The Stage

Arts Council England publishes internship guidelines for cultural organisations

Published Monday 28 November 2011 at 16:07 by Alistair Smith

Arts Council England and Creative and Cultural Skills have published guidelines for arts organisations wanting to take on interns, including that they pay them at least national minimum wage.

The document outlines the legal obligations for arts and cultural organisations offering internships, as well as highlighting best practice. In addition to paying interns a wage, it recommends that companies offer an “open, transparent and fair” recruitment process and give interns “meaningful experiences and responsibilities that contribute to the aims of the organisation”.

Arts council chief executive Alan Davey said: “We firmly believe that arts and culture will benefit from the new ideas and perspectives presented by a workforce drawn from all sectors of society. Well-planned, paid internships have a role to play in bringing about this change by helping people from all backgrounds gain experience of working in the arts.

“These guidelines will support arts and cultural organisations in developing these kinds of high-quality employment opportunities to create a future generation of highly skilled arts leaders.”

The report follows a number of complaints about arts organisations offering unpaid internships. Most recently, backstage union BECTU wrote to the Old Vic Theatre urging the organisation to pay its interns.

Commenting on the report, Gavin Stride, director of the Farnham Maltings, added: “Internships are most beneficial when they form a dialogue. Arts organisations have both a duty and an incentive to provide encouragement, education and real opportunities in exchange for a young person’s passion and ideas. Talented interns respond to responsibility and engaging tasks, not unpaid coffee rounds or menial chores. The arts council and Creative and Cultural Skills have recognised this and produced a valuable set of guidelines all arts organisations should consult when considering internship positions.”

The document, Internships in the arts, is available here