VCCP Stoke Academy: the young talent scheme putting its money where its mouth is

The advertising industry has become increasingly professionalised and very middle class - that is the belief of Jim Thornton, co-founder of emerging talent scheme VCCP Stoke Academy (and ECD at VCCP London). It is also one cause of the talent crisis in the sector.

As an act of rebellion towards his middle-class roots, Thornton himself first entered the industry as a copywriter for J. Walter Thompson in 1986, a period in which creative departments were “full of smart working-class kids” from all over the UK. “I was the exception,” he adds. “I was also told not to tell anyone I was privately educated or that I went to university.”

Thornton believes that this has since changed dramatically. “Socioeconomic diversity is crucial and also our biggest problem as an industry,” he says. “For an industry that’s supposed to speak to everyone, in a country that’s become less socially mobile, this is a problem. Most people are only getting jobs in the industry through degrees, courses, connections and the fact that they can afford to live in London.

“In the industry there's also ageism, and while sexism has decreased, other forms of discrimination persist. There’s no overt racism, but there’s a significant lack of ethnic diversity also.”

How then, do you tackle this shift in inclusivity, especially for young people? For Thornton, the solution was simple: “If people aren’t coming to us, we have to go to them.”

That is why Thornton, who is from South Cheshire, together with Michael Lee (co-founder of VCCP Stoke Academy and CSO at VCCP Group), decided to kickstart an initiative that provides opportunities for young people in Staffordshire. What first started as virtual work experience schemes during Covid, soon turned into fully-fledged apprenticeships, the ‘Sixth Form Challenge’ (a six-week scheme), and the ‘The Best Summer Job Ever’.

All of the initiatives involve various VCCP employees from different departments to guide entrants through creative, strategy, and live briefs.

“We thought the simplest thing we could do is raise awareness and spark interest,” Thornton adds. “We also spoke to a lot of people up in Stoke and asked what we could bring that was lacking. The word that kept coming up was belief - belief that there is more out there in an area like Stoke - more than just taking the first job that pays a salary.

“Our driving North Star is to get as many youngsters to believe that there is a job for them in this industry and that they might not need to leave home and travel to the big cities to get it.”

Opening doors for young creatives

VCCP Stoke Academy's main task is to make the industry “as accessible as possible”. Initially, by commissioning research with APG and Steve Lacey/The Outsiders, the team found that working-class young people were not entering advertising careers due to how distant it felt. “Much of it was down to language, and a lack of understanding,” Thornton explains.

“For an industry that is about communicating, we do a pretty shit job of communicating what we are as an industry. We’ve also become really arrogant and complacent, expecting people to beat a path to our door, and also ignoring the fact that the last 20 years have made advertising more interesting, particularly with the boom of social media.”

VCCP wished to not only remove the jargon, (breaking down roles into simpler terms: thinkers - planners, creators - creatives and doers - people in production), but also highlight the fact that skills and creativity gained from using social media can be applied to the many different roles on offer in the industry.

OOH ads from the agency were produced with the aim of making the industry feel relevant to young people.

“When I started, I wanted to work in a creative agency so that I could write funny stuff and make films with a group of people,” Thornton says. “That's not the case now; everyone can do that with a smartphone. So, we had to ask ourselves: why should young people work in an ad agency? What do we offer that they can't get just on their smartphone? We haven't done a good job of creating that value. We also haven’t signalled to the fact that now there are a million jobs available in the industry, when it used to just be media, planning, account management, advertising and production.”

Thornton also feels that the disconnect between the advertising industry and young people seeking careers is “tragic” considering the huge value the creative industries contribute to the economy in the UK.

A barrier has been built between young people and advertising, partially due to the bombardment of ads they face daily. There is also a loss of advertising being “that something special.” However, Thornton also believes that the huge shift towards influence and the creator economy still means that the sector can be an attractive industry for youngsters - “but in a different way than before”. All of VCCP Stoke Academy's initiatives hope to tap into this change.

“We put our money where our mouth is as an agency and hired four apprentices who are doing brilliantly,” Thornton adds. “One of them, Emily, is hopefully going to be taken on by VCCP Blue as a creator maker in a production apprenticeship. She is already creating stuff and doing really well.”

