A person is stood in corridor in a cultural setting. They are looking down towards their phone. The corridor is lined with colourful artworks on easels.

Alternative Saturday Jobs

Work experience that works

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2026

Alternative Saturday Jobs is taking a short pause right now, but we’re looking ahead to bringing it back.

With the right funders and partners, we can continue to throw open doors for young people who face barriers to accessing careers in arts and culture, helping them to build confidence, gain meaningful work experience and see a genuine future for themselves in the creative industries.

Want to help make those opportunities possible? Get in touch

How ASJ works

Alternative Saturday Jobs places young people into a wide range of fixed-term roles in the arts and cultural sector, giving them opportunity to learn about creative career paths and get a ‘foot in the door’. This can include creative and technical roles, back-office, front-of-house, hospitality and marketing.

A key objective is to target this support at young people facing challenging personal circumstances, and to provide a meaningful experience for the young people with a genuine role to for them to fulfil. We work closely with our host organisations to achieve this and support them through the process.

How we know it works

In 2015 an independent evaluation reported that the programme had consistently provided authentic work experience for young people in the arts and cultural sector. The evaluation evidenced that by the end of the twelve-week placement employers considered all of the young people ‘highly employable and work-ready’. On average, young people experienced:

36% rise in confidence and their ability to communicate
28% rise in their ability to self-organise and problem solve
26% increase in their ability to participate effectively in a team

I’ve had some really cool moments during my time [on placement] that have helped me feel more confident in what I can do.

Chloe, ASJ Trainee 2024

ASJ and Curious Works

Most recently, we worked with Greater Manchester Combined Authority and WEA to offer several positions in Wigan Borough through our Curious Works project.

Learn about Curious Works

“This was an excellent learning experience for our organisation, showing what can be achieved with a placement in a limited timescale.”

Rizwan Iqbal, MiF

You can make a difference

No organisation is too big or too small to host an ASJ. If you do, you’ll be investing in the success and growth of our sector. These young people can add value through new skills and ideas, as well as being the future creative workforce.

Alternative Saturday Job placements are funded in tranches - usually based around a locality or social-economic need. We are always excited to explore new ideas and would love to hear from you if you think can support this model.