How it works

We connect aspiring and new journalists with senior colleagues in the media who have a spare room for affordable, safe and hassle-free accommodation and mentorship during work placements, internships or new jobs.

Their company foots the bill, and we reinvest some of that money in helping those who don’t have a sponsor through our charitable foundation.

Who can take part?

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Interns

Over 18, with proof of a work experience placement, job offer or internship.

 

Become an intern

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Host-mentors

Active members of the media and journalism profession evidenced with industry references or a press card.

 

Become a host

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Organisations

Newsrooms, corporates and NGOs who want to improve social mobility in the media.

 

Become a client

Pricing & funding options

We have carefully designed three accommodation packages to address each of the career moments when we know accommodation costs to be a barrier to those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Work Experience

Work Experience

£350 for 2 weeks
Internships

Internships

£675 for 4 weeks
Early Careers

Early Careers

£675 for 4 weeks

All placements are paid by media organisations, funders or the PressPad Charitable Foundation’s community fund. Find out more about potential funders who can help you with a host-mentorship placement. Find out more about potential funders who can help you with a host-mentorship placement here. 

PressPad Peldge

PressPad Pledges

  We will always be cheaper than ALL other short-term accommodation options, apart from shared hostel rooms. It makes us a safe, affordable alternative for organisations to support young journalists with their career start up costs.

  We will NEVER ask eligible interns, entry-level workers and those we host to pay for our service.

Selected FAQs

How do I request a DBS check as an intern?

We will send you a request automatically once you send your profile for approval.

OR you can ask us to start the process earlier by emailing interns@presspad.co.uk

You will not need to pay for this certificate.

The request will come from a private DBS provider to the email address registered with your PressPad account. We ask that you check your SPAM folder regularly.

That you’ll need to hand to submit your request on the portal:

  • all your addresses for the last 5 years and the dates you lived there
  • If you hold any of these:
    • your driving licence
    • your National Insurance number
    • your passport

If you think you will struggle to provide some of the above because you were homeless, a refugee, asylum seeker, only arrived to the UK recently or for any other other reasons. Please be in touch with us at interns@presspad.co.uk

Can I offer a sofa bed in my living room to interns?

A sofa bed is fine, but not in a communal space. 

If your sofa bed is in a room that doubles up as an office, that’s fine as long as you work from home in another space.

As long as it’s a private room to which you don’t need regular access to, that’s totally fine.

Do I have to host interns over the weekend too?

It depends if you have made weekends available on your PressPad calendar. If yes, then you will be expected to host your intern during the weekend.

We strongly encourage hosts to consider letting interns stay over the weekend. Some interns come from quite a long way, the prohibitive cost of a train ticket may be too much for them.

I use my only spare room as an office, can I still become a host?

Of course! We understand that many people work from home (at least part of the week). 

Many interns are expected to only stay with our hosts for two weeks. It means that as long as you would be willing to move your home office to another room in your home for the duration of your stay, you would be VERY welcome to apply to become a PressPad host-mentor.

How do I request a DBS as a host?

DBS checks in England and Wales can be done through the government website:

https://www.gov.uk/request-copy-criminal-record

It currently costs £18. Once you have hosted two interns, you can email us at hosts@presspad.co.uk with a receipt to request a refund.

It usually takes up to 14 days for you to receive your certificate.

What you’ll need to hand:

  • all your addresses for the last 5 years and the dates you lived there
  • If you hold any of these:
    •  your driving licence
    • your National Insurance number
    • your passport

If you think you will struggle to provide some of the above because you were homeless, a refugee, asylum seeker, only arrived to the UK recently or for any other other reasons. Please be in touch with us at hosts@presspad.co.uk.

If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you’ll need to use their specific systems:

Do I have to answer all the questions before my account is approved?

Yes! We know we ask for a lot of information.

Most of it is for our reporting though, and not for others to see.

Without data about who our users are, we will struggle to get more funding to support our mission. Do note that we only use anonimised data in our reporting.

You also have the option to tell us you’d rather not say in each dropdown, and that’s also fine with us.

We take data protection very seriously, and you can read more about it here.

Ready for the next step?

Become an intern

Become a host

Become a client

 

Other ways to get involved

No spare room but want to help?

There are two main ways you can help if you can’t or don’t want to host:

  • Register as a volunteer (like CV reviews, mentoring, coffee chats) - Register here
  • Donate to The PressPad Charitable Foundation, which has just launched a fund to pay for host-mentorship for young people who don’t have a media sponsor: Donate here