Government funds ad apprenticeship scheme

The IPA has helped to secure almost £1m of government funding to develop and promote the “first ever” creative agencies’ apprenticeship scheme for school leavers.

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Skillset, the sector skills council for the creative industries, was awarded the scheme, which is expected to create up to 250 jobs for school leavers in IPA member agencies over the next three years.

Meetings with IPA member agencies will begin in January to develop the framework for up to four apprenticeship schemes for the advertising sector.

Each scheme will combine training for 18 year-olds with on-the-job work experience in media, digital, direct marketing and creative agencies from next September.

The new initiative is in direct response to the IPA’s Future of Talent Strategy, says Janet Hull, director of marketing at IPA.

“When almost a million 16 to 24 year-olds are out of work and when soaring university fees are discouraging even the brightest students are far from realising their full learning potential. The need for this apprenticeship scheme couldn’t be more apparent,” adds Hull.

The trade body’s support of the initiative is part of its president Nicola Mendelsohn’s strategy to attract new creative talent from different backgrounds to the industry.

Elsewhere, the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) and Pearson in Practice, a division of the global publishing firm Pearson, have announced that they will be leading the development of the first Government-funded industry-wide PR apprenticeship scheme. Up to 600 apprenticeship roles will be created over a three-year period.

Both schemes follow the Government’s announcement of a £1bn youth jobs fund last month, as it looks to tackle rising unemployment levels in the UK.

To see the best creative work from creative, digital and design agencies go to the Pitch website by clicking here.

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