Young people ‘being exploited’ while undertaking unpaid work

An increasing number of young people are doing unpaid work in a bid to secure a job but there are concerns they are being exploited.

A study has found half of young Australians are doing unpaid work experience in an increasingly competitive work environment. 

Zana Bytheway, the executive director at Job Watch, told Tony Jones while there was merit in undertaking work experience for job prospects, some young people were working for nothing.

‘If you have an employment relationship with your worker then you should be paid for the work you undertake,’ she said. 

‘We are now finding that not everybody has that successful outcome, there’s one in four who have an unpaid work experience who don’t actually get employed.

‘Why can’t you have that experience and get paid minimum wage?’

But Tony Jones said it was often how young people got a competitive edge over others. 

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