Foot in the Door Liverpool: Meet Our Next Cohort
After months of planning, applications and conversations with young people across Liverpool, we’re delighted to share that 12 participants have now been selected for Foot in the Door Liverpool!
This October, our new cohort will begin a seven-week paid training and work experience programme designed to help young people who are currently not in education, employment or training (NEET) take their first steps towards careers in digital media, content and marketing.
Delivered in partnership with Liverpool Film Office, the Department for Work and Pensions and Liverpool’s Youth Guarantee Trailblazer Scheme, the programme combines three weeks of industry-led training with four weeks of paid work experience, alongside CV and portfolio development, networking and ongoing support.
Responding to a growing crisis
Foot in the Door Liverpool comes at a particularly important time for young people.
Earlier this year, Alan Milburn’s government-commissioned Young People and Work review highlighted the scale of the UK’s NEET crisis. Around one million 16–24-year-olds are currently not in education, employment or training, with Milburn warning: “We are at risk of a lost generation.”
Crucially, the evidence challenges the idea that these young people lack ambition. The review found that the overwhelming majority want to work or train, but many face barriers including limited professional networks, financial pressures and a lack of accessible routes into meaningful employment.
These are exactly the kinds of barriers Foot in the Door was created to tackle.
Over the summer, Andy Taylor Foundation Founder Lara Taylor and Programme Director Ewan Vinnicombe Wallis were in Liverpool during Alan Milburn’s visit, hearing first-hand about the scale of the challenge facing young people and the importance of creating practical routes into employment.
The issue has particular relevance locally. Research highlighted by the University of Liverpool’s Heseltine Institute places several areas within the Liverpool City Region among those with the highest risk of young people becoming NEET in England. (University of Liverpool)
From statistics to opportunities
Behind every statistic is a young person with their own skills, ambitions and potential.
That’s why Foot in the Door isn’t about simply telling young people about careers in the creative industries. It’s about giving them paid, practical experience, building confidence and skills, introducing them to people already working in the industry and helping them develop networks that can continue long after the programme finishes.
Our previous Foot in the Door programme demonstrated what that support can achieve. Participants who had previously struggled to break into the media went on to secure creative-industry employment and further professional development opportunities.
Now, we’re incredibly excited to bring that model to Liverpool.
What happens next?
From 19 October, our 12 participants will begin three weeks of industry-led training before moving into four-week paid placements with employers across Liverpool. Everyone taking part will be paid the Real Living Wage throughout the seven-week programme.
Along the way, they’ll develop practical skills across areas including content creation, social media, audience understanding, communication and workplace collaboration, as well as meeting people from across the creative and digital industries.
And we want you to come along for the journey.
A huge thank you to our brilliant industry placement partners, Sony Pictures, Lime Pictures, L16 Studios, Big Egg Films, LA Productions, LFC Foundation, The Guide, Zoo55 and Hat Trick Productions, for helping us give our cohort meaningful, hands-on experience within the creative industries.
Keep an eye on the Andy Taylor Foundation’s social channels over the coming weeks as we introduce our Foot in the Door Liverpool cohort and share their training, experiences, placements and progress.
We can’t wait to see where their first foot in the door takes them!