Unicorn Jobs and the acclaimed Brunswick Internship Programme

Information about Unicorn Jobs’ work to encourage and enable more diversity in the PR and corporate communications sector, and, in particular, our acclaimed Brunswick Internship Programme.

To discuss this work, and how you can support or enable similar diversity programmes, contact Unicorn Jobs Director Sarah Stimson

Meet the 2010 Brunswick interns and read their blog by clicking here

UEL final year students looking for information on how to apply for future programmes click here

Addressing diversity

Unicorn Jobs is an equal opportunities recruiter. We are concerned with just one thing – finding the best person for a job. We would never discriminate against any candidate on the grounds of age, gender, sexuality, disability, religious beliefs, race or ethnic background.

More than that, we know that people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds are under-represented in the public relations and corporate communication sector, especially on the agency side, and we have taken proactive steps to address this problem.

We believe that a key reason why this group is under-represented is because talented people from those communities have not been encouraged to consider working in this sector, or provided with the skills and knowledge required to launch a PR career.

Brunswick Internship Programme

To address this problem, Unicorn Jobs teamed up with leading financial communications company Brunswick, our sister company Taylor Bennett, and the University Of East London, to devise a unique 10-week training programme for talented black and minority ethnic graduates who are excited by the PR industry. The programme launched in Autumn 2008 and was repeated in Autumn 2009. In 2010 the programme will be run twice, from June-August, and from September-November.

Through formal training and hands-on work experience, participants are equipped with the skills, knowledge and contacts they need to embark on a successful corporate communications career. The programme is coordinated and delivered by Unicorn Jobs and its team of experienced trainers and in-house PR and media experts. Specialist training in corporate communications is also provided by Brunswick practitioners with bespoke careers counseling from Taylor Bennett staff.

We recognise that not everyone can afford to do unpaid work experience. For that reason, Brunswick Interns received a training allowance throughout the 10-week programme.

The University Of East London was selected as our academic partner because a large percentage of its students come from minority ethnic backgrounds. UEL is a leader in widening participation in higher education to students from under-represented groups: more than 40% of their students are from poorer socio-economic backgrounds and more than 60% are from ethnic minorities.

Programme Content

You can read the Brunswick Internship Programme prospectus – outlining the topics covered in the programme here

The Interns

The Interns are selected through a rigorous selection process involving a detailed application form and full-day assessment centre. Over 200 graduates applied in 2010.

2008
Six participants took part in the first Brunswick Internship Programme which ran between October and December 2008 – Zubair Ahmed, Elaina Ifill, Michael Omudu, Olayinka Olagunju, Avani Patel and Miriam Wachira. You can read about the 2008 interns’ experiences on the programme in their blog here

2009
Six more participants joined the programme for its second year in September 2009. These were Junior Ayanbeku, Param Lard, Tina Tama, Charlotte Robertson, Claude Peters and Jenard Dyer. Two of this group are now on trainee contracts at Brunswick, and a third is working for Brunswick partner company Cantos. The other three are also embarking on their professional PR careers. You can read about the 2009 interns’ experiences on the programme in their blog here

2010
In 2010 the programme will run twice, once in the summer and once in the Autumn. The first group of interns have already started, and are Keosha Blackwood, Ataur Rahman, Akila Jayahama, Thandi Alnwick, Brenda-Kammell Atuona and Nahidur Rahman. You can read about the 2010 interns’ experiences on the programme in their blog here

More information

Unicorn Jobs’ diversity work is only possible because of the support of partners like Taylor Bennett and Brunswick. We are currently speaking to other companies and organisations who are interested in supporting or enabling similar programmes.

To discuss this work, and how you can support or enable similar Unicorn Jobs diversity programmes, contact Unicorn Jobs director Sarah Stimson

Our diversity partners

www.brunswickgroup.com
www.taylorbennett.com
www.uel.ac.uk