Introduction to the Targeted Traineeship Programme
In 2025 Rotherham has become the world’s first Children’s Capital of Culture (CCoC). This title was bestowed upon Rotherham by its children and young people. It was devised by them to change the narrative about their hometown and create positive opportunities for children and young people across the borough.
A key aspect of CCoC is supporting young people to build and achieve their future aspirations through the delivery of an inclusive skills and development programme. Since 2022, CCoC has had great success in creating and delivering hundreds of employment and training opportunities in the cultural and creative industries for young people. This includes through programmes such as internships, young artist in residence schemes, and our flagship traineeship programme which offers paid, part-time contracted jobs to 16 to 25-year-olds.
Through our evaluation of these programmes it is clear that they have been hugely impactful for young people in Rotherham. But there is still more work to be done, especially to support young people with disabilities.
Although we aim to make our recruitment processes as accessible as possible, to date we have not created roles that have been designed with disabled young people specifically in mind.
We are now in the process of applying for a significant amount of funding to deliver a targeted traineeship programme that has been designed specifically for disabled young people. As such we are seeking interested organisations who are keen to commit to partnering with us on the project if our bid is successful.
Over a three-year period from 2026 and 2029, we hope to work in collaboration with local cultural and creative organisations to develop high-quality employment opportunities for Rotherham-based disabled young people aged 16 – 25. Through this programme, participating organisations will also receive support and training that will enable them to make positive organisational changes to foster a more inclusive workplace and diverse workforce.