Unequal opportunities: the role of internships in graduate labour market transitions in the UK and Italy.

In the last two decades, education to work transitions have become more turbulent and uncertain. The role of work experience during and after education in facilitating access to work and enhancing labour market outcomes has been debated in academic and policy literature (e.g. Holford, 2017; IPPR, 2017). Internships during undergraduate study are widely recognized as a way of gaining relevant work experience and as a route into employment. However, not everyone benefits equally. Using two longitudinal graduate surveys, AlmaLaurea for Italy and Futuretrack for the UK, we analyse access to and employment outcomes (getting a job, wages and perceived skills match) of doing an internship during undergraduate study, focusing on gender and social class. We also look at regulatory frameworks surrounding internships during higher education to contextualise our findings and provide recommendations for policy.