Hachette UK opens up 2024 traineeship to career change applicants

16 January, London – Hachette UK has today opened applications for its 2024 traineeship programme which, alongside entry-level positions, will provide placements for experienced candidates looking to take a new step in their career. Now in its sixth year, the aim is to welcome individuals who are looking for a career change or wish to return to work after a career break and aim to place them in mid-level roles.

Hachette UK is partnering for the third year with literary agency Curtis Brown and Waterstones, following the success of its 2022 – 2023 cohort, which saw eight of the ten trainees landing roles at Hachette UK. Other traineeship alumni include Tierney Witty, who is now an Editor at Orion, and Yassine Belkacemi, who first joined the publisher through the traineeship and is now Editorial Director of John Murray Press.

The publisher will continue to work with Creative Access to recruit exceptional talent from under-represented groups, with all applications for the traineeship being made via the Creative Access website.

Designed to make publishing more accessible to under-represented groups, as part of Hachette UK’s industry-leading vision for diversity and inclusion, Changing the Story. It is actively seeking applications from candidates from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, applicants from lower socio-economic backgrounds and particularly men from both of these backgrounds, to improve representation of these groups in Hachette UK’s workforce.

The trainees will spend the year within one of Hachette UK’s editorial, marketing and publicity, rights, contracts or sales teams. Those specialising in editorial will spend a month at Curtis Brown to learn how to represent authors and matchmake them with publishers. The trainees will also spend a month at Waterstones to learn the art of bookselling and understand consumer buying behaviour. Hachette UK also delivers a bespoke learning and development programme, which provides the opportunity to learn about the journey of publishing a book from pitch to production.

Lisa Waterman, Group HR Director at Hachette UK, commented: “I am so proud of the impact our traineeship programme is having on our business and industry. Designed to tackle the lack of diversity in our workforce, we are benefitting from welcoming talented staff to our business, who otherwise might have been blocked by barriers that exist to accessing a publishing career. We are improving representation across all levels of the business, so it feels like a positive step to open up the traineeship to those further along in their career and looking to return or change their job. I’m excited to meet our new trainees and colleagues.”

Kate Skipper, Chief Operating Officer at Waterstones, commented: “We are delighted to be supporting Hachette UK’s industry-leading trainee programme for the third year, which provides such an important new route into the industry. Getting books into readers’ hands is the very essence of what the publishing industry is about and providing trainees with a behind-the-scenes experience of how booksellers create bestsellers is a real highlight of the year for us. An understanding of customer behaviour and the way a good bookshop helps readers discover new books will provide an invaluable grounding for those embarking on new publishing careers. We hope we are also able to impart a sense of how fun it can be to champion books directly to readers and immensely look forward to welcoming this year’s trainee intake.”

Olivia Bignold, Agent’s Assistant at Curtis Brown, commented: “The Hachette UK traineeship is a fantastic initiative for all involved. It was a pleasure to work with several of the trainees, who never ceased to impress me with their eye for good writing and eagerness to learn. It was valuable to get their insight on submissions. The scheme also served as a brilliant networking opportunity, and I can’t wait to work with them in the future!”

James Whelan, former Publishing Trainee and Sales Operations Executive at Hachette UK, commented: “Through the traineeship, I found a workplace I can commit myself to fully, knowing there are paths for progression and acknowledgement of my hard work and commitment. The Rights and Sales teams were hands-on and supportive, and recognised that my ultimate goal was to achieve a job, and they were ready and willing to build me up with skills and development opportunities to make that a reality (and they did!). I was given fantastic opportunities to learn new skills and develop my knowledge and was assisted in making connections within the wider business. I learnt what it takes to make a successful division, and the considerations and decisions made with each title and acquisition.”

All applications can be made by following the links here. Applications close 18 February 2024 for entry-level placements and 25 February 2024 for mid-level placements.