A university’s journalism department has won a contract to help train BBC journalists at postgraduate level.

The University of Kent’s Centre for Journalism has been chosen as the learning provider for the Level 7 Senior Journalist Apprenticeship following a competitive public tendering process.

The contract has been awarded as part of the BBC’s growing apprenticeships programme and aims to develop the skills of graduate- and postgraduate-level journalists as they begin their careers across various divisions of the corporation.

The initial three-year contract means that the apprentices – the first 14 of whom will start in January 2022 – will spend 20 per cent of their working week learning at the university’s Medway campus in preparation for their final senior apprenticeship assessments with the National Council for the Training of Journalists.

Ian Reeves, pictured, head of the university’s Centre for Journalism, said: “We are delighted to have won one of the most significant training contracts in the journalism industry.

“It’s great to know that our commitment to teaching ethically-grounded modern journalism skills– whether to apprentices or students on our NCTJ-accredited BA and MA courses – is valued so highly.

“Journalism is a cornerstone of the nation’s culture, and we’re really looking forward to playing our part in developing some of its stars of the future.”

The apprentices will be placed at various divisions within the BBC during their two-year placements, including in news, sport, Scotland and Wales.

Daniell Morrisey, editorial portfolio manager for the BBC, said: “The BBC has trained over 120 new entrants through our existing Level 3 Journalism Apprenticeship and we’re delighted to complement the programme with the new postgraduate level 7.

“We look forward to developing the programme as part of our portfolio and ambitious plans to reach 1,000 apprentices across the BBC by 2025.”

Joanne Butcher, chief executive of the NCTJ, added: ‘We are delighted this contract has been won by one of our flagship award-winning centres and a university that was a pioneer of NCTJ broadcast qualifications.

“We look forward to working in partnership with the BBC and the journalism team at the University of Kent to make the new journalist apprenticeship and NQJ a success.”