ITV News Traineeship: What's it really like?

Pablo - Trainee 2017-8

One of the best things about the traineeship is how practical it is, which means that from the moment you finish you already have the skills required to become a vital part of the newsroom. In my case it gave me not only the ability but the confidence to start creating my own reports for the Central programme. Within a couple of months of finishing the traineeship I’d filmed and edited a report about racism at grassroots level football which was the top story that day.

While working in television you’ll be gifted with so many great and sometimes unexpected opportunities. I’d never really thought too much about presenting, but one day my head of news asked whether I’d do a screen test for the early morning bulletins. I of course said yes and a couple of weeks later I was presenting live to hundreds of thousands of viewers waking up across the Midlands! Scary, but well worth it! Fast forward two and a bit years and I’m even doing some shifts as a main presenter on the evening programme! It’s been an amazing few years and proof of just how far you can go at ITV News.

Grace - Trainee 2021

Before starting the traineeship last year, I joined ITV Meridian as an apprentice straight out of college in 2018, having never had a full-time job or any prior knowledge of journalism, other than the two weeks I'd spent at my local paper for work experience. It was definitely a steep learning curve as I studied for my NCTJ exams, while shadowing the various PJ shifts. But, despite my initial doubts, not having a degree has never held me back from pursuing a career in journalism. In fact, it’s been all hands on deck, covering the biggest story in recent history - Covid. It’s a real honour to be a member of the team, gaining rapid real-world experience.

Despite the ongoing lockdowns, progressing onto the traineeship was fantastic and really helped to bridge the gaps in my knowledge. Not only do you get one-on-one workshops with some of the most experienced journalists in the business, you also get a built-in support network of 12 fellow trainees and a friend in every region! In addition, you get to travel around the different newsrooms, take part in regular workshops and get advice on all aspects of the job, from ensuring your bulletins are word and picture perfect, to self-shooting a report.

I would highly recommend the ITV traineeship to anyone with a passion for journalism and storytelling. It's a unique and rare opportunity to train with one of the most established broadcasters and you should grab it with both hands!"

Callum - Trainee 2019-20

I joined the trainee scheme at ITV Channel in 2019, within a few months the pandemic hit and we were all thrown into a different way of working. Pre and post pandemic I was constantly learning. The best way to script, camerawork, how to produce and how to be confident on screen. There aren't many schemes that throw you in at the deep end, give you all of the essential skills and let you learn from the very best.

The ITV News Traineeship set me on the trajectory to do my dream career. I moved to ITV Anglia after finishing the traineeship, where I'm now on attachment as an On-Screen Journalist.

Hanah - Trainee 2021

As part of the traineeship, you get to do several digital modules which really enhance your understanding of the web – whether it is how to create eye-catching content, knowing how to sell a story or learning what SEOs are. In the final week of the traineeship, we also got to work on The Rundown, which I really enjoyed as I got to find the stories, produce and present it all. We live in the digital age, so being able to learn those skills is really beneficial as you are considering the ways in which we tell the news, interact with audiences and catch their attention.

I really worked hard and in particular, I was determined to get my newsroom's Instagram more active. Whether this was from creating informative graphics that broke down big issues such as what budget day means for the North East – to pushing us to put up the morning headlines on the platform each morning. As a consequence, I was given the opportunity by my Head of News to put on several training sessions for my own colleagues in the newsroom on how to create engaging content on Instagram. It was a surreal experience because I never expected – as a trainee – to be teaching others about skills I have. It was really great knowing that my enthusiasm and talent for working in digital storytelling was being noticed, and there was that appreciation that I had the knowledge to give to my fellow colleagues. Without a doubt, this traineeship has been the best thing to happen in my professional career. I’ve developed not only skills in digital, but also as a journalist in adapting myself in the ways I do storytelling.