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Black students living or studying in the South West are being encouraged to apply for a new scheme that offers up to 50 paid internships in a bid to help transform the prospects of young people in the region’s black community.

Bristol City Council and financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown have launched the West of England Black Interns Pilot Programme, which is open to applicants in Bristol, Bath, North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

The programme offers paid work experience with more than 20 organisations, including Bristol-based chamber of commerce Business West, City of Bristol College and film production company Plimsoll Productions.

The internships will run later this year from September 6 to October 1, offering training and development opportunities as well as mentorship and sponsorship.

The scheme’s organisers intend to run the programme annually over the next five years, having been inspired by the similar #10000BlackInterns national initiative which will start next year.

Earlier this month analysis by the Guardian of data from the Office for National Statistics suggested that young black British workers have been hit disproportionately hard by the pandemic.

More than 40% of black people aged 16-24 were unemployed between October and December 2020, more than three times the unemployment rate for white workers in the same age range.

Heather Cooper, chief people officer at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “It is exciting to see so many organisations embrace the West of England Black Interns Pilot. We are all aware of the impact the pandemic has had on our community and like most organisations, we want to help improve social mobility and provide workplace opportunities.