Journalism students in Glasgow could soon be swapping shifts stacking shelves to shifts on three regional newspapers in a new training initiative.

The Newsquest Herald and Times Group has teamed up with Glasgow Caledonian University and Cardonald College to offer paid shifts and placements in its newsroom.

Traditional unpaid work experience is still available on The Herald, Evening Times and Sunday Herald to anyone wishing to apply but from today students at the two centres could be earning while they’re learning.

The new scheme will see shifts offered every week to students on the BA journalism and MA multimedia journalism course at GCU and the higher national diploma in journalism at Cardonald College.

All three courses are accredited by the National Council for the Training of Journalists with the latter the only course in Scotland to offer that accreditation.

As well as paid shifts at the Herald and Times Group, students will also benefit from senior members of the editorial team delivering a range of media workshops on-site at GCU and Cardonald College.

Editor-in-chief Donald Martin, who is also a NCTJ director and chair of its journalism qualifications board, said: “This innovative programme will be the gold standard of journalism training.

“We are encouraging journalism students who are on NCTJ-accredited courses to develop their skills in the workplace they want to be part of.

“We are offering paid shifts designed to help them learn how to write and report better.

“They will have the opportunity to work across our titles in print and online as we extend our multimedia output.

“It is a long-term commitment to the industry and a major investment in making journalism better.”

NCTJ chief executive Joanne Butcher added: “Work experience is a crucial part of a student’s preparation for a career in journalism.

“The Herald and Times editorial training scheme is to be applauded because it goes much further, not only by providing well-organised and structured on-the-job training, but by paying students for their work to help them meet the costs of their courses and examinations.”

Comments

journodent (26/10/2009 10:14:22)
I’m all for paying work experience students for their efforts, but surely this is going to create problems between anyone not at the university or college who comes in to work for free and those getting paid?

Dan (26/10/2009 15:40:26)
Are the herald and times finding the workload a bit much since brutalising the newsroom and renegotiating freelance rates?