About
Creative Access is a leading diversity, equity and inclusion organisation in the UK with deep expertise across the creative economy.
We provide progressive career support and development for talent from communities under-represented in the creative industries.
We work with employer partners to build inclusive creative cultures through innovative recruitment programmes, research driven consultancy, bespoke training and much more.
What we do
We are the leading progressive recruiter at entry, junior and mid levels for the creative economy.
We partner with over 500 creative businesses across the UK, including the BBC, ITV, Apple, Pan Macmillan, the Financial Times and the National Theatre. This enables our diverse community of candidates to access the most exciting roles.
Unlike most recruiters, we offer personalised support, mentoring and training to create real change across the sector.
If you’re wanting to start or progress your creative career in film, TV, theatre, publishing or the visual arts, look no further. Find out how we can help you get your dream role in the creative industries.
If you’re an organisation interested in partnering with us, discover how we can work together.
Our industry-leading training programmes help employers become more inclusive and help employees access their full potential.
Our highly experienced team has a strong track record of delivering exceptional training for organisations across the UK. We work with clinical psychologists, equality lawyers and experienced creative professionals to deliver the highest quality diversity training.
Learn more about the training programmes we offer.
Whether you’re writing your first CV or heading for leadership, we’re here to support you. We offer dedicated career workshops, masterclasses, mentoring, networking and wellbeing programmes.
Read more about our support programmes.
What we believe in
We aim to see a day when the UK’s creative economy will truly reflect and represent our society.
Our mission is to enable people from communities that are under-represented in creative industries, in terms of ethnicity, socio-economic background and disability or those facing significant barriers to employment, to access careers, progress and reach leadership.
Through our unique mix of diverse recruitment, support and employer training, our goal is to bring about positive and sustainable change across the creative economy.
Creative Access is a Community Interest Company, which means that we are a not-for-profit social enterprise. All of our profits are re-invested into our mission, so we can continue with our vital work. Our decisions are driven by the interests of both our candidates and employer partners.
We are hugely grateful to all of our industry partners, especially to ITV Studios who provide us with our fabulous home. If you’re an industry employer interested in partnering with us, click here to find out more about our offer. Alternatively, please consider donating to fund our
life-changing work.
We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to access careers and thrive in the creative industries, regardless of their background or beliefs.
We ask our employer partners to commit to bringing in and uplifting talent from communities under-represented in the sector by:
- Widening the talent pool to include candidates from all backgrounds
- Investing in staff from under-represented groups to enable them to thrive and progress to senior positions
- Creating an inclusive workplace where everyone, whatever their background, feels welcome and valued
Since we were founded in 2012, we have placed over 2,300 individuals in paid internships. The majority have moved onto full-time roles in the creative industries.
In the past 12 months alone, we have:
- listed 3,012 roles on our opportunities page
- delivered diversity and inclusion training to over 3,000 participants
- provided mentoring to 1,400 individuals
- run 33 masterclasses for 2,940 participants
- had 1,217 people attend our weekly CV clinics
- placed over 350 people at risk of long-term unemployment in paid roles via the Government Kickstart scheme
Creative Access was co-founded in 2012 by three people – including our CEO, Josie Dobrin – out of a frustration at the lack of representation in the creative industries.
Conscious of the positive impact we could have, we set out to change the conversation around diversity and inclusion in the sector. We persuaded leading employers in publishing, TV, film, theatre and beyond to partner with us and invest in talent from communities under-represented in the sector.
As we celebrate our 10 year anniversary in 2022, we are proud to see how, together with our partners, we have dramatically improved access for people from communities that are under-represented in the sector.
However, there is still so much work to be done. Find out more about partnering with us.