Academy

Empowering Middlesbrough’s Next Generation of Creatives

Bringing real creative industry experience to Teesside — for young people who deserve a fair start.

Opening Doors for 16–19 Year Olds Across Teesside

The UK Top Influencer Academy is building brighter futures for young people in Middlesbrough and across the Tees Valley.
We provide hands-on work experience opportunities in creative, digital, and influencer-related industries — designed specifically for local students who want to gain real skills and career confidence.

Why Local Experience Matters

Many Middlesbrough students face significant barriers that make travel to big cities impossible.

• Middlesbrough is the 6th most deprived area in England (South Tees JSNA, 2023).

• In some wards like Newport and Central Middlesbrough, more than two-thirds of children live in poverty (Asian Standard, 2024).

• The average local income is nearly £70 per week lower than the UK average (Tees Valley Combined Authority, 2024).

For students and families already managing tight budgets, travel, accommodation, or unpaid internships in distant cities simply aren’t realistic.

That’s why the UK Top Influencer Academy is rooted in Teesside — delivering professional creative placements, industry networking, and live project experience that young people can access without leaving The North East.

Our program works closely with Middlesbrough College, the largest further education provider on Teesside, home to over 5,000 students aged 16–18 (Middlesbrough College, 2024).

These students are the heart of Teesside’s creative future — studying everything from:
🎬 Media production
🎨 Graphic design
💄 Hair, makeup, and beauty
📸 Photography
💻 Digital marketing & content creation

Many of these learners are already showing incredible creative potential — but lack the industry access or financial means to showcase it.
That’s where we come in.

Through UK Top Influencer’s year-round work experience program, we place students in authentic creative environments — from fashion shoots and influencer events to social media campaigns and live productions.

Every placement is designed to build confidence, professionalism, and transferable skills, helping students turn classroom learning into real-world experience.

Our creative work placements offer:
✅ Industry exposure through live influencer events and campaigns
✅ Hands-on roles alongside content creators, stylists, and media teams
✅ Portfolio development and CV support
✅ Mentoring from real professionals across the creative and influencer industries

By embedding this experience locally, we help students see that you don’t need to move to London to succeed in media or content creation.
The North East is full of talent — it just needs the right platform.

Why It Matters

Middlesbrough has some of the highest child poverty rates in the UK and some of the lowest social mobility (Social Mobility Commission, 2023).
That makes local, inclusive initiatives like ours essential.

By connecting students with real creative work experience — right here in the North East — we’re not just helping them find careers, we’re helping them believe in themselves.

Because opportunity shouldn’t depend on your postcode.

We need to stop telling young people they can do anything, we need to show them how to do anything – Chris Henderson