VIRTUAL INTERNSHIP PARTNERS LTD – WRITTEN EVIDENCE (YUN0077)

Youth Unemployment Committee inquiry

Virtual Internships’ founders have been working to increase young people’s employability for over a decade and have been providing virtual work experience opportunities since 2018. We partner with 70 universities worldwide and are especially proud of our long-standing partnerships with several UK universities.

To inform the Lords Select Committee’s inquiry on youth unemployment, we reached out to our UK alumni and conducted two focus groups. We are pleased to present the report below to the Committee to amplify the voices of young people and illustrate their experiences.

We thank you for your consideration of these points and hope to contribute to the Committee's work in the future.

Introduction

In order to respond to the House of Lords Committee on Youth Unemployment Virtual Internships conducted two focus groups on 7 July 2021. We invited past and present participants of the virtual internships programme, as well as young people who recently joined Virtual Internships’ staff as interns and Kickstarters. In total, six participants attended and completed the focus group sessions which enabled us to maximise interaction and facilitated an in-depth discussion.

The sessions focused on the key questions provided by the committee, whilst we also aimed to understand how participants felt their virtual work experience influenced their job search and career opportunities. The focus groups lasted one hour each and were facilitated and moderated by two Virtual Internships staff members.

Findings

1. What has been your biggest barrier to finding work?

Participants noted qualifications and experience as the main barriers to finding work, especially for entry-level jobs. These jobs, according to 4 participants, often required 1-3 years of relevant work experience which they felt is unrealistic.

●       Two participants stated that it was very difficult for them to get to the interview stage in the application process.

●       Individual barriers:

○    One participant who has a disability noted that their access and needs were often not met by employers, hindering them from finding a suitable job.

○    One participant noted that it is difficult to find a part-time job that also offers relevant work experience while at university.

○    One participant noted that changes in personal circumstances, like housing situation, can be a barrier to finding a job, where to look for a job and where to apply.

“I think it's just difficult being acknowledged in the first place, I feel like if I’m able to get my foot in the door, and actually get into the interview I’m able to do quite well, but often you won’t even hear back about your application.”

2. What could your school/college/university have done differently to help better prepare you to find work?

All participants were aware of the careers service at their university or school, however, they highlighted that they felt the services had some shortcomings. For instance, schools pushing students to get university degrees and not laying out all the available options to young people. At universities, two students mentioned that the careers services should be more proactive and approach all students to make them aware of available services.

●       Three participants found that their university degree did not accurately prepare them for the job market or equip them with the required skills.

●       Especially in social science and arts degrees, three participants felt that universities should do more to make students aware of their career options.

●       Two participants noted that their schools were discussing progression to universities more than other post-16 options, like apprenticeships.

○    Another participant noted that their school careers advisor laid out all the available options for them very well.

“I wish my university introduced students to more external corporations or had a placement as a mandatory module, that would have made my study more applicable to other work experiences.”

“I realised that a lot of students don't know what services exist within our university library, you would think that there would be a centralised hub that all of the students would know about and have access to or go to whenever they need help.”

3. How could the support offered by Jobcentre Plus/DWP be most improved?

Apart from the two people who are currently on the Kickstart Scheme, none of the other participants were aware of any services offered by the DWP or Jobcentre Plus, which are available to them. There was a consensus in the group that the available services were not sufficiently highlighted by universities or advertised to young people directly.

●       Four participants stated that they did not know that any/some Jobcentre Plus services were available to them.

○    Two participants would contact Jobcentre Plus in the future but are not aware of the eligibility requirements for using these services.

●       Two participants are Kickstart associates and had been in touch with a work coach from Jobcentre Plus.

○    One of them noted that they were only contacted by Jobcentre Plus 6 months after their initial universal credit application.

●       Two participants said they thought the DWP and Jobcentre Plus should improve their outreach to young people (e.g. through direct advertisement and through universities).

