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Group of young people and Artswork staff stand outside the Tate Modern building

Breakthrough Programme

Breakthrough is a paid 6‑month employability programme, which is run in the south-east of England. Breakthrough exists to provide entry routes into the creative industry for 1825 year olds who are struggling to find meaningful employment. 

About

Breakthrough is a 6‑month employability programme designed as a stepping stone to get you workplace experience and all-important employment skills. This short placement gives you insight into a future career in the Creative Industry, supporting your confidence and professionalism in the workplace, and helping you to break through into a career that matters to you!

How it works

Trainees begin the progamme by undertaking some basic training, which is run by our team at Artswork. The majority of this training will be done online via zoom calls. IT equipment will be provided by the organisation you are working with and you will be paid a salary.

To be eligible to apply for a Breakthrough traineeship, applicants must:

  • Be aged 18-25 on the 29th September 2025
  • Have the right to work in the UK
  • Available to start work on the 29th September 2025 and available for the duration of the placement (until 28th March 2026)
  • Have no or little (less than one month) previous experience of working in an arts, creative or voluntary sector organisation

In addition to the above, applicants should also meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • Currently not in employment, education or training (NEET)
  • Be disabled and/or Neurodivergent
  • Have current or prior mental health issues
  • Have experienced racism, homophobic or transgender discrimination
  • Be a recent school or college leaver (A level or equivalent)
  • Are struggling to find work due to lack of employment or training experience
  • Visit our opportunities page to view the roles available.
  • You will need to download and read the job description of the role you wish to apply for.
  • Applications should be submitted via the form which is linked on the job role pages.

Please note

  • All of the job descriptions include an “Employers advice” section and we strongly recommend that you tailor your answers to ensure they cover that advice given for the specific role you are applying for.
  • You can apply for more than one role if you wish to, but you will need to submit separate applications using the same process.
  • We strongly suggest that you research travel options for the role before applying to ensure travel is feasible.

FAQs

If you are unsure if you are eligible, have any other questions, or need information in a different format, please email our Careers team:

Impact of Breakthrough 2023

  • 65%

    of Breakthrough trainees in 2023 had jobs in the creative sector or went on to study further education three months after Breakthrough ended.

  • 93%

    of the young trainee’s claimed that they expanded their understanding of the creative industries.

The Breakthrough programme has opened my eyes to the other jobs I can do. There are possibilities and opportunities that I hadn't even considered before.

The Breakthrough programme gives opportunities to have your voice as a young person heard in creative spaces.

For employers

Interested in hosting a young person at your workplace? Click below for more detail on becoming a Breakthrough employer.

Breakthrough programme (employers)

Offer a 6‑month work placement in your organisation to provide an entry route for young people looking to find meaningful work in the creative sector.

Subscribe to our young persons mailing list

As well as our regular monthly newsletter we also have a dedicated mailing list you can join to be updated when we have new opportunities for young people.

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