Big things on the horizon for Media Trust’s Graduates

Our 30 graduates took to the stage to share just how much the 10-week programme of masterclasses and mentoring has meant to them and what they hoped to achieve from it.

About Creativity Works

Media Trust is incredibly proud to be one of two non-profit organisations that the Mayors Fund for London is working with to enhance the mobility and employability of diverse young Londoners looking to break into the media and creative industries.

Creativity Works is a 10 week bootcamp that exposes young Londoners, aged 17-24, who are not in employment, education or training to six weeks of masterclasses and practical skills training facilitated by top-class media and creative professionals from the likes of adam&eveDDB, Facebook, Google, Snapchat and more. Each week follows a different industry relevant theme, such as photography, digital media, journalism, TV and radio.

The final four weeks are then spent focusing on employability skills and personal development. Each young person is paired with a media or creative industry professional who provides 1-2-1 career mentoring and coaching to help them get work-ready.

“I’m going to make you all proud”

Many of the graduates who spoke at Thursday’s graduation event shared personal accounts of the impact the programme has had on their lives. Aspiring journalist, Lucrece Grehoua discovered a new-found confidence: “Thank you for whipping me into shape at a tumultuous time in my life where I felt I could and would never go back into work. After two years, I am applying for real contractual jobs and finally feeling able to mobilise myself confidently within the working world. If I had not embarked on this course my life would have been extremely different. I will continue to work hard and take strides – and I will always have Media Trust to thank for that. So just watch, because in a few years I am going to make you all proud.”

For graduate Mawuli Charles, the week he spent at Google was eye-opening: “When I started this course, I had no idea what I wanted to do. Now I know more than ever that marketing is my game. At Google, I was introduced to the world of analytics. I wasn’t aware of all of the powerful tools that Google has created.” Over the past four weeks, Mawuli has been working on his CV with his mentor, Alejandra Hering from Cosmopolitan UK and hopes to embark on a career in marketing.

Opening doors

It wasn’t just our graduates who shared the benefits of the programme on Thursday evening. One of the programme’s 30 media and creative industry mentors, James Mead from Verizon Media spoke of the importance of opening the doors of opportunity for others hoping to get their first break into the industry: “I decided to become a  mentor a couple of seasons ago and it’s been incredibly rewarding to be part of the programme because, in this industry, we all need a leg-up sometimes. I got a leg-up into my first job in media and I was very lucky to have the opportunity.”

Chris Mills from Google also shared how much he and the team enjoyed the training week our graduates spent at Google’s London office.

Other mentors from Hearst and Verizon were in the audience to support their mentees along with several of our corporate partners too.

The future is bright

As the 10-week programme comes to an end, our graduates are now busy applying for jobs. Two of our 30 graduates have already lined up work experience at BBC Radio London. Others have interviews coming up with the likes of adam&eveDDB, the BBC, ITV, Jamie Oliver Productions and Elvis Communications. Join us all in wishing them the best of luck. We have no doubt they will be going on to big things.

Media Trust’s Creativity Works programme is funded by Berkeley Foundation, Mayor’s Fund London and Citi Foundation.