The ‘My Little Pony Brigade’ have long been used to the idea that they must dig deep into the bank of Mum and Dad if they want to continue their hobby.

Some are desperate enough to spend their teenage years shovelling horseshit and riding out (a euphemism for exercising the horses of those who can afford to lie abed in the early hours) through the dawn mists for no pay, just the ‘work experience’.

Today we have a new opportunity. A company called Etsio is offering parents or their wealthy offspring the unique opportunity to shovel horseshit for a mere £65 a day – no, don’t be daft, you don’t get paid £65 a day, you pay £65 a day for the experience…..

000039 A person with previous experience with horses who is keen to study towards their exams. Self motivated and happy to help with all tasks. Able to communicate well with the clients and enjoy a good team spirit with the staff. We are a B.H.S. exam centre to Stage 2 and can train for P.T.T. and Stage 3.

How much value is that opportunity to train towards ‘Stage 3 of the BHS’:

This qualification will provide the holder with the competencies and ability to look after up to four horses in stables and at grass in an unsupervised environment, ensuring that horses, stables, yard and fields are safe and in good order.

If that doesn’t appeal, how about paying £65 a day to learn how to paint nails?

Beauty therapy, nail technician – 000026 I am looking for a trainee to incorporate in my salon for future employment.

Would you rather pay £130 a day to shadow a recruitment agent working in the City of London…

001072 This internship will provide the successful candidate with a unique opportunity to learn the workings of the basic mechanics of the Insurance industry. The experience gained and the contacts made could provide the intern a springboard to secure a career in the City either in recruitment or maybe even in the insurance industry. Hours will generally be 10.30 – 4.30 or to be agreed and the duration of the internship TBA.

Or even £200 a day to find out how to persuade people to pay you to order the vol-au-vents for their big day…

Wedding Planner 000023 Isabella Weddings is an established Wedding Planning company, we offer support to couples at all stages of their plans and attend on the day to ensure all their wishes are carried out and the day is perfect for them.

No jobs are guaranteed, just ‘work experience’.

Work experience is a valuable asset; I have offered my labour many times for free over the years in order to acquire a new skill – but paying up to £200 a day to persuade a firm to let you work for them for free? That is a new one!

There was something vaguely familiar about the group of companies advertising their willingness to take on unpaid interns in return for a hefty payment; there was also something familiar about the name of the man behind the Etsio web site.

Kit Sadgrove.

Could it be the same Kit Sadgrove (no relation to our Sad!) that wrote ‘Make Big bucks as a Business Coach’ explaining how the professionally unskilled can make ‘Big Bucks’ teaching the CEO’s of major companies how to run their business – all you need to do is sign up to a distance learning course. He certainly doesn’t expect his prospective ‘paying interns’ to have any relevant background:

Most applicants we come across don’t have any experience that would make them useful to our employers.

Except of course the ability to put their hands in their pockets…

Coincidentally, there is a Kit Sadgrove who runs distance learning courses – the same one? We should be told. This Kit Sadgrove runs distance learning courses in all sorts of things, like wedding planning, interior design; surely nail painting and horseshit shovelling are merely an oversight on his web site so far.

Perhaps distance learning courses have run their term and unpaid intern-ships where you pay for the privilege are the new in thing. Or perhaps he’s had trouble getting paid….

Ben Lyons, co-director of Intern Aware, tells me that ‘The government’s own lawyers have warned work without pay is often illegal and HMRC should be investigating companies which offer unpaid and paid-for internships.’

*Cut price offer: for a mere £500 a day I’ll show you how to run a busy political web site, was £1,000 a day. Only available in the run up to Christmas. Enrol now! Guaranteed no pay. Guaranteed no future job.

Boldfield December 9, 2011 at 12:50

In some of the Zambian copper mines the workers had to pay the foreman,
every payday, not to fire them.

john malpas December 8, 2011 at 23:59

What of the days you had to pay ‘goodwill’ to buy a job. Especially in the
‘professions’ , especially in Australia.

Joe Public December 8, 2011 at 20:31

Don’t the “Table-Dancers” at Stringfellows ‘invest’ about £500/night for
the opportunity of raking much more than that off Bankers & Executives
with huge expense-accounts?

SadButMadLad December 8, 2011 at 19:12

I’ve got a bone to pick with you Anna. You promised me a certificate, all
nice cursive text and and framed too after the last training session which I
paid full wack for.

As for working for no pay. It shouldn’t be illegal. It’s called
volunteering!

Peter MacFarlane
December 8, 2011 at 15:49

Fifty years ago waiters in grand hotels used to pay the hotel, rather than
be paid, for working there. And we used to think it barbaric and unfair.

Of course, they did OK on the tips, so it was all to the good really, and
nothing like what you’re describing.

btw, to the Horse-smitten (I know a few), no price, however great, is too
high to pay. They will spend ALL their income on horses and think it
worthwhile.

Sailing, or even Golf, are cheap hobbies by comparison.

Ex-Liverpool
Docker December 8, 2011 at 12:35

So next it’ll be indentured servitude and we should expect to see huge
numbers ‘shipped’ off to Leeds or Bradford or maybe even, if they’re lucky,
Milton Keynes. It’ll be ok for them as they’ll only have to provide ‘free’
labour for a minimum of 3 years, but honestly we’ll feed them.

Engineer December 8, 2011 at 12:01

There’s nothing new under the sun. Years ago, big engineering employers
used to offer ‘Premium Apprenticeships’ to the parents of aspiring engineers –
the parents paid a premium to the company to have their son (almost
invariably) given a good start. The training was a bit more varied than most
craft apprentices received, and the trainee was expected to attend night
school and study to a higher level as well. Some very fine engineers resulted.
I’m fairly sure the system applied in other walks of life, as well.

I think it died out after WW2, with the rise of degree education.

binao December 8, 2011 at 18:26

Not a premium apprenticeship, but £1. 11s pay/week or thereabouts for a
7.30 to 5.30 day in 1959 strikes a chord. I still have the hand made paper
indentures somewhere with company seal. Day release plus homework and three
evenings a week at Tech too, for those so important endorsements.
Must
bin the old text books- nobody in these SI days would understand the units
now.
The experience served me very well. I don’t think we’d get too many
takers now.