‘We can no longer justify unpaid labour’: why uni students need to be paid for work placements

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 00:14:38 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/we-can-no-longer-justify-unpaid-labour-why-uni-students-need-to-be-paid-for-work-placements-203421>

"Mandatory work placements are a vital part of many university degrees. This
includes some of the most important degrees in our society, such as nursing,
teaching, social work, psychology and the allied health professions.

The time these require varies but is always significant. For example, for
social work and occupational therapy programs it is 1,000 hours. Nursing
degrees require at least 800 hours of placement. Undergraduate education
students need to complete at least 80 days of professional experience.

These positions are not paid.

Amid a cost-of-living crisis, with rising university fees, we can no longer
expect students to do this work for free. The Universities Accord has placed a
big emphasis on equity and improving participation in higher education. As part
of this, it needs to make sure students are not penalised for completing
necessary parts of their degrees."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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