The creative industries are highly competitive and can seem extremely difficult to break into, especially if you don’t have the right connections to give you a helping hand. Creative Access are here to help open the door to the creative industries for those from Black, Asian and ethnically-diverse backgrounds.
Hearing the term ‘internship’ can sometimes be daunting. For some, the word will start alarm bells will be ringing, leading to negative thoughts about spending endless amounts of time by the photocopier, dreary filing duties and making countless cups of tea for the team; i.e. doing temporary, unpaid, low-level duties, for an organisation that you will not be associated with for more than a few weeks or months.
But why is being a Creative Access intern different? Here are eight reasons why:
- You are paid!
While many internships are unpaid, all internships provided through Creative Access are paid a bursary of at least the equivalent of the London Living Wage. This way, you won’t have to worry about dipping into your savings to make it through the duration of your internship.
- Induction
Upon accepting an offer of an internship, all interns are invited to a Creative Access induction hosted at ITV Studios. It’s an insightful day to prepare you for life as a Creative Access intern, featuring inspirational speakers, guidance on presentation skills and goal setting, and offering a chance for you to meet other interns embarking on a similar journey.
- Training
While you still may be asked to make the occasional cup of tea, we ensure that you receive a sufficient quality of training throughout the duration of your internship. We make sure that all line managers provide an internship training schedule, which will be agreed with you as the intern. This schedule can be used as a reference of what you can expect to learn during your internship.
- Masterclasses
Each month, we bring all of our current and former interns together by hosting a Masterclass. In recent months we’ve met Malorie Blackman, and are also set to meet Sir Lenny Henry. We have also been hosted by organisations including, Twitter, Google, Hachette, the House of Commons and ITV, to name a few. These sessions give you an invaluable insight into all sectors within the creative industries, giving you the opportunity to network and gain advice and inspiration from industry experts.
- Support
Once you have started your internship, your relationship with Creative Access does not end. We will check up on you throughout your internship and provide a support system for you, which will continue even when your internship is complete. Whether it be an issue you need help to overcome, general career advice or even if you simply need a chat, we are only a call or email away.
- Mentoring
Once you start your internship, you will be assigned a mentor within your company. This will be a senior member of staff – crucially a different person from your line manager. The role of the mentor is to help you build confidence, credibility and competence during your internship and specifically to help you think about your next steps after your internship finishes.
- Buddy system
Every intern is assigned a ‘buddy’ who was a former Creative Access intern. The aim is to make the initial process of settling in as an intern smoother and to offer you support based on the former intern’s own knowledge an experiences.
- Tickets to theatre shows and events
Often, our supporters and media partners such as The National Theatre, Donmar Warehouse and the Almeida will contact us with free tickets to shows and/or events. We always inform our interns, past and present of these events and they are always greatly received and appreciated.
So what are you waiting for? If you are from a black, Asian or other non-white ethnic minority background, view our latest opportunities and start your journey as a Creative Access intern now by registering here.