Sky and Creative Access partner to launch TV placements for under-represented groups
Sky and Creative Access partner to launch TV placements for under-represented groups
Sky, Europe’s leading media and entertainment company, has partnered with Creative Access to provide under-represented groups placements in the media industry. 18 placements will be available across Sky News, Sky Sports, UK Content and Sky Studios.
The collaboration will provide talented TV aspirants who are Black, Asian or from a minority ethnic background, disabled or from lower socioeconomic backgrounds with invaluable 12-month paid placements at Sky.
Over the course of a year, the successful candidates will develop their industry knowledge, widen their professional networks, and learn new skills by working alongside experienced technical, editorial, and strategic staff at Sky.
The opportunities available include:
- two Trainee Sports Reporters at Sky Sports, home of Premier League football
- one Assistant Digital Producer and one Assistant Audio/Podcast Producer at Sky News, the UK’s most trusted and impartial news service*
- two Editorial Assistants at Sky Studios, home to top UK drama productions including Gangs of London.
In January 2021, Sky set ambitious targets to increase ethnic diversity and representation across its UK workforce. By 2025, Sky is aiming for 20% of their employees in the UK & Ireland to be from Black, Asian, or ethnically diverse backgrounds, with at least a quarter of these being Black. This target also applies to Sky’s leadership team. Creative Access has a long-standing and unrivalled record in diverse recruitment, training, and inclusion in the creative industries.
John Ryley, Head of Sky News said:
“The media industry needs to change to reflect modern Britain, and not just in what viewers see on screen but who makes decisions off screen too. By offering placements to trainees from diverse backgrounds we’re giving people a foot into the industry they might not otherwise secure – and once they’re in the door we can offer them the advice, support and training that, in the long-term, will help them transform our industry.”
Rob Webster, Managing Director, Sky Sports said:
“At Sky Sports we’re proud to help make sport more diverse. Diversity brings new views, new ideas, and most importantly, new voices to sport. We want to create more inclusive environments in our industry and a huge part of that is making sure the people working behind the scenes represent the sports fans that we serve."
Jane Millichip, Chief Content Officer, Sky Studios said:
“Bringing new talent from under-represented groups into the creative industries is hugely important to us. Across the industry it’s critical that we reflect the viewers who watch our shows, both on screen and off. These placements will work across some of our most innovative areas from Virtual Production to our biggest and boldest new dramas and comedies.”
Anoushka Dossa, Director of Intern and Graduate Recruitment at Creative Access said:
“We are delighted to be working across Sky’s divisions to provide these prestigious and unique opportunities to bright and passionate talent from under-represented groups who might not have otherwise benefitted from these opportunities.
“These placements will allow the successful applicants to get a year of unparalleled experience under their belt, which we expect will be a springboard for them to forge long and successful careers, to the benefit of the UK’s television industry.”
These opportunities are only open to individuals from groups that are under-represented in the creative industries in terms of ethnicity, disability, and socio-economic backgrounds.
The deadline for applications for all placements is 16 April 2021 and all application must be made through the Creative Access website.
Notes to Editors
* Ofcom research has Sky News ahead of BBC, ITV, C4 and C5 on trust, accuracy, impartiality, and quality.
Media contacts:
Creative Access: David Osei, Head of Marketing & Communications , david@creativeaccess.org.uk
Sky: Jessica Bihari, Senior Corporate Communications Manager, jesssica.bihari@sky.uk
About Sky
Sky is Europe’s leading media and entertainment company and is proud to be part of the Comcast group. Across six countries, we connect our 24 million customers to the best entertainment, sports, news, and arts including our own award-winning original content.
Our technology, including the market leading Sky Q, connects people to everything they love – with entertainment from Sky TV, Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and BBC iPlayer, and apps like Spotify, YouTube, BBC Sounds, Highbrow, Fiit, and more, in one place, easy. Our streaming service NOW, brings viewers all the enjoyment of Sky with the flexibility of a contract-free service.
Building on the success of Sky Originals like Chernobyl, Bulletproof and Brassic, we are doubling our investment in original content by 2024 through Sky Studios. Sky News provides impartial and trustworthy journalism for free, Sky Arts is the UK’s only dedicated free-to-air arts channel making the arts accessible for everyone and Sky Sports, our leading sports broadcasting service brings customers some of the biggest and best global sporting events from the Premier League to Formula 1 and everything in between. Our new TV and movie studio, Sky Studios Elstree, which will open in 2022, is expected to create over 2,000 new jobs and generate an additional £3 billion of production investment in the UK over the first five years.
We believe that we can be a force for good in the communities in which we operate. We’re committed to being Europe’s first net zero carbon entertainment company by 2030 and we’re proud to be a Principal Partner and Media Partner of COP26. We take pride in our approach to diversity and inclusion: we’ve been recognised by The Times and Stonewall for our commitment to diversity and we’ve set ambitious 2025 targets to continue to increase diversity and representation. We’re also committed to investing £30million across our markets over three years to improve our approach to diversity and inclusion, and to tackle racial injustice.
About Creative Access
Creative Access is one of the leading diversity organisations in the UK; a not-for-profit social enterprise, unrivalled in diverse recruitment, training and inclusion. The organisation helps talented people to thrive in the creative industries who come from groups that are under-represented in terms of ethnicity, socio-economic backgrounds and disability.
All partners are asked to commit to bringing in and uplifting talent from under-represented communities in three ways:
- Widening the talent pool to include candidates from all backgrounds
- Investing in staff from under-represented groups to progress to senior positions
- Creating an inclusive workplace where everyone, whatever their background, can feel valued and able to flourish
Creative Access takes a wholehearted approach that covers:
- Recruitment – including recruiting for paid-internships run as affirmative action schemes, supporting job recruitment and hosting a jobs board
- Support and outreach – helping young people to access creative careers via extensive outreach events, mentoring and leadership programmes
- Employer support – Providing diversity, inclusion and mental health training to help make organisations become more inclusive
The organisation works with over 500 employer partners; ranging from global brands, to smaller independent organisations across the UK; operating all creative sectors in the wider creative economy, including Book Publishing; Charities; Government & Campaigning; Fashion & Beauty; Film; Museums & Galleries; Music; Newspaper & Magazine Publishing; PR, Advertising & Marketing; Radio; Television; Talent; and Theatre.
