The absence of diversity in the creative sector is not only bad for our society but is also bad for business – how can the media reflect society, if society is not reflected in the media?

A report by McKinsey in January 2018 found that companies in the top quartile for  ethnic diversity are 33 percent more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.

Creative Access is one of the UK’s leading diversity organisations. It fills a gap in the current creative landscape by helping young people from under-represented communities (including black, Asian and other non-white minority ethnic or BAME backgrounds, as well as those with a lower socioeconomic or lower SES status) to secure both jobs and paid training opportunities in creative companies.

Our vision is that in the longer term, our candidates will progress to management positions, and in turn bring in others from under-represented communities in alongside them.

Creative Access is the only organisation in the UK dedicated to recruiting under-represented talent in the creative industries.

We help young people, from under-represented communities throughout the UK, to access creative careers. Working with UK’s most successful creative firms, we provide a range of services to help bring in diverse talent to organisations; we facilitate paid 3 to 12 month-long internships; provide employer training and host an opportunities board for organisations to list their roles.

We operate across all creative sectors in the wider creative economy, including:

• Book Publishing
• Charities, Government & Campaigning
• Film
• Museums & Galleries
• Music
• Newspaper & Magazine Publishing
• PR, Advertising & Marketing
• Radio
• Television
• Talent
• Theatre

We work with large, small and medium-sized companies right across the UK, from Bristol to Newcastle and from Cardiff to Manchester. We have placed candidates with  more than 300 organisations, including global brands such as ITV, Hachette, Apple, Tate, Pan Macmillan and the National Theatre.

Creative Access has been set up as a Community Interest Company (CIC, pronounced ‘kick’ not ‘sick’). This means we are a not-for-profit social enterprise and that all profits are re-invested.

But what really gives us a ‘CIC’? (sorry – couldn’t resist!). Our decisions are driven by the interests of both the young people and the companies with whom we work. This sets us apart from other organisations where all decisions are ultimately about increasing profits. Of course, in order to be able to continue our work in the long-term, we can’t lose money, so we are hugely grateful to all our industry partners, especially to ITV Studios who provide us with our fabulous home and to the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation for their invaluable support.