The Advertising Association, the UK advertising industry trade body, together with Media Smart, the advertising and media industry’s education programme, has launched a new virtual work experience programme, promoting advertising as an exciting and accessible career option for early career talent. It has been developed in partnership with careers and university experiences platform, Springpod, and launches with two free, immersive virtual work experiences. These are designed to help people understand the advertising industry, explore what it’s really like to work in creative and commercial roles, and kickstart their advertising careers.
The virtual work experience launches in response to a range of findings highlighting the need for greater guidance on pursuing advertising as a career. The advertising industry supports 1.7 million jobs in the UK, 60% of which are based outside London, (Advertising Pays 2025) but data from The Sutton Trust (2024) shows only 35% of young people outside London know someone working in the creative industries.
Furthermore, the 2025 All In Census revealed that just 20% of the talent in the advertising workforce comes from a working-class background, compared to 40% of the UK working population. Creative UK’s 2025 report reinforced this challenge – those from lower socio-economic backgrounds (57%) and 18-24 year olds (54%) are less likely to view creative careers as viable.
Sharon Lloyd Barnes, Commercial Director and Inclusion Lead, Advertising Association, said: “There are so many exciting places to work across the ad industry for every skill set, but little awareness of how to explore advertising as a career. Our ambition for this partnership is to make our next generation of talent aware of the variety of roles that are available to them, providing the opportunity to learn more about them in an engaging way, and supporting young people with meaningful experiences they can take to interviews or their first role.”
Rachel Barber-Mack, Executive Director, Media Smart, said: “Virtual work experience is an exciting extension to Media Smart’s current careers and advertising literacy work. For the first time, through this partnership with the Advertising Association, every young person and young adult in the UK can access advertising careers simulations from school, home or college on the Springpod platform at the touch of a button. Moving forwards, we are excited to work with the industry to grow the roles and opportunities on offer.”
The first two experiences, exploring creative and commercial roles in advertising, feature Neverland Creative and Bauer Media Group respectively, with ‘industry experts’ from each business sharing their day-to-day experiences, before guiding people through a simulated activity brief. The user can also take various activities to understand the needed skills for each function, as well as a quiz to discover which roles in advertising broadly suit them best. Each experience contains up to seven hours of self-paced digital content, with users gaining a certificate for their CV or personal statements upon completion.
This launch marks the first time the advertising industry has been represented on the Springpod platform, as part of a strategy to support diverse entry points into advertising careers and increase awareness of the breadth of roles across the sector. The initiative, which has been jointly funded by Media Smart and Front Foot, the Advertising Association’s network of leading brands, agencies, media owners and tech companies, aims to improve social mobility and early career inspiration, helping young people – particularly those without existing industry exposure, to increase career-readiness before applying for their first role.
Sam Hyams, CEO, Springpod, said: “Advertising is one of the most creative and dynamic industries in the UK, contributing £109 billion to the economy and supporting countless jobs, yet for too many young people it remains invisible as a career path. This partnership with the Advertising Association and Media Smart changes that. For the first time, young people will be able to explore the full breadth of what the industry has to offer through accessible, engaging digital experiences, long before they face the pressure of choosing a career. That kind of early exposure is exactly what builds the diverse, motivated talent pipeline that the industry needs and that young people deserve.”
The virtual work experiences will be available to the public from 21 May and can be accessed here.
