Andy Taylor Foundation brings digital media careers scheme to young people in Liverpool

Maisie (left) and Lara from the Andy Taylor Foundation

The Andy Taylor Foundation has extended its programme that supports disadvantaged young people to get work in the digital media sector to the UK city of Liverpool.

Foot in the Door Liverpool opened for applications today. It will provide training and work experience in the digital media sector for 12 young people who live in the city and are not currently in education, employment or training (NEET).

The initiative is being launched in collaboration with the Liverpool Film Office and the city’s Youth Guarantee Trailblazer scheme, with support from industry organisations including Big Egg Films, Hat Trick Productions, LA Productions and Lime Pictures’ L16 Digital.

The Andy Taylor Foundation is a charity launched four years ago in memory of the late Andy Taylor, co-founder of digital-first prodco Little Dot Studios and a pioneer of the digital space.

The charity launched its first Foot in the Door initiative in 2022, in partnership with Manchester-based social enterprise SharpFutures, to help 18- to 24-year-olds break into the creative sector.

Foot in the Door Liverpool will launch in the autumn with a seven-week course aimed at 18- to 21-year-old NEETs. It comes after recent figures from the Office for National Statistics showed more than one million young people aged 16-24 across the UK are now classed as NEET.

Participants will complete three weeks of industry-led training focused on confidence building, communication, teamwork, workplace behaviour and digital media skills. They will then progress to four weeks of paid work experience placements with employers from across the media, creative and business sectors.

The Andy Taylor Foundation said it has designed the programme in response to Young People and Work, the government-commissioned review into youth unemployment led by Alan Milburn and published in 2025. The review described rising rates of economic inactivity among young people in the UK as a national crisis.

Lara Taylor, founder of the Andy Taylor Foundation, said: “The statistics around youth unemployment and disengagement should be a wake-up call for all of us. We meet talented young people every day who have creativity, ambition and potential, but simply haven’t had the opportunities, networks or support needed to get started.

“Foot in the Door Liverpool is about changing that. By combining industry-led training with real workplace experience, we’re helping young people build confidence, develop valuable skills and create meaningful connections that can open doors to future careers.”

For more information about Foot in the Door Liverpool, or to discuss partnership opportunities, visit www.andytaylorfoundation.org.