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Skills and training

Discover how we supported Bradford’s creative sector and helped build the next generation of cultural leaders.

Work placements

Young people worked across our teams, developed new skills, and played key roles in delivering Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.

Apprenticeships

We introduced paid apprenticeship roles across various Bradford 2025 departments, including our Marketing, Digital, Producing, Operations, Ticketing, and Press & PR teams. Delivered in partnership with Access Creative College, the UK’s industry-led creative college, the programme formed part of our remit to enhance skills and training opportunities for young people.

These full-time paid apprenticeships equipped young people with skills in their chosen fields, offered hands-on experience of working on a once-in-a-generation cultural programme that took place on their doorstep.

Young Creatives

Our Young Creatives programme helped young people to build skills and experience within a large arts organisation and our partner organisations.

Young Creatives combined their studies with work placements in the Bradford 2025 team and in our partner arts organisations. Paid at the Living Wage Foundation rate, these young people worked behind the scenes on creative programming and events planning for Bradford 2025.

Young Creatives was delivered in partnership with Bradford School of Art and Bradford College. The cohort gained vital on-the-job experience while working towards a Level 4 Professional Diploma in Creative Enterprise.

The Young Creatives programme was funded by Yorkshire-based funders the Harry & Mary Foundation and the Charles & Elsie Sykes Trust, who shared our passion for creating investment opportunities for young people connected to Bradford.

The Young Creatives programme aligned with our key principles of enhancing educational opportunities and improving the wellbeing of young people. Through this programme, we hoped that these young people would flourish, learn new skills, and go on to become excellent ambassadors for Bradford.
John Clough Chair of Trustees, Harry & Mary Foundation

Bradford 2025 Youth Panel

We recruited 17 young people aged 16–22 from a diverse range of backgrounds to join the Bradford 2025 Youth Panel.

From GCSE and A-level pupils to university students, a care worker to a finance apprentice, these brilliant young people helped to shape our work while building their skills in creative decision-making and charity governance.

Five young bradfordians in a line, posing for the camera
Bradford is a really big thing for me, being born here and living here, and I love seeing Bradford getting amazing things. Bradford 2025 is going to change my city, and I joined the Youth Panel so I could be a part of the change.
Noor Bradford 2025 Youth Panel member

BD: Walls Street Art Talent Development Programme

The BD: Walls Talent Development Programme was a free Street Art talent development programme for West Yorkshire-based artists – part of BD:Walls.

Developed through consultations with artists from across the district, this programme was designed to support and nurture local talent, equipping emerging and established mural artists with the skills, knowledge, and opportunities to bring their creative visions to life on a grand scale.

The artists who took part in this programme created the mural Serving the District – a striking, colourful new mural, that can be found at the Morrisons store in the Bradford suburb of Idle.

Delivered by industry leaders, Graffwerk, and supported by the Morrisons Foundation, the BD: Walls Talent Development Programme was a unique opportunity to learn from experienced muralists, gain hands-on experience, and contribute to Bradford’s growing reputation as a city of bold, vibrant public art.

New Focus: Bradford Young Curators

New Focus: Bradford Young Curators invited 10 young people from communities across Bradford to take over Impressions Gallery for Bradford 2025.

This ambitious 18-month project was part of Impressions Gallery’s award-winning New Focus programme, which supports young people aged 18–25 to gain the knowledge and skills they need to become the creatives of the future. The Young Curators benefited from workshops and mentoring from some of the UK’s leading photography experts and creative professionals.

At the heart of the project was the handover of curatorial control from Impressions Gallery to the Young Curators, who commissioned new work by five cutting-edge photographers from Bradford and beyond. The collective went out into communities around the District to unearth Bradford’s cherished family photos and preserve the stories behind them.

New Focus: Bradford Young Curators culminated in the group’s gallery takeover — the Young Curators’ exhibition at Impressions and the launch of the online family album, a powerful tribute to the people and communities of Bradford.

Exhibition at Impressions Gallery opened in September 2025.

New Focus →
10 individuals standing infront of a red wall. These are the cohort who will be Bradford's Young Curators.

Building capacity in the cultural sector

Our partnership with the Bradford Producing Hub saw tangible results. More than 1,000 people benefited from skills-based training and creative development opportunities, building new capacity in Bradford’s creative sector.