Last year Clemenger BBDO Sydney and I-Manifest have announced a new Creative Apprenticeship Program – The Forge – designed to provide a foot in the door for young creative talent who may not have attended university or completed AWARD school.

Jacqueline Loh and Cindy Luu are the first of four teams to join the Agency on a three-month fully paid internship in the Creative Department.

Loh has recently graduated from South Sydney High and has always been into telling stories, which she explores through her love of illustration and writing. To land her place in The Forge, Loh made a short film and has been involved with I-Manifest since 2014, including a project shown at Vivid Sydney.

Cindy Luu graduated from Strathfield South High School in 2016. She spends much of her spare time reading, drawing, and designing things that would make a difference for people. To get into The Forge, Luu designed and built a prototype for a smart cane to help the visually impaired.

Through I-Manifest Luu had an artwork displayed as a part of the 2016 Biennale of Sydney.

The presentations given by students as part of the interview process were incredibly impressive, with Josh Aitken, creative lead, saying, “Our choice was made almost impossible as all of the ideas, short films and product prototypes the finalists came up with were insightful, entertaining and surprising.”

Emily Perrett, managing director, added, “We’ve worked with Jo and I-Manifest for years and have always been so impressed with the programs and the talent they unearth.

“We’re excited to be able to partner with her to provide genuine career pathways for some of their students. It’s one of several things we’ve got happening this year to improve the diversity of people coming into our team.”