The UKSCA recognises the importance of supporting future coaches in a competitive industry and it fully supports the provision of opportunities for interns who wish to develop into coaches. Different types of development opportunities are shown in Table 1 and it should be noted that ‘Unpaid internships’ does not appear here. An intern is by definition, an ‘employee’ and thus should be getting National Minimum Wage as a minimum.
A well-designed, standardised ‘internship’ for employers has various advantages:
An intern is most likely to be a recent graduate or student seeking practical training in a working environment. Any arrangement should be as much about an employer’s desire to develop a person as it is about the intern’s desire to gain experience. The interests of the organisation should be in developing talent (that they may or may not see as part of their future plans), as opposed to exploiting a cheap employment option.
The best internships empower and give responsibility from the outset, with ‘real’ working projects that reflect the duration of the internship. Roles and responsibilities should be clearly set out from the beginning and the intern should have an opportunity to experience all parts of the organisation. Long term reward in any career path often comes from the opportunities, professional networks and friendships developed, and from working together for a common goal.
