Meet Our New Trainees

MEET OUR NEW TRAINEES

14 young superstars making amazing things happen in their hometown

Back in January we recruited our next round of Children’s Capital of Culture trainees, and since then these 14 young superstars have been working in paid roles to deliver some big projects for Rotherham!

Following on from the huge success of the 2022 traineeships, this year’s trainees are yet another group of talented, creative young people aged 16-to-25 from the borough, whose voices are helping to shape what Rotherham becoming Children’s Capital of Culture will look like.

Who are they?

• Sophie, Lottie and Maria have all joined FLUX Rotherham as part-time Festival Makers, where they will be working until February 2024 to help deliver cultural events across the borough
• Adrian, Christopher and Abi are all working part-time at the Council as Engagement Assistants, spreading the word about Rotherham becoming Children’s Capital of Culture and running a host of creative workshops and projects
• Nine trainees also joined Wentworth Woodhouse on a 14-week training programme, where they learned advanced digital, photography, film, editing, producing and acting skills to kick-start their creative careers.

Lottie, Sophie and Maria (left to right) are working at Flux.

What are they working on?

• They helped organise our first ever SIGNALS music festival in February, UPLIFT: Skate and Arts festival in April and WOW Rotherham in June – from coming up with ideas to programme the events to liaising with artists, and running around making sure stages ran on time!
• They are also working on a series of creative summer events for young people, including our Yorkshire Day festival, Ferham Show and Rotherham Show, to name a few.
• They’ve been going into local schools and communities to tell them more about Rotherham becoming the world’s first Children’s Capital of Culture, delivering fun workshops and talking to teachers and community leaders about how they can support the campaign
• They’re running our social media, creating fun content and promoting everything Rotherham has to offer
• They’re helping more young people in Rotherham gain Arts Awards, a nationally-recognised qualification
• The Wentworth Woodhouse trainees used their new skills to the stately home into the scene of a modern-day murder mystery for one night only. The Scene of the Crime was a highly-immersive and original event that played to sold-out audiences of over 300 people!

Adrian, Christopher and Abi (left to right) are Engagement Assistants with Children’s Capital of Culture.

What do they have to say about it?

Lottie, 19, is a professional footballer from Rotherham. “I’d recently been made redundant, so when I saw this opportunity it was too good to miss,” she said. “It’s nice to be given so much creative freedom and to work in a creative environment, where we’re really valued for our opinions and thoughts on what can make Rotherham better for young people like us. I’ve always loved going to festivals, so now getting to organise them is a real eye opener! I can’t wait for everything we’ve got coming up in Rotherham this year.”

Wentworth trainee Brandon heard about the opportunity through a work coach, having been unsuccessful in applying for 20 jobs. He said, “I didn’t believe I could be here! I’ve learned so much and I love being part of making Rotherham Children’s Capital of Culture. I’ve found out how much I like being in front of a camera and would love to be a presenter now.”

Engagement Assistant Christopher explained, “We’re building this Children’s Capital of Culture ambition from the roots up. We’re the young people of Rotherham who really want it for our hometown, and we’re being given free rein to drive the vision forward.”

A big, warm, Rotherham welcome to this year’s trainees! It’s an absolute pleasure to have them on the Children’s Capital of Culture team.

(This paid training programme has been made possible thanks to funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund).

The Wentworth Woodhouse trainees learned digital skills during their 14-week traineeships.