Golin to pay initial London housing costs for interns to attract talent 'from the far flung corners of the UK'
The London housing crisis is in danger of sending young creatives packing for alternative work north of the capital or to warmer climates abroad, an issue integrated comms agency Golin is moving to address with a new scheme that helps house its next roster of interns.
Golin's Bright Young Things
The ‘Golin B&B’ will offer its next intake of interns (who will be branded as ‘Bright Young Things’) the following: “A paid flat-share with their fellow interns in London’s zone 1 or 2 for their first month, followed by a 0% loan for a deposit and first month’s rent in the capital to help with living costs for the remainder of their internship.”
The agency says that the scheme opens its placements to people outside London, especially those who don't have financial support from parents when establishing a foothold in the capital.
Bibi Hilton, Golin managing director, said: “If you want to move to London to start your career you need anywhere between £1,000 - £2,000 in your pocket for a deposit and the first month’s rent. That’s a significant sum of money for anyone, but if you don’t have family support or know anyone to stay with, then it is likely to prevent you being able to take up internship or a starter position. That’s a problem for us.
“We want to hire the best creative brains in the UK and we don’t want brilliant people turning down an internship with us or being put off applying in the first place due to the cost of living. We have always paid our interns and pay the London Living wage, but as London living costs soar it’s no longer enough and we want to ensure we don’t miss out on great talent from the far flung corners of the UK.”
The ‘Golin B&B’ initiatives will launch in February 2017 for a spring intern intake.
It forms part of the agency's mission to promote a more diverse industry, following its CV-scrapping Unternship initiative in 2016 that offered one candidate a paid-for trip and three-month internship at the London living wage.
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