BBC Outreach & Corporate Responsibility Feed

Telling my own story

Yasmin Ojo — Tue, 11 Oct 2016 15:28:26 +0000

Yasmin Ojo helps at Radio 1 and 1Xtra Pitch and Tour events with young students interested in media. These allow groups of students to see the Radio1 and 1Xtra offices and studios, learn about how technical equipment works and pitch a content idea to producers. It also gives them an insight to the kind of job roles available at the BBC.

'It has improved my confidence and I have an insight into what other young people want from the BBC'

I was a sixth form student in my first year, studying four A-levels. While the courses were of interest to me and very stimulating, I felt like I needed to do something else. I was struggling with how difficult it was to transition from GCSE to A-level. No one really prepares you for that. So I decided to look into apprenticeships, as I fancied a go at some practical work experience that would benefit my chances in my career.

Young people visiting the Live Lounge during Pitch and Tour with Yasmin, centre front.

I was always interested in journalism and loved to write, so when I came across the BBC Local Radio apprenticeship a light bulb went off in my head. I thought the course sounded perfect for me so I decided to apply. I ended up being chosen for the London position and I couldn’t believe that I was working for the BBC. I am now still working for Radio London as a Broadcast Assistant - helping set up radio content.

I decided to volunteer to help at BBC Outreach’s Radio 1 and 1xtra Pitch and Tour days, after receiving a notification about the opportunity from the coordinator of my apprenticeship. These days consist of showing a group of students around the Radio 1 and 1xtra offices and studios and listening to them pitch an idea for a programme that they were given in advance. I was able to connect with the students as I had been in their position not too long ago.

I was quite shy at first as I thought: why would these young people want to ask me anything? I have a lot less experience than the producers I was working with. But I was able to tell them how I got into the industry and gave them tips on how to stand out when applying for apprenticeships and work experience. One student was so inspired by my story that she approached me separately to ask more questions about applying for apprenticeships with the BBC.

My main goal of volunteering was to inspire other young people and show them that it’s possible to get a job within the BBC – and I feel like I achieved that. It has improved my confidence and I have been given an insight into what other young people want from the BBC. I can now take that back to my role at Radio London and help inspire some fresh ideas to our programmes.

Working with the BBC Outreach team was a great experience, as they encouraged me to tell the students about my own story and involved me like I was a member of the team. Volunteering really shows how passionate you are about a subject and shows that you care about making a difference to others. But it’s also enjoyable and pushes you to develop as an individual.

BBC Outreach & Corporate Responsibility brings the BBC closer to its audiences - particularly those audiences we have identified as harder to reach - with face-to-face activity, community support and staff volunteering.

Is the media for us?

Ahmed Hussain — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 17:54:34 +0000

Ahmed Hussain did a Hot Shoes placement with the BBC Outreach Face2Face project in Bradford. He helped young people aged 18-24 put together a short film exploring the media as a career.

'I felt challenged, had fun, and I was inspired by the young people!'

My usual day job is on the eighth floor of New Broadcasting House, in London. Whether I’m producing on my regular show on BBC Asian Network, or producing a show at Radio 1 or 1Xtra, it’s a place I am very familiar and comfortable with.

I know the studios like the back of my hand and enjoy working with the staff & DJs across the various networks. This was part of the reason why I chose to work with BBC Outreach – to get me out of that comfort zone, experience a new challenge in areas I wasn’t familiar with but knew I could put my skills to good use.

In my spare time, I regularly teach young people -¬ many of whom are not in education or training – how to get involved in media and more practically within Radio and TV. Hence the similar interests with people who don’t believe the BBC is for them or feel that there are jobs they cannot do. The truth is, they are more than skilled enough to work here.

Face2Face Bradford was a legacy project set-up in the Leeds and Bradford area after 1Xtra had visited for 1Xtra Live in 2015. It was an intensive (but amazing!) week where 15 young people aged 18-24 years were given the chance to chat and meet people from the BBC and other media outlets.

From the start, I had to grasp how BBC Outreach works and spent a few days in Bristol with Jo Sunderland and Shana Rose - who made it super easy! To sit on a board panel and interview young people who wanted to gain work experience at the BBC also opened my eyes to the other side of interviewing and how someone could bring something extra to the BBC if they got the opportunity.

In Face2Face, our students found out how careers work at the BBC, visited the BBC Salford offices and, of course, worked on a film of their own exploring whether the media was for them. This was hands-on experience for them.

They managed to turn around a film all within three days! As someone whose job is in radio, working on filming and editing visuals (something I love but get very little time to do) was stimulating and I picked up a lot of new skills. The end product of my group’s project was a parody film exploring the given subject - was the media for them. I felt challenged, had fun, every day was different and I myself felt inspired by the young people!

For both Bristol and Bradford I ran an interviewing skills workshop. It’s something I really enjoy doing and also seeing the reactions of those attending. It’s moments like this that you realise that because of our day-to-day jobs we get so ingrained with how smoothly everything runs and everyone knows how it works, that actually the majority of people out there find this a fascinating thing and once broken down – it involves a lot of skills and patience.

I’ve come back to work more excited to work with visual content, confident to ask to sit on boards and run more open days or similar workshops for my departments. It’s exciting to speak to people who see working at the BBC as an aspiration and really just reiterates how great my job is.