The lessons and opportunities VCCP Stoke has provided so far

When asked what Thornton hopes young people will gain from VCCP’s teachings, he replied: “I hope they think to themselves: ‘Well I could work in this industry.’” Having the self confidence and belief that they could pursue a career in advertising is also important for Thorton.

The agency has learnt that the pandemic has of course affected young people’s social skills and confidence, but the VCCP Stoke Academy team strives to put students at ease during their time at the company. “The team does an incredible job with teaching interns soft skills and interview techniques, as well as avoiding formal CVs and one-on-one interviews in the application process. All of that has been vindicated and watching them grow in confidence is remarkable. Two years ago, we wouldn't have expected this growth and also the success of the internships.”

Another pleasing development derives from VCCP Stoke Academy in its move into the Spode Works Factory in Stoke, where students spend most of their time - apart from intermittent trips to VCCP’s London office. Once the agency moved into the Stoke-based development Thorton claims that it became like a John Lewis in opening Westfield, attracting many associated businesses.

“For instance, there's a really good B2B agency who are also running internship programs and a content creation company called i-Creation who have taken on a couple of interns,” Thornton adds. “There's an e-learning company involved as well. So generally, we've started to form a little internship hub with associated businesses.”

VCCP Stoke Academy has also established “brilliant relations” with Staffordshire University, which is one of the few places training people in Unreal Engine, which drives virtual production for games like Fortnite. “They are designing these worlds, and their students are doing internships with us at Bernadette [the agency’s product and services arm], bringing in the skills we need and potentially working in Stoke in the future.”

How clients and the agency itself have embraced the initiative

Internally, which Thornton had not anticipated, VCCP Stoke Academy has in fact boosted general job satisfaction as VCCP’s staff love giving back. “Over 100 people within the agency have worked on the internships or the Sixth Form Challenge, and they all love it.” The agency has also found it to be important to millennials and Gen Z, making it a big draw from an employment perspective.

“For example,” Thornton adds. “I received a message recently from a former employee who said: ‘Please keep doing Stoke; it's the jewel in VCCP’s crown.’”

On the other side of the marketing sphere, clients have also participated in the initiative, with marketers from Alton Towers, Kwik Fit, O2 and Honda providing briefs for interns and apprentices and also attending the students’ final presentations of creative and strategic executions. “Honda was blown away by the work,” Thornton says. “One interesting brief was about selling motorbikes to youngsters. The idea presented was ‘Drag Race Across the World’, which involved drag queens driving motorbikes across the world. I wish we could make it.”

It's important to him to clarify too that VCCP does not run the scheme for ESG reasons. The young talent initiative has also proven to be a useful new business tool as it addresses many concerns. “Clients love that we’re doing it and it’s a significant part of our creds. Muller, which is just around the corner in Shropshire, is very interested because they are looking for local talent. We even had a separate procurement person in tears when we told the story because she’s from Stoke.”

The success of this year’s ‘Best Summer Job’ ever internship

Creative Salon was present during the final day of intern presentations for VCCP Stoke Academy's four-week summer placement. After a 'Pitch Sprint Week', the diverse group of 2024 students - ranging from illustrators and film writers to specialists in ancient history and marketing - presented their creative and strategic pitches to Charlie Bigham’s head of marketing, Kirstie Hawkins.

"The presentations were fantastic; I couldn't believe how thorough their answers were, especially given they had just a week to prepare. It was really impressive. We expected to see different approaches, but they all had lots of relevant ideas. One group's tone of voice was on-brand and simpler, while the other had lots of great ideas. It's the kind of thing we're always keen to be involved in. It's a great opportunity for them, and it's really nice for a brand like ours to hear young peoples' perspectives,” commented Hawkins.

And here’s what the interns had to say about the initiative prior to the presentations:

Creative Salon: What have you enjoyed most about your month? Any standout moments?

Muzz: Where do we start? I think the best thing has been meeting like-minded creative people at VCCP. I’ve loved being in a creative space where I also feel like my voice has been heard as well.

Hayley Horrigan - Staffordshire University, Graphic Design: I've reconsidered my career path. I met people from different sections and realized I'm more comfortable in a different area than I originally thought. It's been fun discovering this new path.

CS: What have you found special about Stoke Academy?

Emily: It’s a close-knit group and everyone has their own distinct personality. We’ve all got along really well.

Muzz: The professional mentorship has been amazing. VCCP has given us a lot of support and they seem to really care.

