offered us the most incredibly talented and impressive slate of candidates. Our first intern was with us for three months before we hired her permanently. Without Creative Access, we’d never have found her, and she wouldn’t have found us.

“Internships are a great way for people just starting out to learn the ropes in a supportive environment, and for us, we get all the benefits of new perspectives outside of the London media bubble. Recruitment is currently underway for our second intern, and we’re excited to welcome them to Kindred.

Archana Shah, account director, UK at PR firm The Hoffman Agency: “At The Hoffman Agency in London, we've recently extended our paid internship program to six months from its original three. We believe that a longer internship provides a more immersive experience, allowing them to truly settle in, develop their skills, and assess whether PR is the right path for them.

“Our internship process begins with a careful review of applications, followed by virtual interviews that focus on cultural fit and their excitement about what we do – especially as we’re a pure B2B tech agency, and we need to be confident that whoever comes in will enjoy the role. We also prioritise face-to-face "coffee chats" with current employees to give interns a chance to connect with the team and ask questions in a relaxed and open discussion.

“Once they’re onboard, interns are assigned a line manager and buddy to guide them throughout their experience. The initial month is dedicated to onboarding, understanding client accounts, and familiarising themselves with the team, as well as being introduced to clients themselves – as appropriate. We believe that hands-on experience from day one is crucial for helping interns determine if PR is a good fit. As an example of this, we recently brought one of our interns to a new business pitch, providing them with a taste of real-world PR activities.

“As a global agency, we offer comprehensive training programs that cover both technical skills and soft skills. Our borderless approach ensures that interns from all offices have access to valuable resources, including on-demand sessions on topics like time management and organisation, content writing and an introduction to PR tools.

“Since 2020, 80% of our interns have successfully transitioned into full-time roles at The Hoffman Agency. We’re firm believers that paid internships are essential for providing a meaningful and equitable learning experience. Unpaid programmes can be exploitative and should be a thing of a past - especially in 2024. It’s clear that supporting our interns’ development ensures that we’re investing in the future - not just of our team, but more importantly, of the whole industry.”

Marcia La Rose, group people and diversity officer at PR firm Four Agency Worldwide: “Since the launch of our graduate recruitment programme in 2003, we don’t often take interns. But, over the last few years, we have introduced a formal (and always paid) internship programme with the Taylor Bennett Foundation, as part of its Summer Stars programme. The Foundation focuses on helping individuals from underrepresented backgrounds gain access to our industry and we were pleased to start a collaboration as part of our race equality pledge.

“Whilst the Taylor Bennett interns are usually well-prepared, we try to make sure they receive training in key areas relevant to the industry. Our first goal has been to support Taylor Bennet’s objectives of giving these under-represented groups an opportunity to experience agency life; but of course, there has been an added benefit where we’ve been able to offer permanent employment – so far nine and counting!

“For us, these internships don’t replace other recruitment. Our graduate scheme offered eight roles in the UK this year (and another five in MENA), and we encourage and support applications from all under-represented groups. We also offer apprenticeship and other entry-level opportunities for those who didn’t go to university.

“But the big advantage of working with Taylor Bennett is that it allows us to go a bit further – perhaps reaching candidates that would not otherwise think of Four.

“That would be an important view from us about internships. Where there is a good reason to have scheme – do it. But it should not replace formal graduate recruitment. Indeed, our industry should be a driver of opportunity for young talent.

“I read this week that the average graduate job in the UK received 91 applications this year. It’s tough out there. Don’t make internships an excuse to make those entry-level opportunities even more difficult.”