Upgrade Yourself: Creative Industry Placements
A 12-month paid career development opportunity for emerging creative professionals ages 18–25.
| Key Dates | Applications open: |
Placement Overview
Creative Industry Placement is a 12-month, career development opportunity which provide professional pathways into the creative industries, with a strong focus on supporting underrepresented talent. Now in its sixth year, the programme nurtures the next generation to build the skills, knowledge and confidence needed to thrive in the creative workplace.
This placement offers five creative participants ages 18-25 with hands-on experience working in an arts organisation, building insight into how a creative business is run. Roles will range from day-to-day management through to programming and operations.
Creative Industry Placements helps to shift representation in the creative sector by opening up exciting, fairly paid entry routes into the sector. This placement is designed for those:
- Who are interested in learning about creative industries and want to forge pathways into the cultural sector.
- Who want to develop networks, transferable skills, build a dynamic and creative portfolio.
- Who want to nurture professional skills, creative confidence, and workplace readiness.
In line with our principles of equity, all placement participants are paid the London Living Wage (£28,860 from April 2026).
Placement Structure
The structure of the five Creative Industry Placement pathways will be divided as follows:
4 x Creative Placements will experience a two-part pathway:
- 1 x 6-month placement (Phase 1: April – October 2026)
- 1 x 6-month placement (Phase 2: November 2026 – April 2027)
1 x Creative Placement will experience one pathway:
- 1 x 12-month placement (Phase 1 + 2: April 2026 – April 2027)
Placement Pathways
Pathway One:
Phase 1 with Headlong Theatre
Phase 2 with Hofesh Shechter Company
Pathway Two:
Phase 1 with Marketing Team (Somerset House Trust)
Phase 2 with The Booker Prize Foundation
Pathway Three:
Phase 1 with Live Events Team (Somerset House Trust)
Phase 2 with Somerset House Exchange
Pathway Four:
Phase 1 with KitMapper
Phase 2 with Exhibitions Team (Somerset House Trust)
Pathway Five:
Phase 1 + Phase 2 with Somerset House Studios
Who are the Creative Industry Placements for?
The Upgrade Yourself Creative Industry Placements is for people aged between 18-25 who identify as belonging to a community that is underrepresented* within the cultural sector. For those who are interested in developing entry level skills in a creative organisation. Please do not apply if this does not apply to you.
The Inclusive Talent Engagement Team values talent, potential and willingness over experience. We are committed to understanding the challenges that young people face and supporting their goals by creating opportunities that help them to achieve them. The programme doesn’t require any pre-requisites, but an enthusiasm for the arts and willingness to learn is important.
This programme will prioritise people from underrepresented backgrounds*. If you are unsure if this applies to you, please read the ‘Our Priority Groups’ guidance below.
Our Priority Groups
*The Inclusive Talent Engagement team at Somerset House acknowledges that particular communities are underrepresented in the creative sector. Particularly those who identify as:
- Ethnically diverse and/or Global Majority
- Living with a disability
- Working class and/or from a lower socio-economic background**
- LGBTQIA+ and/or non-binary
We also acknowledge that people face barriers in many ways not mentioned above, including:
- Affected by a long-term health conditions or impairment.
- Affected by homelessness.
- Care-leaver/carer.
- Unemployed and/or have received welfare benefits.
- Migrant or refugee status
Fair access to working in the arts remains one of the most urgent issues facing the sector today, with those from lower socio-economic backgrounds still vastly underrepresented amongst the artists and employees of UK theatres, festivals, galleries and arts organisations of all kinds.
Our team has drawn from Jerwood Arts’ ‘Socio-economic Diversity and Inclusion in the Arts A Toolkit for Employers’ to define how to determine who falls into this category. We acknowledge this needs work and often, things aren’t always black and white, for now this is the framework we are using to determine this;
Some questions that might help define lower socio-economic background:
- Type of school attended at age 11-16
- Were you eligible for Free School Meals (FSM)
- Did your parents go to university?
- Parents occupation when you were aged 14
- Did your parents receive income benefits for a long period?
- Were your parents unemployed either for long periods of time or intermittently?
How does being on the Creative Placement benefit you?
In addition to being an employee within a creative team in an arts organisation, time on the programme will also involve in-depth wraparound programming, which will include:
- Workshops
- Monthly mentoring sessions
- Off-site visits to other arts organisations
You will also receive all employee benefits from Somerset House trust. These include:
Discounts & Offers:
Discounts, offers and free stuff
- The list is endless and includes tickets to Somerset House events and entrance to other London Heritage sites including free access to a number of other galleries and museums
- Invitations to private Somerset House events
- Discounts in Somerset House cafes and restaurants
- Discount to local leisure centres
- One-year membership to the Somerset House Exchange co-working space
Holiday:
- Enhanced annual leave – 25 days plus bank holidays (pro rata)
- Birthday leave - additional day leave on or within a week of your birthday
- Celebration day - to celebrate anything of your choice
How long will the Creative Placement be for?
This is a fulltime, 12-month programme.
How many days per week do placements work?
The Creative Industry Placements programme offers full-time work (37.5 hours) to all participants – this is broken down into five full working days a week (usually from Monday to Friday). This time is split between working in the offices at Somerset House (3 days) and working from home (2 days).
Testimonials from Creative Industry Placement participants
Here’s what previous placement participants have said about the programme:
Participant quotes:
‘I feel more confident in both my abilities and using those abilities in the workplace. I have gained knowledge and experience in a wide range of areas and disciplines which has massively grown my toolkit.’
‘Having been introduced to impactful organisations and people both within and outside Somerset House has really helped to form my experience working within the creative industry.’
‘Doing marketing and exhibitions really opened my eyes to different parts of a project. Making my mark on the projects has been invaluable.’
Where are they now?
- One placement who previously worked at Akram Khan Company has gone to work as an Events Curator at Studio Wayne McGregor, Programme Producer at Apple and is now Head of Community Engagement and Volunteer Manager at Hanwell Community Library.
- One placement who previously worked with DegreeArt and Force4Good Consultancy is now Administrative Assistant within the Inclusive Talent Engagement team at Somerset House.
- One placement who worked as a Visitor Experience and Production Coordinator with Somerset House Trust and as a Project Administrator with Hofesh Shechter Dance Company, was then offered them a full-time role. They are now an Income and Data Manager for Manchester Camerata.
The Creative Industry Placements programme is generously supported by The Julia Rausing Trust
