Brief Description

Founded in 2014, Creative Mentor Network has worked with 600+ young people aged 16-25, in partnership with 100+ companies, resulting in 72% employment success rate.

CMN exists to create fair access to creative industry careers for young people from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Through access to a trained mentor, networking opportunities and support finding employment, young people develop their understanding of the career paths available so they can make informed decisions about their future and achieve their potential.

Our model is designed so that everyone wins: career opportunities for young people; training for employees; and access to diverse talent for businesses.

Vision & Mission

We’re working to create a world where every young person can achieve their potential in the creative world of work, so that those who control our creative and cultural output are representative of the way the UK looks and feels today.

We believe in the power of connecting people across communities. Our mission is to provide fair access to the creative world of work through mentoring.

Aims & Activities

Our mentoring programmes help young people who have not yet entered the creative industries to better understand the types of career paths available to them, so they can make informed decisions about their future; and ensure that young people in junior creative roles are supported in their growth and development. All mentees benefit from access to a wider professional network, and are helped to build the soft skills they need to get ahead in the industry.  And our talent finder only includes paid opportunities.

Mentors and the businesses they come from are then able to benefit from a new generation of socio-economically diverse talent, as well as a more inclusive culture and coaching opportunities. In a world where 64% of millennials say they won’t take a job if the company doesn’t have a strong corporate social responsibility record, diversity and inclusion is essential to attracting and retaining the best talent.

Facts & Figures

                            Creative Mentor Network exists to create fair access to the creative world of work for marginalised young people through mentoring, training and access to work opportunities.

The creative industries are booming, growing five times faster than the economy as a whole. Great work has already been done to increase BAME diversity, but Creative Mentor Network was designed to go beyond this – to help tackle the barriers to entering the creative industries for all young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Our Mentor Development Programme trains industry professionals in coaching and creating inclusive cultures. It is a unique way to support a generation of diverse, entry level talent into your industry, to build a coaching culture at work, and to up-skill and retain your best people.
                            

                            We work with young people who are ambitious, determined and eager to learn. Our network is made up of young people who are interested in creative and non creative roles within the industry. As a team, we have over 40 years’ experience supporting young people and to ensure that we reach people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, all our mentees must meet a set of eligibility requirements.
CMN is targeted in approach, using measures set out by The Bridge Group’s Socioeconomic Diversity and Inclusion toolkit to target those who really need our support. 

All mentees must have attended a state school, and either:

Have received Free School Meals at any time during their schooling

At age 14, have parents whose occupation is classified as lower socio-economic (routine manual and service occupations, technical and craft occupations) or intermediate (clerical and intermediate occupations, semi-routine manual and service occupations)
                            

Awards

No awards received