A group of future BBC journalists have kicked off their training at City of Wolverhampton College this week.
The 23 trainee digital journalists, from across England and Wales, are working towards the junior journalist apprenticeship standard and combining 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.
Throughout the 18-month scheme, the apprentices will work alongside BBC news teams, learning how to create and deliver quality news content for multiple platforms, as well as studying the theory of journalism – including media law, public affairs, broadcast for TV and radio, journalism ethics and video journalism – during block release placement at the college.
Michael Dixon, head of faculty for technology, creative and academic studies at the college, said: “The new cohort of apprentices will be at the cutting edge of digital journalism and we are excited to be part of their journey to successful future media careers.”
Two former BBC journalism apprentices – Levi Jouavel and Kirsty Grant – who completed their NCTJ qualification through the college are now presenting The Catchup, the nightly news bulletin on the new BBC Three channel which launched last week.
The college – which has been the best further education provider of the NCTJ diploma for the past ten years – has been delivering the digital apprenticeship scheme since 2015 and, to date, has trained over 100 apprentices, giving them skills and knowledge to take on junior journalism roles at the BBC when they have completed their training.
