We recognize how important it is to give young people the opportunities that they need coming out of university or college or sometimes out of high school. We also recognize that allowing unpaid internships creates a potential challenge for people that have less economic means. If your family happens to be well off, an unpaid internship can provide you with good work experience, but that might not be the same opportunity for someone of lesser means.
We wanted to make sure that the internships that are unpaid are only really there as part of a formal educational program. Overall, we seek to encourage companies, organizations, and governments to make sure that internships are paid. People should be paid for doing their work and that will create a better playing field and a more equal playing field for people from all economic backgrounds to be successful, as they seek their first jobs.