4.    The role of virtual internships in reducing youth unemployment

All participants had completed virtual work experience in the form of a virtual internship, or a Kickstart placement. They unilaterally agreed that this experience was useful for them, especially in terms of gaining transferable skills for work that are not taught at university.

●       According to two participants, especially after Covid-19, it will be useful to have virtual work experience on your CV.

○    They noted that working virtually requires specific skills like time management and shows dependability to potential employers.

○    One participant noted that virtual work experience can be passive, so a pro-active, structured and well-organised programme is needed for virtual experience to be useful.

“Remote work is probably going to be here to stay and I think that having that experience and being able to show on my CV that I am able to communicate and do that remote work will be really helpful and finding a job in the future.”

Participants said they believe employers now increasingly realise the value of remote work experience because some of the associated challenges are now better understood. For instance, managing schedules, tasks and meetings.

●       One participant noted that their virtual internship with a South Korean company had been positively perceived by employers and the university careers service, as it shows cultural fluency and adaptability

●       Another participant said they experienced no difference between face-to-face versus virtual, and didn’t feel like they were “missing out” in developing soft skills such as communication that are crucial for teamwork, productivity and career development.

●       On the other hand, one participant noted that working with people face-to-face in some aspects actually requires more skills, which are more difficult to learn in a virtual setting.

●       Another participant stated that they found it more difficult to get help with an issue when working remotely, especially across different time zones.

●       One participant noted that there is also a lot of virtual work experience which is not engaging and is just passive, for example, watching a Zoom call. Companies need structured and well-organised programmes for virtual experience to be useful.

“People realise that working virtually is harder than you would think. Cultivating the interpersonal relationship online is definitely harder than in-person, or managing a workload or schedule online is definitely harder, so I would say that employers would value virtual work experience highly.”

Conclusion & Recommendations

Our focus groups have highlighted some of the shortcomings and difficulties that currently persist for young people in the UK. Based on our discussion, we make the following recommendations.

1. Access to high quality, relevant work experience needs to be improved as work experience is extremely important in securing a job.
1. Virtual programmes can be more easily fitted around other commitments, such as undergraduate/postgraduate study and part-time work. 

2. Careers services at schools and universities should highlight all available routes to students into Higher Education i.e. Apprenticeships versus University.
1. Awareness of services amongst students needs to be raised with better signposting
2. Schools and universities could hold ‘conversation workshops’ preparing students for the job hunting process and the job market

3. University degrees should better equip students with skills to enter the job market, help students make industry connections and hold departmental/faculty job fairs.

1. By integrating placement and internship options across university courses and earlier in schools, students will be able to increase their employability and job market readiness before graduating.

4. Awareness of services available to young people from Jobcentre Plus and DWP must be raised.
1. Young people suggested letters to home addresses, adverts on television and social media and awareness raising through educational institutions.

We hope you take these points into consideration and are happy to further elaborate on our findings if desired.

About Virtual Internships

Virtual Internships started after recognising that the future of work was at our doorstep, and more students across the world would need to prepare for remote work experience while creating a network of virtual connections to succeed. COVID-19 has transformed the way many individuals and companies see the future and we believe remote work is here to stay. Students wanting to gain global work experience can complete an internship from the comfort of their own home, working 10-30 hours per week for 1-4 months. All students are guaranteed an online internship placement in one of their career fields in host companies across the globe, and are supported with multiple touchpoints including coaching calls, an online curriculum, and structured project plans.

Virtual Internships Vision

Our Vision is to ensure that world events do not stop access to quality professional development and internship opportunities for students throughout the world. We seek to create a connected and dynamic labour market that facilitates cultural exchange and strengthens the professional development of young global talent. We are focused on reducing or eliminating barriers to internships for students and host companies through improved accessibility, and to increase exposure and awareness of remote work thus empowering young people with greater career choice.

Virtual Internships Mission

We aim to be the leading provider of virtual internship programs. We are committed to fostering a community of global, career ready graduates with tangible skill sets and international competencies. We believe in a holistic program model that encompasses extensive pre-program training, during the internship events and support, and alumni support programming.

23rd July 2021