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Career Focus: How the 10,000 Interns Foundation can help launch your career

If you’re a Black student or graduate looking for career opportunities in the UK, the 10,000 Interns Foundation can put you on the path to your chosen industry. 

I have benefitted from programme myself, joining Kaplan International Pathways to work as a Content and Marketing Intern. Keep reading to find out how the 10,000 Interns Foundation can support your career goals.  

What is the 10,000 Interns Foundation? 

The 10,000 Interns Foundation offers internships to black or black heritage students and graduates across 25 industries in the UK. The Foundation currently runs two programmes: 10,000 Black Interns and 10,000 Able Interns. These programmes are designed to support people from a Black heritage background and those who live with disabilities.

Their mission is to transform the horizons and prospects of young black people in the United Kingdom by offering internships across a wide range of industries, and delivering world-class training and development. The Foundation was launched in 2020 with the 10,000 black Interns initiative, which incorporated 200 firms. Since then, it’s kept growing! 

The Foundation has worked with over 700 leading organisations across the UK, creating 5,000 paid internships for black and black heritage students, as well as those living with disabilities, over the last three years. The key benefit of this is the Foundation’s ability to connect young people with jobs in their chosen industry.  

The Black Interns Foundation partners with organisations such as LinkedIn, Capstone, MSCI and Simmons & Simmons, all of whom have helped the Foundation to drive change.

My experience

Applying through The 10,000 Black Interns scheme was a ray of hope for me, as I had been through countless rejections from various companies. The application process was easy to follow. I applied for the marketing and advertising sector, completed my interview with Kaplan, and received an to work in the Content and Marketing department! 

My experience working in Kaplan’s Marketing team has helped me to gain confidence and new skills by completing tasks or projects in different areas such as social media, campaigns, web, and editorial.  

How it works  

If you’re looking to do an internship, you will need to submit an application, including your CV, cover letter, and up to three industries you’re interested. After this, you can complete interviews after partner companies reach out: 

You can enter a wide variety of sectors for your internship, which include but are not limited to: 

  • accounting and Finance 
  • banking 
  • education 
  • engineering 
  • government  
  • healthcare 
  • law 
  • marketing 

Discover the 10,000 Interns Foundation 

The 10,000 Interns Foundation helped me to take the first step towards my dream career and it can do the same for you! If you’re a Black student or graduate looking to start your career in the UK, the 10,000 Black Interns programme can help.

To learn more, or to donate to the 10,000 Interns Foundation, please visit their website.  

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