Diversity Programme Graduates Lead the Way with Night School 2020 from The Brooklyn Brothers

The Brooklyn Brothers has announced a second year of its Night School initiative to attract young people from ethnically-diverse backgrounds into the creative industries.

After a successful pilot of Night School, which saw 80% of the students securing paid employment, the graduate Class of 2019 will pay it forward and take the lead on this year’s curriculum, collaborating with The Brooklyn Brothers and guest experts across a wide range of fields to share their collective wisdom with this year’s budding creatives.

The free training and mentoring programme moves to a virtual format for 2020, which means its doors will be open to 18-25 year olds across the UK, starting from 5th November. The six-week curriculum is designed to educate and empower young people, unlock their creative potential and open doors to a future career. 

Every graduate student from Night School 2019 has since benefitted from paid work and experience in creative businesses, with 80% securing paid employment in fields such as advertising, film production and social inclusion.  

With only 13.7% (IPA) of UK advertising agency employees coming from Black, Asian or minority backgrounds, there is a desperate need for greater diversity in creative industries. However, traditional internships are fit for only a select few. They are often unattainable for those with day jobs, or those without contacts in the industry.

The Night School programme addresses this issue with an opportunity to receive free training facilitated by guest tutors from a wide range of creative industry sectors, including music, fashion, journalism and film production.

Following graduation, each student is paired with a mentor to help them take the next steps in their creative career. Throughout the process every student develops a personal manifesto, designed to encapsulate their individual creative ambition.

Jae from the Night School Class of 2019 and currently working for MAIA, says: “It has launched me into the creative career of my dreams.” 

And Saff also from the Night School Class of 2019 and now working for The Brooklyn Brothers, says: “Night School changed my life, it showed me that we can be a part of this, we can change the game”.

George Bryant, chief creative officer at The Brooklyn Brothers, says: “We have been humbled by the talent, ambition and passion of our students in the first year of Night School and we can’t wait to welcome a new class of young creatives for 2020. If anything, the need to attract a more diverse talent pool to the creative industries is greater than ever before.”

Entries for Night School are now open for all 18-25 year olds. Visit here to find out more and register your interest.