Regional editors and journalists will be among those to speak at a national conference for journalism students later this week.

The National Council for the Training of Journalists will hold its annual student council conference on Friday 31 January.

NCTJ courses, apprenticeship schemes and the Facebook-funded community news project will be among the items up for discussion.

Speakers include Luke Jacobs, pictured, brands editor at Kent Live, and Newsquest South London editor Will Harrison, who will be joined on a panel by Sky News managing editor Louise Hastings and Mark Allen Group associate publisher Mike Shallcross.

The conference will welcome Rhoda Morrison, reporter at the Bury Free Press, and Hannah Butler, sub-editor at The Guardian, to share their experiences of sitting the National Qualification in Journalism and the benefits of qualifying as a senior reporter.

The conference will be hosted by the Financial Times.

Joanne Butcher, chief executive of the NCTJ, said: “Our students, apprentices and trainees are at the heart of the NCTJ, so this event is always so important in shaping how we continue to grow and develop.

“Our thanks go to the Financial Times for their continued support, and everyone who is joining us for what promises to be a wonderful and rewarding day.”