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The Juice Academy Wins Skills Award


Just a year after its launch, The Juice Academy – the UK’s first industry-led social media apprenticeship – last night beat off stiff competition from other Greater Manchester businesses in the creative and digital sector to win a Greater Manchester Skills for Business award in the creative and digital skills category sponsored by Manchester Metropolitan University.

Jess Matthewman, digital strategist and Academy tutor and Bryony Czujko, Tangerine account executive, picked up the award at an awards ceremony at The Hilton Hotel Manchester Deansgate hosted by Irish comedian and presenter of TV’s The Apprentice, You’re Fired!, Dara O Briain who compèred the event.

The Juice Academy apprenticeship – the brainchild of Manchester’s Tangerine PR – was created to increase youth employment and fill an industry-wide skills gap by training young professionals in the practical application of social media.

Apprentices are trained in key skills such as social media management, developing content for social sharing, developing a digital strategy, keyword analysis and SEO, and social media for mobile. As part of their day-to-day roles, they play a vital role in their company’s or clients’ social media strategy and bringing to life the lessons learnt from class.

Richard Nash from Greater Manchester Learning Provider Network said: “The Juice Academy has successfully identified a critical digital skills gap and has created the UK’s first industry-led social media apprenticeships to fill this. Their apprenticeship programme has been created for the industry, by the industry, which makes this organisation truly stand out above any other, which positions it in a league of its own.”

Commenting on the award win, Lucy Adams, senior project co-ordinator, said: “We’ve had some major milestones in The Academy recently, such as every apprentice on our first cohort being offered permanent roles at the end of the apprenticeship this month, and now this award tops off a superb year.”