Social mobility charity The Talent Foundry has announced an exciting new partnership with B2B marketing agency Publicis Pro, to provide Year 12 and 13 students from underserved backgrounds with hands-on experience in marketing.
Publicis Pro, the first marketing agency to work with The Talent Foundry, will have people from the agency join an expert facilitator from The Talent Foundry for a series of five ‘Turning Pro’ in-school workshops. Students will learn transferrable skills to take into their careers, and discover the exciting and varied roles available within the marketing and communications industry.
Students will get to work on client marketing briefs, specially created by Publicis Pro to give a sense of the daily work within the agency, developing their problem-solving, creativity and communication skills, as they work to deliver a full brief response including strategy and creative. They will then present their ideas to Publicis Pro’s team, gaining invaluable experience pitching to professionals.
According to Marketing Week’s Career and Salary Survey, just 22% of people currently working in the industry describe themselves as coming from a working-class background, compared to 39% nationally. Programmes like ‘Turning Pro’ create more equitable opportunities for young people, leading to a much more diverse workforce and a marketing industry that better reflects the range of backgrounds and life experiences in our society.
Throughout the programme, students will gain insights from Publicis Pro team members, who will share their personal career journeys, describe their roles, and highlight the diverse opportunities within the marketing field. This first-hand exposure provides young people with a practical understanding of career pathways.
Students will see that the team comprises a variety of roles from creative-focused positions to strategy, client-facing roles, data analysis, and project management.
The Talent Foundry delivers fully funded employability workshops in schools in partnership with industry including banking, healthcare, technology and rail. This new partnership with Publicis Pro offers an exciting addition to their catalogue of programmes, presenting students with a fresh and dynamic experience of the marketing industry.
Jenni Anderson, Chief Executive at The Talent Foundry:
“Marketing is such a vibrant and exciting career option, and many young people just do not have the network to get a foot in the door to experience whether it is the career for them. Working with Publicis Pro we will be able to bring to life some of the innovative ways brands reach their key audiences and help young people develop a range of transferable skills to prepare them for their next steps into the world of work.”
Jon Lonsdale, CEO at Publicis Pro
“At Publicis Pro we feel privileged to work for amazing companies that are literally changing the planet. We decided that we wanted to open up our world to more young people who are at a place in their lives where they are looking for inspiration on their future. Our Turning Pro programme with the Talent Foundry, will show that telling extraordinary business stories is fun, creative, thought provoking and also the route to a rewarding and diverse career.”
About The Talent Foundry
The Talent Foundry is a UK education charity improving social mobility by helping young people from underserved communities discover what they are amazing at, develop valuable new employment skills and take their first step into the world of work or higher education.
It offers curriculum and industry-linked employability workshops to build skills and confidence and works with industry partners including Barclays LifeSkills, Dell Technologies, M&G plc, the NHS and Network Rail amongst many others.
It supports 60,000 young people each year to think big about their futures.
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