Bristol Creative Industries has teamed up with Bristol-based social enterprise Babbasa and 15 creative businesses to launch a city-wide internship programme.

The programme is aimed at Bristol-based young people aged 18-24 from an ethnic minority and/or from a low-income background who want to gain insight and experience in the creative industry.

The scheme will see many of the city’s most well-known creative companies offering six-month full time paid placements to applicants in roles covering advertising, marketing, design, animation and digital.

Boosting diversity in the creative industries

Two of the biggest challenges currently facing the creative industries are a long-term skills shortage and a lack of diversity in the sector.

A Creative Force to Be Reckoned With, our report released in September 2022, found that although increasing diversity and inclusion was a significant priority for six in 10 creative firms, almost half said they want more help with finding diverse talent from underrepresented groups.

We’ve been working hard to create a solution and are delighted to launch the Bristol Creative Industries Internship Programme.

Bristol Creative Industries Internship Programme

Babbasa, which supports diverse young people to achieve their aspirations, is leading the recruitment process. We are working closely with them and the brilliant participating creative businesses to match applicants to one of the available roles.

Chris Thurling, chair of Bristol Creative Industries, said:

“We all want to make our industry more diverse and inclusive, but when you run a small business it’s not always easy to know how to make a practical difference. By coming together as the Bristol Creative Industries community to support the internship programme, members can do their bit to help young people get that all important foot in the door.

“We are delighted to formally announce this internship programme in partnership with Babbasa. The creative industry in Bristol is one of the best in the country, and we want to help open this up to as many young people in the city as we can.

“Our aim with this programme is to work closely with the fantastic team at Babbasa to connect bright young talent with some of the city’s best and well-established businesses.”

Starting on 15th May 2023, each successful applicant will work for six months. During that time participants will undergo two placements for two different agencies, both lasting three months each.

The programme provides a mix of professional skills training, creative skills training, inspirational talks, networking events, mentoring and opportunities for future employment.

The deadline for applications is 28th March 2023, with interviews taking place on 4th and 5th April at Watershed in Bristol. There will be an informal group workshop which will give applicants a chance to come and hear a bit more about the participating businesses, their internship offers and meet some of the team.

Applicants will then be given a 30-minute slot to chat to the interview panel to give us a chance to explore applications in a bit more detail. Bristol Creative Industries will cover costs for travel to the interview for every candidate.

The businesses and Bristol Creative Industries members participating in the programme are:

• Aardman Animations
• Aer Studios
• Armadillo
• Atomic Smash
• Diva
• Halo
• McCann Bristol
• Mr B & Friends
• Newicon
• Noble Digital Performance
• Oakwood Media Group
• Six
• saintnicks
• ThirtyThree
• TMW Unlimited

Big thanks to them all!

Poku Pipim Osei, CEO and founder of Babbasa, said:

“Last year, we consulted with a range of city partners and underrepresented communities to better understand how Bristol can close the inequality gap for the next generation, in a report called the OurCity20230: Socioeconomic Analysis Report.

“What was striking is that over 38% of the young people surveyed had aspirations to pursue a career in the creative industries. This is why we are excited to be part of this partnership, as a demonstration of our commitment to work collaboratively and unlock doors for those who would not have otherwise had the chance.”

To apply, applicants already registered with Babbasa can send a video/audio recording that’s around one minute long, or a written piece to recruitment lead Mikhaila at [email protected] explaining why they want to be part of the programme.

Those who aren’t yet registered with Babbasa can sign up here and the organisation will be in touch to help progress the application.

For more information on the programme, visit the Babbasa website and for more details on the businesses participating in the scheme, go here.  

About Bristol Creative Industries

Bristol Creative Industries is the membership network that supports the region's creative sector to learn, grow and connect, driven by the common belief that we can achieve more collectively than alone.