The Parliamentary Academy was founded in 2012 by

Robert Halfon Robert Henry Halfon (; born 22 March 1969) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician and was the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Harlow (UK Parliament constituency), Harlow from 2010 ...

MP,

New Deal of the Mind New Deal of the Mind is a charity that was established in 2009. NDotM developed from an article published in the ''New Statesman'' in January 2009 by Martin Bright, the magazine's former political editor. In this piece, Bright suggested that cu ...

and the National Skills Academy. The

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

is notorious for its

intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...

culture. A survey by the

Unite the Union Unite the Union, commonly known as Unite, is a trade union in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, formed on 1 May 2007 by the merger of Amicus (trade union), Amicus and the Transport and General Workers' Union. A general union ...

found that interns in Parliament carry out an astonishing 18,000 hours of

unpaid work Unpaid labor or unpaid work is defined as labor or work that does not receive any direct remuneration. This is a form of non-market work which can fall into one of two categories: (1) unpaid work that is placed within the production boundary of ...

a week. Some 44 per cent of interns said MPs did not even pay them travel or food expenses. Some MPs employ more than five interns in their offices. Up to 500 interns are operating in parliament at any one time.

Overview

The Parliamentary Academy scheme offers non-graduate, 18- to 24-year-olds the opportunity to take up a paid, 12-month placement in an MP's parliamentary office. They work four-day weeks, including two days a month working towards an

NVQ National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are practical work-based awards in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland that are achieved through training and assessment. The regulatory framework supporting NVQs was withdrawn in 2015 and replaced by th ...

level 2/3 in business administration. "The aim is to open up politics to young people from a much broader background and get them a decent qualification at the same time," says Halfon. The next round of the Parliamentary Academy will begin in Summer 2013.{{cite web , url=http://parliamentaryacademy.org/about-the-scheme/ , title=About the Scheme | the Parliamentary Academy , accessdate=2013-06-18 , url-status=dead , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828235411/http://parliamentaryacademy.org/about-the-scheme/ , archivedate=2013-08-28

Participants

MPs who have participated in the Parliamentary Academy pilot scheme include: * Michael Crockart, Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament. Member for Edinburgh West since 6 May 2010 general election. *

Andrea Leadsom Dame Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (; ; born 13 May 1963) is a British politician who served in various ministerial positions under Prime Ministers David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak between 2014 and 2024. A member of the Co ...

, Conservative Member of Parliament. Member for South Northamptonshire since 6 May 2010 general election. * John Woodcock, Labour/Co-operative member of Parliament for Barrow and Furness since 6 May 2010 general election.

References

External links

Opening up Westminster's closed shop

Want to be an MP's apprentice?

Apprentice Minister praises the Parliamentary Academy

Minister Chris Grayling backs the Parliamentary Academy

Secretary of State for Wales backs the Parliamentary Academy
Parliament of the United Kingdom Internship programs 2012 establishments in the United Kingdom