College helps launch apprentice journalists’ BBC careers

A group of @BBC journalism apprentices are ready to hunt down the latest news after completing their professional qualifications through City of Wolverhampton College (@wolvcoll).  

The 14 apprentices, from across England and Northern Ireland, have completed the junior journalist apprenticeship standard which enabled them to combine working for the broadcasting giant with studying for the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) Level 3 diploma in journalism at the college.  

Results issued by the NCTJ show that all 14 trainees successfully passed their apprenticeship end point assessment – a final work-related project giving them the opportunity to demonstrate the journalism skills and knowledge they gained during the programme – with the majority receiving distinction grades.   

During the training the apprentices worked alongside BBC news teams on work placements, learning how to create and deliver quality news content for multiple platforms, as well as studying the theory of journalism at the college, including media law, public affairs, broadcast for TV and radio, journalism ethics and video journalism. They all now aim to join the organisation as employees. 

Michael Dixon, head of faculty for technology, creative and academic studies at the college, said:

“This is fantastic news for the apprentices, and their tutors, in what has undoubtedly been a challenging year for everyone.  

“Despite the pressures created by the pandemic, the apprentices remained committed to learning and developing their knowledge and can now progress to their new roles equipped with the skills they need for successful future careers in journalism.  

The college – which has recently been named as the best further education provider of the NCTJ diploma for the past ten years – has been delivering the journalism apprenticeship scheme since 2015 and, to date, has trained over 100 apprentices on the challenging 18-month programme giving them skills and knowledge to take on junior journalism roles at the BBC.