The Printing Charity join forces with The Yorkshire Post to promote industry talent

THE YORKSHIRE Post has partnered with The Printing Charity to shine a light on Yorkshire’s creative and digital industries and help develop the next generation of talent.
Ismail Mulla (left), of The Yorkshire Post, and Gurdev Singh, of The Printing CharityIsmail Mulla (left), of The Yorkshire Post, and Gurdev Singh, of The Printing Charity
Ismail Mulla (left), of The Yorkshire Post, and Gurdev Singh, of The Printing Charity

The charity is funding an internship for up-and-coming journalist Ismail Mulla at Yorkshire’s national newspaper.

Part of Mr Mulla’s business brief will be to report on a sector responsible for more than 120,000 jobs in the region, the largest concentration of printing, publishing and related jobs outside of London.

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He will receive training and mentoring during his year-long salaried position at The Yorkshire Post.

The printing industry in Yorkshire has been through widespread changes in recent years with the advent of new technology and evolution of marketing practices.

The region has been at the forefront of changes such as the introduction of direct mail and the use of data and analytics to target customers with relevant information.

These have helped give birth to a successful new generation of digital and creative businesses.

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Gurdev Singh, the Yorkshire president of the charity, said: “The Printing Charity, like printing, is evolving, which is mirrored through the history of The Yorkshire Post. What better partnership to communicate that?”

Mr Singh is a former director at Communisis and witnessed many of the changes first hand.

He is now a non-executive director at Bloom Agency and owns a printing firm in Pocklington.

Mr Singh developed the idea of the internship with Nathan Lane, who runs the public relations company Campfire.

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The Yorkshire Post selected Mr Mulla after interviewing journalism graduates from Leeds Business School, part of Leeds Beckett University.

Mr Mulla was born and raised in Dewsbury and decided that he wanted to become a journalist at the age of 10.

“It was a vocation I chased with great rigour from then on - writing for the student newsletter at Thornhill Community Academy and editing the student magazine at Huddersfield New College along the way.

“While doing my degree I did work experience at the Yorkshire Evening Post, Dewsbury Reporter and Spenborough Guardian. In 2012 I graduated from Leeds Metropolitan (now Beckett) University with a BA in Journalism. After which I spent two years working at a local community magazine in Batley called Paigaam.

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“For me to be given this opportunity at The Yorkshire Post is something that I am very grateful for and I look forward to the challenges posed by working in a busy, vibrant environment.”

Stephen Gilbert, chief executive of The Printing Charity, said: “I am delighted to be working with the charity’s Yorkshire committee and The Yorkshire Post on this great initiative, a paid intership in journalism.

“As a nation and an industry we need to invest in young people. Working in partnership with The Yorkshire Post we are adressing that need.

“Leeds is the largest print centre outside London with a great regional daily which will give Ismail a strong grounding in journalism through bespoke training.

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“The Printing Charity has been supporting people in the industry since 1827.

“We are a national charity that helps people who work or have worked in our industry whatever their job. I am proud to be able to build on that tradition with this exciting initiative with The Yorkshire Post.”