Welcome to over 100 new Apprentices and Interns

Three weeks ago, we were pleased to welcome over 100 new Apprentices and six Fast Forward interns to Sky. 

Our expanded Apprenticeships programme is now in its third year. Our newest joiners have started in teams across Sky, including  marketing, production, technology, creative, business administration, Sky Sports News and our Customer Service Group. Each apprentice will complete from one to three years of training before moving into a permanent job in their department after the apprenticeship ends. 

Our Fast Forward internship is now in its sixth year, and provides six 11-month internships specifically for A-level students from the London Borough of Hounslow – where we are headquartered - across key content areas of Sports, News and Production. 

With structured learning and development opportunities, both our apprenticeships and internships offer a great start to working life and the chance to contribute new ideas and meet new colleagues at Sky. Our schemes are part of Sky Academy Starting Out, which opens up Sky to people just starting out in their careers, offering work experience, placements and employment opportunities to help them prepare for the world of work.

All of the new starters joined a two-day induction which gave them the opportunity to meet colleagues and hear from senior leaders about the business and their tips for a successful career. They are now busy settling into their teams, supported by Sky Academy Starting Out team and our training partners to successfully navigate the transition from education to the workplace. 

Fast Forward intern Sabrina Sahota says: "It's been a brilliant induction to Sky and has been very informative and interesting. I'm really looking forward to the next 11 months."

Hope, a Business Administration apprentice starting in Technology says: “It’s been great meeting all the different apprentices and even though I won’t be working with them, it’s great to know people to say hi to. I’m looking forward to meeting my new team and am really excited about the opportunity to work at Sky.” 

Go to skystartingout.com to find out more.  

About Sky:

Sky employs over 5,700 people in its Scottish contact centres (Livingston, Dunfermline, Uddingston) and has a 6,000 strong total number of Sky employees in Scotland, making it  Scotland’s 9th largest private sector employer.

Sky is the UK and Ireland’s leading home entertainment and communications company.  Around 40% of all homes have a direct relationship with Sky through its range of TV, broadband and home telephony services.

Sky is the UK’s biggest investor in television content, investing more than £2.5 billion a year in channels such as Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, Sky Living, Sky Arts, Sky Sports, Sky Movies and Sky News.   Around two-thirds of Sky’s content spend is invested in the UK and Sky is the fastest-growing source of investment in original British programmes.  More than 30 million people watch Sky content each week.

Alongside its commitment to offering customers a greater choice of high-quality content, Sky is a leading innovator.  Customers enjoy total control and flexibility over their favourite TV through Sky+, watch TV on the move through Sky Go, and enjoy the best quality TV experience at home through High Definition and 3D.

Sky distributes its content broadly over several platforms, including satellite, cable, IPTV, mobile and WiFi.  NOW TV, Sky’s second consumer brand, builds on the company’s leadership in internet TV.  Sky is also the UK's fastest-growing home communications company and favourite ‘triple-play’ provider of TV, broadband and home phone.

Sky believes in making a wider contribution to the communities in which it operates by taking positive action on the environment, supporting grassroots sports and increasing access to, and participation in, the arts.  Sky employs 23,000 people, has annual revenues of £7.2 billion and is estimated to support a £5.4 billion contribution to UK GDP.  Sky is listed on the London Stock Exchange (BSY).

About Sky Academy:

Sky Academy comprises of four initiatives, with a fifth built around creativity and the arts following later this year. The four initial initiatives are:

Sky Academy Skills Studios - An interactive learning experience that takes young people behind the scenes at Sky. Students build life skills by using Sky’s state-of-the-art technology to make a TV news report on subjects they’re studying through the curriculum. Over 18,000 young people aged 8 to 18 have visited the first Skills Studios in West London since they opened in 2012.

Sky Sports Living for Sport - A national schools-based initiative that uses sports stars and sports skills to help build young people’s confidence and life skills. Delivered in partnership with Youth Sport Trust and teachers, Sky Sports Living for Sport is now in its 10th year. One third of British secondary schools participate in the initiative, which has recently launched in Ireland to extend its reach even further. In September 2013, Sky was named Corporate of the Year at the international Beyond Sport Awards in recognition of the difference that Sky Sports Living for Sport has made to young people’s lives.

Sky Academy Scholarships – A bursary scheme that supports some of the most exciting emerging talent in the worlds of sport and the arts. As well as financial backing, the scholarships provide assistance and mentoring from Sky’s staff and other experts. Already the support of a Sky Academy Scholarship has helped more than 30 young artists and athletes to achieve their goals. Building on this success, Sky is working with the National Film and Television School (NFTS) to create a brand new set of scholarships to support young people setting out on a career in the television industry.

Sky Academy Starting Out - A comprehensive range of work experience and employment opportunities that opens up Sky to young people, helping to raise their aspirations and prepare them for the world of work. To match the needs of young people at different stages in their journey from education to employment, Sky offers a range of work experience, placement, apprenticeship and graduate programmes. The total number of opportunities across the business will double over the next three years. In addition to this, Sky will launch a new programme in 2014 that gives teenagers the opportunity to spend a day at Sky for hands-on experience of the workplace.

For more information, go to www.sky.com/academy.