Big-hitting marketing and ad agencies are joining forces to provide a dozen prized internships in a bid to prevent the brain and skills drain from Staffordshire.
Lesniak Swann and VCCP Stoke, whose client lists include global household names like Cadbury, Virgin Media, O2 and Michelin, are offering the paid four-week internships – billed as “the best summer job ever” – to give successful applicants a taste of working in a fast-moving agency.
Dozens of Staffordshire University students applied and attended a day of interviews and fact-finding at VCCP Stoke’s office on the Spode site.
Alex Swann, Managing Director of Lesniak Swann said: “Stoke is historically an area where creative talent drove business success within big brands including Wedgwood and Royal Doulton, yet it’s also an area which is one of the most deprived in England which affects children achieving academically and their perceptions of what they can achieve.
“We’re proudly based in Staffordshire so we’ve seen first-hand how young people in this area hold the perception that a career in advertising, or even marketing in general, just isn’t for them, yet greater diversity breeds greater creativity which is what our sector relies on.”
Festival Park-based Lesniak Swann is also encouraging “home-grown’ talent through its apprenticeship programme, especially as many think marketing and advertising is the domain of firms from London or Manchester.
Apprentice Melissa Carlile has successfully completed her CIM Marketing Executive Level 4 qualification in just under 18 months.
Since joining the PR team at Lesniak Swann, she has supported high-profile clients such as Finning UK & Ireland, Polypipe and Mammoet across social media, content writing and campaign performance monitoring.
Melissa, 20, spent 20 per cent of her work gaining the knowledge and skills needed for assessment including a variety of assignments, wider reading, and reflective summaries before a final project and exam.
She said: “Although it was hard work, I had support from the beginning and that continued throughout.
“It’s also really helped that all the employees at the agency are experienced so I’m learning lots from them and have been able to take responsibility for a variety of activities across all the client PR accounts and support the team with new systems and organisation.”
