From Kickstart trainee to comms professional

Posted on June 7, 2022

Hi! I’m Adina and I work as an Account Assistant for London Communications Agency (LCA), having started in January. My family is originally from South Africa, however I was born and grew up in North London and ended up studying Media and Communications at the University of Sussex. Graduating in 2019, I was part of the first year hit by the major economic repercussions due to the pandemic. Finding a job proved to be a near impossible task….

Going about the Kickstart scheme

After countless applications and soulless rejections (if I was lucky enough to receive a reply at all), I knew I had to go about my job search in a different way. At this stage, nearly all my friends were a part of the Universal Credit scheme, and almost half were now employed through Kickstart – it was time to hop on the band-wagon. Although slightly lengthy, the registration process for this scheme was smoother than expected, and in about a week I was matched with my coach at my local job centre.

Starting my job search afresh with a new sense of hope made this whole process so much easier! I also was pleasantly surprised to see such a large number of companies taking advantage of this scheme, and it then only took me a day or so to come across Creative Access. Although I am somewhat creative, a role in the arts industry wasn’t quite where I had imagined myself. Luckily, the advertised vacancies were not limited to only these, as this is where I spotted my role at LCA!

About LCA and what my job involves

LCA is a full-service PR consultancy that delivers campaigns, consultations, and content to clients across the built environment sector. My main role within the company is providing practical and logistical support to my client account teams, which includes King’s Cross and a range of developers and architects. Along with daily monitoring and scoping the net for any coverage for our clients, I also research a variety of topics within the built environment when handling client requests and come up with creative ways to pitch my clients’ projects to the media.

Being LCA’s first and only Kickstarter, this was a new realm for all of us. Luckily, everyone on my team made it their main focus to ensure this has been entirely a learning process, allowing me to try all aspects of the business, even those my role wouldn’t usually cross!

On the topic of my team, I have to say this isn’t a normal office. Everybody here has been more than welcoming and supportive throughout my whole journey, but also approachable and just plain lovely (shout-out to my appraiser Phoebe)! It’s a pleasure to be here, and I can thankfully say the feeling seems mutual as I was offered a full-time position just two months in.

Why is Kickstart a good initiative by the government?

In my experience, the Kickstart scheme is literally the sole reason I am where I am today. I was lucky enough to join a thriving agency, but for many other companies, Kickstart helped them to stay afloat through an exceptionally difficult period. Similarly, for myself and so many other young people living through the pandemic, the re-opening of the job market meant we now had a chance to start/continue our careers.

How Creative Access has supported me during my placement

Creative Access allowed my transition into LCA to be as smooth as possible. I have now attended two workshops since starting, giving myself and other Kickstarters key information to take into our roles and further in our careers. This also gave us a chance to connect with those in similar roles and hear about their personal experiences. Those on the Creative Access team have always been warm and welcoming as well as supportive whenever needed.

My hopes and ambitions career-wise

As my Kickstart journey soon draws to a close (and I became a permanent member of the LCA team!!!), my aim is to continue learning and growing here, soaking up everyone’s knowledge while progressing on my PR path.