The Student Publication Association has launched their 2021 Mentorship Scheme, following on from enormously successful previous iterations in 2018 and 2019, with applications open until New Year’s Day.
The Mentorship Scheme will run from late January until the beginning of July. Mentees will be able to draw upon the experience of their mentors for help with CVs, cover letters, pitching ideas and advice, and much more.
Competition for places on the Scheme is expected to be tough, and potential mentees are encouraged to get their applications in early.
This year, the SPA have recruited 30 mentors from a range of fields including politics reporting, sportswriting, news, features, digital journalism and more.
Mentorship pairings in the past have led to work experience placements and paid writing commissions.
Charlotte Colombo, Training & Opportunities Officer at the Student Publication Association, said: “With the current health crisis making employability a worry for countless student journalists, the Mentorship Scheme has never been more important. At the Student Publication Association want to do everything we can to educate and empower student journalists in reaching their dream career.”
In order to apply, applicants need to be a 2020 graduate from a university in the UK or Ireland university and/or a current student at a university in the UK or Ireland.
Provided they meet membership criteria, potential mentees are welcome to apply for SPA individual membership, which is free, at the same time as submitting their Mentorship Scheme application, if they aren’t associated with an SPA member publication already. A list of member publications can be found here, and the membership application form can be found here.
The SPA are especially interested in hearing from applicants who consider themselves to be from a group currently underrepresented in the journalism industry.
Applications are open now and will close on 1 January 2021. To apply, students need to fill in the following form: https://forms.gle/cfvciipWAUgHnthz5