Harbour Collective Launches Inaugural Harbour Fellowship Programme

Independent communications collective, Harbour Collective, has selected three candidates for its inaugural Harbour Fellowship programme, as it seeks to offer young talent a way into the industry and experience across a broad range of communications disciplines. The three participants will work within three different Harbour Collective member agencies over the course of the next year.

As part of the government’s Kickstart initiative, the one-year Harbour Fellowship programme offers an opportunity for three people currently claiming Universal Credit, aged 16 to 24-years-old, to gain experience across a number of the specialisms within member agencies, including brand advertising, PR, content, entertainment and social. No previous advertising or marketing work experience is required.

Following an application process which kicked off in October, Harbour Collective has selected three individuals to take part in this year’s programme: Hajra Razak, 24, from Brighton, who has been working on her small business called Genki Bazaar, Olly Reeves, 23, from London, who recently completed a course in content production with Creativity Works, and Saul Wickremasinghe, 22, from London, who recently graduated from Central Saint Martins. 

The Harbour Fellowship aims to give participants an introduction to the creative industries and help them to discover the various career paths and opportunities available across marketing, advertising, communications and media. The diverse nature of the specialisms within the Harbour Collective members will expose the three participants to the widest range of roles on offer within the industry.

Hajra, Olly and Saul will begin the programme this month. Each will work within three different Harbour Collective member agencies over the course of the next year, changing every four months. The three interns will support and shadow team members from various departments, from planning to creative to account management, as well as taking part in training, attending workshops and receiving career coaching from both Harbour Collective and its partner, Create Jobs. In addition, they will become part of the Create Jobs community, gaining access to exclusive events, training, and mentoring opportunities.  

Following successful graduation from the programme, Harbour Collective aims to offer each intern employment at a member agency of their choice. 

Harbour offers independent creative, strategic and media thinking for brands, and sits at the heart a collective of more than 400 experts across 12 independent specialist agencies, including M.i. Media, PrettyGreen and Live & Breathe.

Paul Hammersley, managing partner, Harbour Collective, said: “We’re thrilled to be launching the Harbour Fellowship. Harbour was founded on three core principles: radicalism, collectivism and specialism. This initiative reflects all of these values, offering a radical approach to finding and nurturing talent outside of the usual channels and giving three talented young people the opportunity to become part of our diverse collective, where they can gain an understanding of a range of specialisms and find out what a future in our industry might look like. We’re excited to see what they bring to our business and the direction their careers might take.”