Completing our 15 year anniversary pledge to support young creatives in Staffordshire

To mark our 15th anniversary in January this year, we pledged to deliver 15 influential opportunities in 2025 to help young people start a career in the creative industry.

As part of the campaign, we also wanted to engage in community outreach and build local partnerships to implement a well-rounded approach for maximum impact.

As of November 2025, we’ve officially surpassed our target and completed our pledge by delivering 16 influential opportunities spanning work experience, placements, internships, mentoring and teacher encounters. Throughout the year, we’ve also helped businesses better understand the realities of hiring creatives and the link between education and getting young people into work.

We’re pleased to announce that one marketing intern, Hollie Franks, has accepted a permanent position with us as a Creative Marketing Executive. With a Marketing MSc, experience under her belt and a genuine passion for the subject, Hollie’s already proving to be a fantastic new asset to our growing team.

"I am incredibly grateful to Kate and all the team at Starbots for offering me such a valuable internship after completing my MSc Marketing degree, and I’m absolutely delighted that it developed into a permanent role as Creative Marketing Executive.

“I’m excited to continue growing within such a supportive and creative team, and to help bring great ideas to life in ways that make a meaningful impact for our clients."

As a strategic thinking and a creative edge, Hollie will be liaising with our clients to develop successful marketing strategies and growth-focused campaigns.

Our initiative engaged high school and college students, as well as graduates looking to take the first step in their creative career. Interested in a range of disciplines across branding, marketing, design and digital, the aspiring creatives have worked closely with our team over the last 11 months to learn fundamental skills and experience the way agencies work.

Industrial Design Graduate, Taylor, has joined us in the studio over the past few months to gain design experience and an insight into agency life.

Taylor’s found the experience extremely valuable, commenting, “Going from 3D design to brand storytelling has helped me build on the skills I learnt at university and discover new ones. I love being in a studio where ideas turn into identities – the atmosphere here makes learning fast, creative and genuinely enjoyable.”

Following a live website brief earlier in the year in collaboration with Stoke on Trent College, we’re currently working with students on a live design brief to help them upskill alongside their studies.

Two of our graphic designers, Lewis and Kieran, delivered brand and design briefs to Year 12 and Year 13 students. Over the course of the following weeks, the students were crafting a brand or creating a cover design for a book and will receive industry-style feedback from our designers to help them improve even further.

Following the success of our 15 year anniversary pledge, Managing Director, Kate Cooper, commented: “I’m so proud of Starbots for delivering what we set out to do and most importantly, giving young people real, valuable experience in the creative industry.

“A lot of our highs over the last 15 years have been where our work makes a positive difference to the lives of young people, and this pledge will undoubtedly have a place in all our hearts for years to come.

“2025 has been a truly special year, not just because we’ve celebrated our 15th anniversary, but also because it’s been the centenary year of our local city of Stoke-on-Trent. It’s been such an exciting time to shine a light on the incredible young talent and growing creative future of our local area.

“We wish all of our participants all the best for the future.”