West Yorkshire Apprenticeship Awards 2023: Channel 4 recruits record-high number of apprentices to 'reject nepotism'

Home to some of the country’s most-watched TV shows including the Great British Bake Off, the channel has been recruiting apprentices since 2012. Yasmin Memet, the company’s early talent advisor, believes it to be more important than ever to break down barriers to entry into the industry and welcome talented people from all backgrounds by offering apprenticeships.

Yasmin said: “Our nation’s demographics are increasingly diverse and while there is no place for complacency, media representation has made progress in reflecting this diversity on screen. Behind the screen, the perception remains, with some justification, that it is very difficult to get a job in the media without contacts and a higher education.

"Channel 4 has been recruiting apprentices not only to address many recruitment challenges but also with the genuine and authentic desire to expand access to the industry, by rejecting a system based on nepotism open only to graduates in favour of actively seeking out talent from a cohort who have chosen, for a myriad of valid reasons, not to pursue higher education.”

Apprenticeships available at Channel 4 are “overwhelmingly given” to candidates who would find it difficult to break into the industry without a degree in media and in the last year, the company recruited 40 new apprentices – taking the total number of apprentices in the company to a record-high of 58.

One such apprentice, Esha, joined Channel 4 in March 2021 as a junior content producer apprentice and was part of their first cohort of apprentices in Leeds. Since then, she has already secured a permanent role as a junior video editor in 4Studio.

Yasmin said: “To feel fully supported, apprentices have a designated HR contact, a line manager, an assigned coach and a buddy. The apprentices have their own show in a newsroom format called The Apprentice Show which is posted on the internal intranet site and provides updates on what’s happening at Channel 4 in a fairly tongue-in-cheek way.”

In partnership with our Learning and Development team, Channel 4 have put together an annual apprentice-specific learning curriculum which involves creating an online curriculum of 16 modules specifically aimed at apprentice skills gaps. This allows apprentices to continue learning outside the formal sessions.

Face-to-face sessions are delivered by the Learning and Development experts which focus on personal brand, communication, workloads and being assertive. In addition, apprentices were eligible for an annual bonus this year as Channel 4 also increased the salary to reflect the real living wage.

This Large Business Employer of the Year category is sponsored by the UK’s leading sweets manufacturer and one of Yorkshire's largest employers, Haribo. The company says it is proud to continue to invest in skills and innovation to maintain Yorkshire's rich heritage in sweet-making and manufacturing excellence. HARIBO has a team of over 600 skilled colleagues across two manufacturing facilities situated in Pontefract and Castleford, as well as nine retail stores run by over 80 colleagues across the country.

HARIBO has invested in apprenticeships for many years, providing invaluable guidance and nurturing colleagues through their apprenticeship journey in engineering, packaging, production and retail.

The West Yorkshire Apprenticeship Awards recognise and reward apprentices, mentors, businesses and training providers that are supporting in building a skilled workforce for the future. We want to hear about the individuals and organisations that inspire many more to consider embarking on an apprenticeship scheme as a pathway to employment, so nominate them at www.wyapprenticeshipawards.co.uk no later than Friday, April 14.

All finalists will be invited to attend a special awards ceremony in May where we will announce the winners. Thank you to our category sponsors Yorkshire & Humber Apprenticeship Ambassador Network, Haribo, FDM Group, Zenith, Bradford College, Appris & Yorkshire Housing without which the event wouldn't be possible.