“I would never have considered a career in public relations and communications before the Northern Lights internship. Now I really understand its value to business, Government, organisations, communities and life. Being given the opportunity to meet and learn from so many successful people has been invaluable and I’ll use all the skills I’ve developed in whatever I decide to do.”
Find out more
- Arena Group – supporting a high growth business
- Bradford University School of Management – business school makes innovative links
- Bradford University School of Management – embracing social media
- Business Link – positioning as key player with corporates
- Business Link – working with more diverse communities
- Clugston – maximising TV opportunities
- Directorbank – credibility with UK’s top chairmen
- Eureka! The National Children’s Museum – the experts in play and learning
- Hanson Green – How do we get our director featured in national press?
- Media training York St John University’s VC and top team – delivering confidence and skills
- Northern Lights PR internship – addressing lack of diversity in the communications profession
- Northern Lights PR marketing network – making everyone responsible for internal communications
- The National Centre for Post-Qualifying Social Work at Bournemouth University – promote the centre and its new national status
- UK Trade & Investment – integrate social media into marketing and PR strategies
- University of Leeds Faculty of Medicine and Health – communicating the impact of international research
- Walker Morris – LinkedIn for partners
- York St John University – widening participation and geographical reach of undergraduate recruitment
- Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority – reaching new communities
- Yorkshire Universities – regional universities winning business contracts
Northern Lights PR internship – addressing lack of diversity in the communications profession
We run an award winning PR internship for black and minority ethnic (BAME) graduates designed to help address the lack of diversity in the communications profession. It is based on the Taylor Bennett Foundation’s flagship programme in London and we brought it to the North of England in 2010.
The Northern Lights PR internship is an intense, short term training programme for a select group of graduates who would not have otherwise considered a career in PR and communications – we’ve had everything from pharmaceutical management students to IT graduates.
The packed schedule covers all the knowledge and practical skills needed to forge a successful career in PR
- team building exercises and group working
- insight into how different businesses and organisations operate
- master classes on writing skills, social media campaign planning, business blogging, media relations, crisis communications, in-house PR, CV writing and interview skills
- opportunities to meet and network with journalists and senior business people
- real life client projects
- experience of working under pressure, juggling a variety of tasks and delivering results on time
So far, nine interns have ‘graduated’ from the Northern Lights PR programme and have all gone on to pursue careers in PR and related industries. After completing the internship, Nafisa Shafiq secured a number of temporary roles, including working for us on a three month client project, before landing a job at Edelman, the world’s largest independent PR agency.
For the past two years we have solely funded and project managed the internship, with support from our client Bradford University School of Management and other PR and business contacts in the region. We are now looking for a major partner to help deliver the London model in the North. Are you an organisation with a large in-house marketing/comms team or a large PR/media agency in Yorkshire? We’d love to hear from you about how you might be able to help.
Think you have what it takes to be a Northern Lights PR intern? Contact us to register your interest for the summer 2012 internship.
