A new fund aimed at increasing newsroom diversity is set to help students struggling to afford work experience placements.

The Broadcast Journalism Training Council is working with the Google News Initiative, the BBC and ITV News to invest tens of thousands of pounds to help graduate journalists find their first jobs in the industry.

The placement assistance scheme will offer students from BJTC-accredited courses, who also meet its social diversity criteria, a contribution towards the cost of placements.

The fund’s launch comes after 1 2016 government report found that only 11pc of journalists are from working class backgrounds.

BJTC chief executive Jon Godel, pictured, said: “It’s essential that we see more diversity in newsrooms across the UK. That means a greater variety of students getting a foot in the door.

“We do not want any of our students to have to turn down a hard-won placement because they cannot afford to take it up.”

The scheme will begin in January 2020 and aims to help up to 250 students in its first year.