Hull welcomes creative apprenticeships for young people

44 apprenticeships for young people are to be created in Hull in the run up to the city’s year as City of Culture 2017. A consortium led by CapeUK, Arts Council England’s Bridge organisation for Yorkshire and the Humber, and working with Hull Training and Adult Education, has secured a £90,000 grant from Creative and Cultural Skills’ Creative Employment Programme to subsidise the wages of apprentices employed by organisations in the creative sector. The consortium – which has seen some of the city’s major arts providers join forces with the Hull 2017 team – plans to have all 44 apprenticeships in place by the end of the year. Employers already signed up to take apprentices include those working in music, theatre, dance, visual arts, galleries, museums and libraries.

Chair of Hull Culture and Leisure Terry Geraghty praised the development potential of the scheme: “The programme offers a direct route into the creative industries and it is a valuable training opportunity for our young people who are aspiring to learn and work in this growing sector.”

CapeUK Programme Manager, Chris Strong, said: “We’re delighted to be involved with this innovative programme, the first of its kind for Hull, and it’s great to see employers already getting involved. The creative industries are worth £76.9 billion a year to the UK economy so the opportunities are huge for young people, both for those who want to be performers and those who want to take on ‘back-stage’ roles in exciting and vibrant workplaces.”

Young people aged 16-24 can now apply for the first round of apprenticeships through Hull Training and Adult Education.