The government intends to legally require employers to pay an internship allowance to students. Is that a good idea?
“Anticipating the legislative proposal, all the study programmes Teacher education in primary schools of Dutch universities of applied sciences have already introduced a mandatory internship allowance, nationwide. I think that’s excellent. I did my internships without pay for the first three years, but this year I’m receiving an allowance for the first time! Fourth-year interns do almost as much work in the classroom as the teachers themselves. Ideally, you should receive a regular salary for that.”
Ivo, student Teacher education in primary schools
“A mandatory internship allowance for students in all universities and higher professional education programmes is a good idea. The same goes for students in secondary vocational education, it seems to me. A company is training you for your future career; it would be odd if the mandatory allowance made you less likely to get hired. As for how much the allowance should be? I receive €60 a day, and I think that’s fine. But more wouldn’t hurt.”
Jari, student Teacher education in primary schools
“During my internship at the Calo, I took over the entire physical education lesson while my supervisor did practically nothing. I was doing his job and getting absolutely nothing for it. That felt a bit unfair. If you ask me, a reasonable internship allowance should be 25% to 50% of a full salary. Not the full amount, of course, since someone still needs to be there to oversee things.”
Koen, student Teacher education in PE
“Determining the level of the minimum allowance is going to be an interesting story. It seems fair to me for it to be somewhat higher in sectors where there is high demand for interns, such as primary schools or healthcare. In finance, it is unheard of nót to receive an internship allowance. I received a pretty decent sum of money, and I was happy with that.”
Marco, student Finance & control
“A minimum allowance should be mandatory, so that you can cover travel expenses, for instance. If you don’t receive anything yourself but hear from other students that they dó get an allowance, it makes you feel pretty lousy. In some sectors, there is a shortage of internships, making it harder to demand payment. But there are also plenty of companies that can certainly afford it.”
Vicky, student Teacher education in biology
text and photos: Jesse Walter
