Ant and Dec invite businesses to help students get hired

Budding young creatives will be invited to an afternoon of job interviews at a Get Hired event at our Baltic Campus on Friday 21st July as part of Ant and Dec’s Making it in Media programme which we are running with The Prince’s Trust.

Ant and Dec surprised the young people at the start of their Making it in Media programme. The TV duo met with the group of 16 to 25-year-olds from across the region who have now completed the two-week programme, which aims to help local young people to start their careers in the media and entertainment industry.

The ITV stars shared their words of wisdom with the group and answered questions about their own career paths and are now seeking the support of local businesses to offer opportunities to the next generation of homegrown talent.

Ant said: “Seeing this programme run in Newcastle for the second time has been incredibly humbling. It’s always been important for us to give back to the community where we were raised and to shine a light on talent from this area. It was really special to meet this group of young people at the start of their journey and to share our own experiences and advice. Gaining experience and finding a job can be the key to boosting self-confidence and we’re excited to see what members of this group do next as they enter the entertainment industry.”

Dec added: “We have been ambassadors for The Prince’s Trust for many years now and co-designing this programme has been really rewarding. We’re hoping to create even more opportunities for young people in the North East, both via the Get Hired day later this month and through the re-launch of Byker Grove. We’re really excited about what these initiatives could mean for young people growing up in and around our hometown, and encourage as many local businesses as possible to get involved.”

Interested businesses with relevant entry level jobs or internship opportunities in the digital, media and entertainment industries can find out how to get involved by contacting [email protected] at The Prince’s Trust.

James, 21 from Durham, said: “Before coming on this course, I was low on self-confidence and stayed inside a lot of the time. I rarely saw friends and now, all of that’s changed. Having to complete tasks in a short timeframe and to a high standard has helped me become more comfortable with working under pressure. I've also learned about camera angles, editing and script writing. I'm now feeling more confident and have made loads of friends. I feel that The Prince's Trust has helped push me further along on my journey into adult life.”

Tom Bradley, Assistant Principal at Gateshead College, who has helped to deliver the course added: “It’s been brilliant to see the young people grow in confidence and start to develop the sort of skills that are needed in media and entertainment. There are currently so many exciting opportunities in the region, so now is the perfect time to explore this industry. To have this kind of specialist programme and access to talented media experts, not to mention tips from Ant and Dec, is just amazing.

“I’d like to give a personal thanks to all the media professionals who’ve been so generous with their time and knowledge to help us show the young people what it takes to make it in the industry.”

Those enrolled in the Making it in Media programme have been given expert training on topics such as editing, camera work, script writing and digital skills during the programme. They also gained experience of putting on their own TV production, received advice from industry experts and built their confidence and general skills for work.