In our earliest days, the Printing Charity educated the children of printers’ and while, thankfully, that is no longer required, our charitable aims continue to focus on our sector’s younger generation.
We want young people to join the print, paper, publishing, or packaging industries and become leaders of tomorrow, that’s why we continue to support young people in a variety of ways, including:
- Encouraging young people to understand what personal development is, and how to apply this to themselves
- Sharing information and advice on career development
- Promoting opportunities for young people, such as apprenticeships and training
- Driving fair access to jobs and opportunities for those from diverse or underrepresented backgrounds
- Connecting experienced members of the sector with young talent and encouraging networking at all opportunities
Grants to support young talent
To support young people to reach their career goals, we fund two schemes.
- Training Support Grant
The charity’s Training Support Grant is a fund specifically for apprentices to allow those without personal funds to purchase a laptop for the completion of their studies. The grant is designed to remove a common barrier to access apprenticeships and training for young people and predominantly works in coordination with the sector’s largest training provider, the BPIF.
Our awards offer those aged 18-30 who are working or studying in the sector a grant of up to £1500 to develop their careers. The awards also offer an opportunity to tap into a wider network of opportunities via the awards alumni group.
We know that navigating life can throw challenges at us, whether at work or at home, which is why we can offer support for those aged 16 and over with our free and confidential helpline. Sometimes talking to someone about what might be troubling us can help in finding a way forward.
Other projects we support
The Journalism Diversity Fund, led by the National Council for the Training of Journalists
The Journalism Diversity Fund awards bursaries to people from diverse backgrounds who need help funding their NCTJ journalism training. Bursaries are awarded four times per year and can help cover the costs of NCTJ course fees and/or living expenses. Recipients will also be paired with a working journalist to mentor them throughout their studies. The fund aims to make newsrooms better reflect the communities they serve.
Student Publication Association National Conference & Awards
The Student Publication Association aims to support, train, and showcase the work of student journalists through training resources, advocacy support, events offering talks and workshops offering advice, encouragement of networking, and a mentorship scheme to support young journalism development.
BPIF’s British Book Design & Production Awards
The Awards aim to celebrate and recognise the excellence and craftsmanship of the British book design and production industry. It is a rare opportunity where print and publishing come together as one to highlight the quality and diversity of the market. The Best Student Book Award category encourages graphic design students to design and make a book, which we hope sparks the idea of forging a career in the print or publishing industry in the UK.
Journo Resources, run by former Rising Star awardee Jem Collins, runs a yearly fellowship giving young journalists an opportunity to gain one-to-one mentoring, workshops, CV reviews, and paid writing opportunities at the start of their working career.
New Writing North’s Get into Book Publishing webinars
New Writing North is the development agency for writing and reading in the North of England. Working with young people often underrepresented in the publishing industry, their series of webinars promotes how to get into the publishing industry, with guidance from industry experts and trainers.
We’re always keen to hear of new projects that support young people, so please get in touch if you are working on something!