McCann Worldgroup has joined the growing band of business which have committed to attracting the next generation of diverse talent in Britain to enter into a career in advertising and marketing, backed by the Government’s Kickstart scheme.
The group, whose agencies include McCann London, FutureBrand and McCann Health, is to create over 80 paid internships in a nationwide programme designed to address post-Covid young unemployment and the industry’s serious skill and talent shortages.
According to the latest figures from the House of Commons Library (2021), the unemployment rate (the proportion of the economically active population who are unemployed) for 16- to 24-year-olds was 12.9% in May-July 2021.
To ensure young people have increased access to the creatives industries, those aged 16 to 24 years old who join McCann, will gain experience in disciplines including account management, creative, strategic planning and research, digital, production and adaptation, PR, social media, media buying, new business development, HR, IT, operations and finance. Agencies in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Milton Keynes, and Bristol will take part.
Longer term, McCann Worldgroup plans to create apprenticeships for interns after their six-month work placements, creating more entry-level roles and is partnering with Creative Access to help underrepresented groups get into the creative sector through its UK programme.
McCann Worldgroup president, UK and Europe Mark Lund said: “We see it as our responsibility to leverage the unique breadth and depth of our network in the UK to help address the talent shortage among young people in our sector.
“We are working even harder to create new and sustainable opportunities for a generation of young people to experience all aspects of the marketing communications industry. Our aim is to create careers that have a wider impact on the future of our industry and use our platform to nurture the next generation of talent.”
The McCann programme joins similar initiatives from agencies UM, Havas UK, and Group M, while Brixton Finishing School this week launched a new schools outreach programme, supported by Mail Metro Media, KFC, WPP, Common People and Founders4Schools.
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