Up to 40 aspiring journalists from underrepresented communities are to get work experience placements at a city news website.

Bristol 24/7 has partnered with Babbasa, a Bristol-based social enterprise that sets out to support young people aged 16 to 25 with their professional aspirations.

The site is offering one-week placements to underrepresented young people interested in a career in journalism, as well as mentoring support and ongoing opportunities.

B24/7’s community and partnerships manager Meg Houghton Gilmour, pictured, said the title wanted to “recognise the barriers that a lot of people face when considering a career in journalism”.

She added: “We are also aware of the fact that generally the voices in media do not accurately represent the diversity of our communities in the UK.

“We have an opportunity to change this on a local level and, perhaps, create a model that can be adapted for use further afield.

“We have transformed our work experience programme to make it our most accessible, supportive and varied programme yet and we are delighted to be working with the team at Babbasa to help connect with young people in Bristol so that they might have their first taste of journalism with us.

“Work experience is just one of the ways in which Bristol24/7 are creating entry routes into journalism for underrepresented communities, we are also planning on implementing a career ladder programme and we continue to hire and train community reporters.

“Bristol24/7 have long been fans of Babbasa’s work and we are hugely proud to be working with them.

“We look forward to supporting them over the next year with their exciting plans and we’re grateful to be able to draw on their expertise when it comes to inclusion, accessibility and supporting young people in Bristol.”

Poku Osei, the founder and chief executive of Babbasa, said: “We are hugely grateful to Bristol 24/7 for their support and we look forward to working closely with the team to help meet the needs of disadvantaged and diverse young people to support them to gain meaningful insights and work experience in the media sector.”