VCCP Stoke Academy launches Apprenticeships

Following the launch of VCCP Stoke Academy in October last year, the VCCP Stoke Academy Apprenticeship scheme will debut this summer.

The new Apprenticeship Scheme is designed to offer full-time job opportunities in Stoke-on-Trent, to people who live in and around the area, and will open up opportunities to people who may not have considered a career in advertising due to opportunities predominantly being run out of London.

The Apprenticeship scheme will provide a unique opportunity to kick start a career in advertising, and the programme will offer Apprenticeships in Data Planning, Content Production and Account Management. The apprenticeships will all be based in the VCCP Stoke Academy office, with the opportunity to work in the London office once a fortnight. Successful apprenticeship candidates will be employed on an initial two year contract with VCCP Stoke Academy and will have the opportunity to work on some of VCCP’s biggest clients. The VCCP Stoke Academy Apprenticeship scheme will have an apprenticeship intake every year.

In addition to hands-on experience, candidates will also be able to complete an industry recognised qualification in their chosen field such as the Level 3 IPA Foundation Certificate, the Level 3 Advertising and Media Executive Apprenticeship Certificate, the Level 3 Junior Content Producer Apprenticeship Certificate or Data Technician Level 3 Apprenticeship Certificate. As well as receiving access to a vast range of training available at VCCP, apprentices will also be able to avail of regular 1-2-1 coaching with VCCP’s in-house career coach. All apprentices will complete one month of inductions which will be a combination of Stoke and London based sessions, before undertaking the apprenticeship programme from September 2022.

The VCCP Stoke Academy is partnering with both Bauer Academy and Multiverse to deliver the programme, and as with all VCCP’s entry-level programmes, a University degree is not required to apply to the Apprenticeship scheme. It hopes to announce further apprenticeship opportunities in different disciplines later this year.

Jim Thornton, Executive Creative Director, VCCP said: “There is talent and creativity in abundance in the Stoke-on-Trent area, just as there is throughout the UK. But it turns out none of that talent knows anything about our industry. These posters and apprenticeships are our very first baby-steps towards both raising awareness of the opportunities advertising offers, and creating high value, high wage opportunities in the local area. Michael Lee and I would like to thank both VCCP London, and Alight Media, for their support in this incredibly important first initiative. We hope this sends out a strong signal about our commitment to both the talent and the area.”

To promote applications to the Apprenticeship scheme VCCP London has launched a campaign to raise awareness in the Stoke area. VCCP Media, together with Alight Media worked together on DOOH executions and strategy. The campaign is VCCP London’s first piece of work for the VCCP Stoke Academy since the opening of the new Academy in Stoke-On-Trent last year, in a bid to attract more diverse talent, and create more talent pathways outside of London.

The VCCP Stoke Academy Apprenticeship campaign will initially feature nine different advertising executions, encouraging young adults within the Stoke area to gain an industry-recognised qualification, earn a competitive salary and work for one of the most successful advertising agencies in the UK.

The theme of the campaign highlights how passions, hobbies and interests such as social media, gaming, and socialising, which are often considered an irrelevant distraction to school work by parents, are in fact the perfect springboard for a fulfilling and rewarding career in Advertising. Hero straplines across the DOOH devised by VCCP include playful copy such as ‘8 hours a day on Fortnite? We call it work experience’ and ‘Turn a full-blown Twitter addiction into a full-time job.’ The DOOH creative executions also feature QR codes which once scanned will take those interested in the Apprenticeship scheme directly to the application page on the VCCP Stoke website.

Tara Marus, Joint CEO VCCP Media, said: “We’re enormously proud to be able to do our bit for the VCCP Stoke Academy, helping young adults in the Stoke area to get these exceptional opportunities to gain their first step on the career ladder in our industry. We’re extremely grateful to Alight Media for their generous support with this initiative. It’s the perfect high impact, flexible channel for getting as much exposure to the right people”

Ged Glover, Chief Revenue Officer of Alight Media, added: "We are delighted to be able to support the ambitions of the VCCP Stoke Academy. Increasing the opportunities for young adults, wherever they are in the UK, to gain experience and secure fulfilling careers in our media industry is something we passionately support at Alight. We are thrilled that we can offer VCCP Stoke Academy the exposure that our digital outdoor media can deliver."

The VCCP Stoke Academy Apprenticeship Scheme DOOH campaign will run across 2022 with activity going live today. Both VCCP Media and Alight Media used their challenger spirit and worked in tandem to identify and secure the highly impactful cherry picked Digital 48 sheet sites at a number of DOOH sites in the Stoke-On-Trent area which will see the VCCP Stoke Academy Apprenticeship campaign reach the target audience as efficiently as possible.

Applications are now open for the VCCP Stoke Academy Apprenticeship scheme. For further information please visit https://vccpstoke.com/apprenticeship.