IAB UK backs TRANSITION initiative

Launched by Grace Blue Partnership, the global executive search business, TRANSITION is a free to use online platform providing a place for people to find inspiration, join its network, and access opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

At launch, TRANSITION is supported by more than 30 trade associations and organisations including IAB UK, the WFA, IPA, 4A’s, ANA, ISBA, The Marketing Society, Advertising Association, D&AD, Spikes and NABS. Partners are providing content and support for career development and, where applicable, new job opportunities, in a response to the widespread impact on talent retention. 

The site also includes current job opportunities from organisations including Amazon, Snap Inc and Headspace, with the anticipation that this will continue to grow. Commenting on the initiative, Amazon’s Global Chief Brand Officer Claudine Cheever said that the launch of TRANSITION shows a “humanity and emotional intelligence” on behalf of Grace Blue. 

Grace Blue estimates that the implications of the COVID-19 crisis on the career development of advertising, media and marketing professionals poses a real threat to strategic, creative and technical capabilities for brands around the world. TRANSITION has been created to help limit this impact by providing a community platform for displaced talent to rapidly connect with employers who are fast adapting to a different set of customer behaviours and need specialist expertise to transform business models. 

Commenting on the initiative, Juliet Timms, Grace Blue Partnership’s Founder, said: “We have never seen such disruption in employment in the marketing, media and advertising industries at all levels, and across many sectors. If you feel this is a platform that could help someone you know or if you know of companies that might be hiring please let them know about TRANSITION. We want to reach every person that has found themselves out of work and every company that might be hiring, and we all need to come together to help.”

Stephen Woodford, Chief Executive, Advertising Association, added: “Like in all countries, UK advertising’s employers face a very tough period ahead to retain talent and to carry on recruiting and developing a more diverse and inclusive workforce because of COVID-19. We urge all employers in our industry to use the TRANSITION platform to help keep people from all kinds of backgrounds fully engaged in our industry, to ensure our workforce remains truly world-class.”

If you want to find out more and get involved with TRANSITION, visit their website here.