A survey of the University of Guelph-Humber and Humber Polytechnic internships reveals the vast majority of students are completing them for free. In fact, they’re paying to go to work, since there are student fees for the course to get a credit.
At the University of Guelph-Humber, 80 per cent of student interns are not compensated.
Its neighbour Humber Polytechnic experiences a similar problem; 75 per cent of interns are unpaid. Ignite, the student union of Humber and Guelph-Humber plans to address the issue.
At their internship Jerri Viquez-Tores says a colleague told them, doing more than you should,” which made them realize, “I’m kind of wasting a bit of my effort and energy doing this internship if I’m not getting compensated for it.”
Jerri Viquez-Tores. (Photo by Jerri Viquez-Tores)
Time is Money, an Ignite campaign initially launched during the 2024-2025 school year, aims to create change in policies regarding work-integrated learning (WIL), and create legislation change on a provincial scale.
This year, the campaign continues. Emily Edwards, a student advocate from Guelph-Humber, says that the new school year will bring a new campaign WIL 2.0. It will be an addition to Ignite’s previous campaign — Time is Money. The campaign will feature a petition that students are encouraged to sign.
Edwards says the petition will launch on Oct 1. It will run until late November and will be presented to the Ministry of Colleges and Universities in hopes to influence legislative decisions.
Viquez-Tores, a Guelph-Humber student, who had recently worked 500 hours of an unpaid internship, feels that the considerable effort they put into their work should have been compensated. Though compensation was discussed, it was ultimately forgotten and “never came up again.”
Paid internships are not only beneficial to students, but the companies as well according to a 2022 survey by The National Association of Colleges and Employers. It found that eight out of 10 employers said internships work better as a recruitment strategy as opposed to more traditional strategies.
Recent graduate from Humber Dalia Muslen says her paid internship left her with a positive impression which is the reason she sought out a second internship.
“It was a great learning opportunity. I never went home stressed or I was never at work, stressed out,” says Muslen. “The next summer after, that is when I decided like okay, I really like doing internships and I’m going to look for a different one.”
Dalia Muslen. (Photo by Dalia Muslen)
On the contrary, Leah Suter, an unpaid student intern from Guelph-Humber feels that although her internship has given her valuable experience, the job doesn’t come without mental exhaustion.
“It’s kind of like demoralizing,” she says, “If I’m doing the same work, why shouldn’t I be compensated, like, even like a little?”
Leah Suter. (Photo by Leah Suter)
A 2025 Toronto-Dominion Bank survey shows that 92 per cent of post-secondary school students are worried about money, and only one in 10 students report that they are financially stable.
Ignite plans to share stories of unpaid interns, along with the results of the petition at a summit scheduled for later this year. Kristine Galvan, manager of Ignite says:
“We believe that more voices will create more power … The more people want something, that’s when the government starts acting. And so that’s why we are asking students to sign the petition.”
*Image via Freepik, Freepik License