Secretary of State, Oliver Dowden Highlights Kickstart Success at Bauer Media UK

The #Kickstart scheme has not only allowed new opportunities for young people, but it has changed the way @BauerMedia retain their talent by offering more opportunities to develop their careers after their 6-month placement has finished.

One of the UK’s leading commercial media businesses, Bauer Media UK is proving how effective the Kickstart scheme can be and that it is not only the interns who are learning valuable lessons from the initiative.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Secretary of State has released a video highlighting the experiences of young people taking part in the UK Government’s Kickstart scheme at Bauer Media UK.

We know lots of young people are looking for work right now, but we’re here to help provide as many exciting opportunities as possible.@AbsoluteRadio are one of the creative industries helping bright young talent kickstart their careers.

Meet Rehanne.#PlanForJobs pic.twitter.com/8lWkqIBMdE

— Oliver Dowden (@OliverDowden) July 8, 2021

The Kickstart Scheme provides funding to create paid internship opportunities for 16-to-24-year-olds who are at risk of long-term unemployment. The DCMS video focuses on unique experiences felt by many university graduates trying to break into the media industry during the COVID-19 pandemic and the ways in which the scheme has allowed a direct pathway into placements, and in many cases at Bauer Media UK, permanent employment.

Home to some of the biggest audio and publishing brands in the country, Bauer Media UK recognises the value in creating opportunities for young and diverse people to bring in new skills, innovate new approaches to work, as well as reflecting the make-up of their audience of over 25 million UK consumers.

The Kickstart scheme has allowed young jobseekers the opportunity to develop their skills whilst working with Bauer’s world-class, multi-platform brands including KISS, Magic, Absolute Radio, Grazia, heat and Empire.Since adopting the scheme in late 2020, Bauer has already welcomed 42 kickstarts and, proving just how effective the scheme can be, 12 have secured full-time employment – in areas such as content writing, content optimisation and HR, and three more have secured freelance positions. Bauer is now offering an additional 40 positions for more Kickstarts, across areas such as broadcasting, journalism, communications, sales and marketing.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said:

“Equipping young people with the skills they need to succeed is a vital part of our plan for jobs as we build back better from the pandemic. I’m delighted that through the Government’s Kickstart Scheme Bauer Media are creating opportunities for young people across the country to get into careers in our thriving media industry.”

Dee Ford, Managing Director UK Audio, said:

“At Bauer, we understand the importance of supporting and promoting diversity, both in our people and to our audiences, and that is why the Kickstart scheme has been such a great success for us here – allowing us to welcome an even greater pool of young talent. It is so wonderful to hear how valuable this opportunity has been for our Kickstarts, and in turn, it is proving extremely valuable to us to learn more ways we can attract and support young and diverse talent moving forward.”

Featured in the video is Bauer Media Audio UK Kickstart, Rehanne Peters, who after spending months searching for a job during the pandemic, came across a Kickstart opportunity at Bauer Media Audio’s Absolute Radio. Since joining the team, Rehanne has discovered her true passion for radio and is now pursuing an opportunity in production with Bauer.

Rehanne Peters, Story Telling Executive (Kickstart), said:

“I have felt so lucky to be able to kickstart my career at Bauer after facing so many challenges job searching during the pandemic. It is so exciting to be given this opportunity, and to learn all the ways I can take it further with Bauer – the job is everything I wanted to do, and I felt like it was made for me. Working at Absolute Radio has been an amazing experience.”

Chris Duncan, CEO Bauer Publishing UK, said:

“We’ve been delighted not just with the quality of the Kickstart applicants, but in turn what we have been able to learn from them as they bring a different perspective to our Publishing business. The number of full-time positions that we have been able to offer to Kickstart candidates is testament to the success of the scheme and long may it continue”. 

Bauer Academy, the training division within Bauer Media UK, which runs the programme, has also increased its apprenticeship offering to allow Kickstarts to gain over 18-months of employment in the media business via the Bauer Media Careers Hub. Additionally, Kickstarts now have the opportunity to join a freelance talent pool, should a suitable opportunity not arise during their 6-month placement.