ITV Academy News Traineeship 2025-6: What is it really like?

Soraya Forsyth - current Central trainee

Ellis Nordhoff

Zane Hogan - class of 2023-2024

"The ITV News traineeship is an absolutely brilliant scheme and really does equip you for life in an ITV newsroom. It’s made me a better person and a better journalist.

The skills that you learn from some of the best in the industry are invaluable, and the weeks that you get on placement teach you so much about how to be a top quality writer and broadcaster. If you want to report, produce, edit, plan or have a career in news the traineeship is definitely for you."

"I came into the industry without a journalism degree, but the traineeship gave me all the mentoring and training I needed to progress, it opened so many doors for my career.

I didn’t just improve my skills on the scheme, I also became good friends with the other trainees in my group and built a really supportive network. It's great to still catch up after completing the scheme!"

Riannon Chaplin - current trainee, ITV News Anglia

"One highlight of the traineeship for me so far has been the digital shifts. It’s been so rewarding to learn how to tell stories in so many different formats, both adapting on- screen stories for the website and deciding which stories should be digital-first. For example, I pitched and planned an exclusive story on disabled students’ experiences at university three months into the traineeship. Because it was a stat-heavy story based on a report, I was able to draw out different angles and details in the article than we could within the time constraints of the on-screen version. Our national news service also shared the digital version, meaning the story reached a wider audience than it would have otherwise. Both versions worked together to tell a really important story in different ways.

The traineeship is a fantastic way to try your hand at so many different forms of journalism, especially if you go into it with an open mind about what you’ll enjoy. I’ve never learnt so much in such a short space of time!"