Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Holford, Angus Title: Access to and returns from unpaid graduate internships Abstract: We use the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education Survey (DLHE) to estimate the socio-economic gradient in access to unpaid internships among English and Welsh graduates six months after completing their first degree, and the return to this internship experience 3 years later in terms of salary, occupation, contract type and career satisfaction. We show a significant salary penalty at 3.5 years after graduation compared with those going straight into paid work or further study, but also that graduates from higher socio-economic status have an advantage in accessing internships while being significantly insulated from their negative effects. Creation-Date: 20170608 Number: 2017-07 Publication-Status: published File-URL: https://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/files/working-papers/iser/2017-07.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Handle: RePEc:ese:iserwp:2017-07