Hayley: I think it's also great that it’s based in Stoke and that the Academy is working with these big brands that are normally based in Manchester or London. Knowing that there are opportunities in a less populated area is really cool because not everyone wants to travel to the main UK cities.

CS: What do you like about the industry?

Hayley: You can be as crazy as you want and express yourself in the craziest ways. There are also no bad ideas.

Henry Ecclestone - BIMM University in Manchester, Film Making: I love the people. Everyone's really nice and friendly and everyone's very different. You get a bunch of different ideas coming from a range of people who have all had different experiences. It's also very neurodivergent friendly.

CS: Why do you think there’s a shortage of young talent in the advertising industry?

Isabella Rawnsley - Illustration, Staffordshire University : I think people don’t really know that it's a path that you can go down, I did illustration, but now I want to be a planner. I didn't even know planning was a job so I think a lot of young people aren’t aware of the jobs the industry has on offer.

Muzz: It's not that there's a lack of talent. There's so many talented young people, but I think that they just don't know where their talent might be useful in advertising. Being in this internship has shown us the different paths we can take.

Emily: I think some young people also have a very old school mindset of advertising. When they think of advertising they think of TV ads and billboards, but actually there’s lots of stuff happening on Tik Tok and all social media. There’s also in-person advertising. Generally, I think there's an issue with mindsets and what they know about the industry.

Henry: I think young people have a different type of creativity. I think TikTok allows people to be creative and find a creative spark within themselves. You can then also express and explore your creativity in different ways. Social media platforms allow you to share your work with people, get feedback and then improve. 

CS: How can the advertising industry help young people become aware of the jobs it has on offer?

Hayley: The sector's job advertisements can be very intimidating. Since coming here I’ve realised that they are accepting of dyslexia for example and that if you aren’t trained in the latest program agencies can help teach you how to use them. The industry often lists many requirements that make people feel unqualified. Clearer job descriptions showing what can be learned on the job would help.

Henry: Applying for jobs can also be very competitive because there’s quite a few job positions that various levels of creative people are applying for, so it can be quite tricky to stand out.

CS: What do you hope to gain from this course?

Mia Roze Melia - Burton and South Trent College, Graphic Design: I wanted insight because of the anxiety I deal with personally. I wanted to know what a day in the life of an advertising professional was so that I could feel more comfortable about the jobs I may want to pursue. Being here, at VCCP and watching how everything works has helped me a lot because it's helped me believe that I’m on the right track. The fact that, despite the size of this company, everyone here is also very close knit is also very reassuring. I’ve really enjoyed taking part in the work and learning from it as well.

Samuel McMann - Stoke on Trent sixth form college, Graphic design, 3D design and business: I wanted to experience more of what I could go into in the future. I didn't want to go straight to university and settle with just one career path. I think being able to come here and explore the roles of creatives and planners has really helped me understand what I might want to do in the future.

CS: What has surprised you the most about your experience?

Isabella: Whenever I’ve reached out to anybody here they have always made time for me by immediately responding and advising me on how they would do things. It doesn’t feel like you’re bothering them at all because I think they definitely remember what it was like first starting out. Everyone’s really embraced us as interns.

Muzz: What stood out the most to me was the really unique application process itself because it wasn’t like sending in a usual CV - they gave us creative freedom and let us apply in whatever way we felt comfortable.

Hayley: I really enjoyed applying for the job because I could express myself. When we all first talked about our applications we realised every single one was different. For mine I wrote and sang a song.

CS: Any tips for the next batch of interns?

Henry: Don't be afraid to be yourself. They don’t want someone super professional like everyone else, they want to see what you bring to the table that is different from everyone else. Also, navigating clashing creative ideas can be tricky. Being civil and ensuring everyone's voice is heard while balancing different perspectives requires strong teamwork skills, which can be challenging.

Hayley: No question is stupid. Also, tackling burnouts was hard because being creative all day for five days a week is tiring. We had to learn how to keep pumping out ideas while also making sure they were fresh. It definitely takes some adapting.

Muzz: Personally, having my brain switched on all the time was tricky. I think the next group of interns should definitely make sure they find a balance between working and taking care of themselves.

If you're interested in participating, getting involved or mentoring visit the VCCP Stoke Academy website or contact stokeacademy@vccp.com.