Why we’ve joined the Collaborative Future programme

Building diverse experience with our data internship

Collaborative Future is a social enterprise advocating for a society where everyone is valued and empowered. They run inclusive recruitment programmes for companies wishing to diversify their team and remove bias from recruitment processes, and are currently working with their third cohort of a ‘matchmaking’ programme for businesses and young people.

The Collaborative Future Programme is a six-month programme – and we at Data Orchard are excited to have joined as a collaborator. The programme matches businesses with interns from a broad range of backgrounds for part-time placements.

The ethos of the programme is all about gaining fresh perspectives, collaborating across industries and backgrounds, and supporting young people (and businesses) to try out new things. We couldn’t be more supportive of these aims and think many of our readers may also be interested in taking part in future programmes. So, we thought we’d introduce you to the intern we’ve been lucky to be working with this year through the programme.

Anne-Marie joined us as an intern through the Collaborative Future programme in February 2021. She now works with us one day a week, focused on two of our data research projects. Despite being new to 'data work', we're finding her creative brain has taken to it amazingly well. And with her background in marketing, events and film, she is bringing fresh perspectives and new skills to our team.

Here’s a short Q&A with Anne-Marie:

What attracted you to a Collaborative Futures internship?

Anne-Marie: After searching for work after being made redundant during the pandemic, I came across the Collaborative Future scheme on Instagram and thought, why not? It ticked quite a lot of boxes for me as someone who was figuring out what they wanted to do. One aspect that attracted me was that it offered a remote work environment which was flexible. I like to get stuck into many personal projects, so this was ideal. Mainly though, I got hooked by the fact that the scheme focused on your skills and how they can be used in a variety of industries. As someone who has worked in one particular industry, I was intrigued to be able to see how my skills could work elsewhere.

How does the internship programme work?

Anne-Marie: Over a period of six months, you are matched with businesses depending on projects they have and what kind of skills they need to complement their work. This can vary from one-off projects to longer ones that span a few months. During the 3 days a week you are contracted to work, you work on those projects liaising with a variety of businesses, as well as taking part in workshops run by Collaborative Future and their partners. For these workshops, businesses are also invited to attend, so that the interns and the companies they work with learn together and continue to build relationships. Alongside all of this, you get assigned a mentor from Collaborative Future to support you along the way, as well as a work coach you can discuss your long-term goals with.

Tell us a bit about yourself and where you are in your career?

Anne-Marie: I am a 25-year-old who has a BA in Film and an MA in Producing Film and Television which I completed in 2018. Since then, I have been working primarily in cinema, as well as marketing for a local arts venue. My main passion is film and I continue to pursue that in my spare time, however I am constantly on the search to try new things and new projects. The driver is to continue to grow as a person and learn a variety of new skills, whether that be in marketing or any job role that I have not heard of yet. Hopefully in my next position, I can do all of these, as well as explore my ever-growing list of hobbies and passions.

How are you finding working with Data Orchard?

Anne-Marie: At first, I was a bit nervous starting to work for an industry that I wasn’t used to, but Data Orchard has been really accommodating and I have learnt so much in a short space of time. It is really rewarding being able to use my existing skills in a different space and share my perspective on certain topics and have those discussions with the team. Overall, it has been a really enriching experience and I look forward to seeing what else I can discover.

What work are you most interested in getting involved with?

Anne-Marie: I am most interested in a project Data Orchard is developing with Data Cymru. This will help public servants across Wales improve their confidence and fluency with data. I knew nothing about the Welsh language before and it has been really interesting learning about that, as well as how data can be used to benefit everyone in the workplace. As I enjoy the process of planning and marketing for events, it will be interesting to see how that is adapted to online workshops about data.

How do you think the internship, and your placement with Data Orchard, will help with your career?

Anne-Marie: I believe that my experience with Data Orchard, and the internship as a whole, will give me a wider understanding of the data industry and how my particular skill set fits into it. I also hope to gain new skills as well as confidence that I will be able to use in my future career, whatever that may be.

We love this idea so much, we’re exploring possibilities for a similar scheme, specifically for data interns for the not-for-profit sector. Would this be of interest to you? Get in touch with our Data and Digital Innovation Director, Ben Proctor.