Swindon & Wiltshire News
Free TikTok-funded event could help young people break into content creation
A free event funded by social media giant TikTok that aims to help young people in Bristol break into content creation will be held in the city at the end of the month.
The TikTok Creative Academy is delivered by employment and training charity Catch 22.
The event, at Access Creative College Bristol on Thursday, October 31 from 1pm to 3.30pm, will include a content creation masterclass led by Thom Whitchurch a Bristol-based social media management specialist and influencer, whose popular account ThomFoodery has 30,000 followers on Instagram and 16,000 on TikTok.
There will also be a panel discussion with Cicely Walmsley, producer at video marketing production company Latent Pictures, Ellie Rowland, retail merchandise donations manager at Sue Ryder, Izzy Cross, director at Noods Levels – Bristol-based CIC, working to support the development of young creatives in the South-West of England – and Meghan Dyer, partnership manager at TikTok Creative Academy.
Catch 22 runs the TikTok Creative Academy programme, a four-week employability course for young people aged between 18 and 24 who are not in full-time employment and are seeking an entry-level role in Bristol’s creative sector.
Enrolment on the course gives young people access to training, career coaches, work experience, network events and even bursaries for six months, plus an additional six months of support for those struggling to transition into full-time work – all fully-funded by TikTok.
Rich Waterworth of TikTok UK said: “At TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. Creativity doesn’t just happen. It needs to be encouraged, nurtured, and given space.
“But thousands of younger people don’t have the opportunity or skills to be creative and there is inequality of access to creative and cultural resources. We want to change that.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Catch22 to bridge the gap between young people and the creative industries – to truly enable creativity for all.”
Only 80 places are available, so aspiring creators between the ages of 16 and 30 are urged to book early at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tiktok-creative-academy-bristol-pop-up-tickets-1038865573897
