The BBC is to part-fund up to 50 apprentices with employers in the West Midlands in partnership with Google and development agency Create Central.
A dedicated Apprentice Hub, based in Birmingham, will oversee the placements, with the BBC paying 20% of each candidate’s salary for business with fewer than 250 employees.
It will provide HR support for employers and run outreach programmes that will help the apprentices get a foot in the door in the creative industries. Create Central is identifying the employers who can take on the trainees.
Entry-level roles up for grabs include broadcast production assistant, junior content producer, digital marketer, data technician, media production coordinator and software developer.
Google’s Apprentice Levy Transfer Donation scheme will cover all training costs.
Create Central chair Ed Shedd said: “As one of the youngest, most diverse regions in Europe, the West Midlands is full of talented people with stories to tell and a desire to explore all forms of content creation to tell them.”
The Apprentice host Sir Alan Sugar is backing the BBC's broader apprentice initiatives.
"These are great opportunities for people to get world-class training and progress their careers," he said. "And the good news is you don’t have to face me in the boardroom but you do have to be ambitious and want a career in the creative industries.
The BBC’s Apprentice Hub in Birmingham will develop the kind of skills that are much needed in the creative sector in the city and the wider region. I’d urge employers to get involved."
Last week, 200 people started their apprenticeships with the corporation and the BBC has a target to double its 1,000 apprentices by 2026, 800 of whom will be based outside London.
