The Green Light List stops poor treatment of interns and graduates.
Creative graduates might roll out of university armed with a fresh portfolio and buckets of enthusiasm, but one area in which they're often lacking is professional experience. Sometimes, this can lead to new graduates being treated unfairly while on placement or working in a junior position. Now, however, the recently launched Green Light List aims to combat this inequality.
Unveiled yesterday, the Green Light List platform gives creatives the chance to anonymously review agencies. If the agencies in question are found to treat interns, graduates and entry-level employees fairly, they're awarded a 'Green Light' of recognition.
Created by design educator Jenny Theolin, in collaboration with creative technology company rehab, Green Light also hopes to become a resource bank that will inform and educate junior staff and students about their legal rights.
Whereas other sites that rate employers can become hung up on the negatives, Green Light is all about focusing on the positives and championing the agencies that treat their staff well. With the ultimate goal of stopping the poor treatment of interns and juniors, Green Light has come along just as diversity and equality in all industries has come under extreme scrutiny.
Companies who undervalue our junior workforce don’t deserve them
Jenny Theolin
"I truly believe we need to focus on the positive, promote the awesome companies, and inspire talent," says project instigator Theolin, who's the owner of Studio Theolin. "Our junior workforce is extremely important for the future of the creative industries. Companies who undervalue them don’t deserve them. I am very pleased rehab joined me in the fight to promote the good eggs in our industry."
"We’ve created a platform that we hope will help interns, graduate and juniors find great entry-level positions with companies who really value their time, talent and passion. I am fed up with the agency bullies and if this list only helps one individual, it’s a roaring success!"
The CEO of rehab, Rob Bennett, adds: "The fair treatment of junior team members is of crucial importance to the future of the creative industry. At rehab we are really committed to this as without a diverse mix of young team members we limit ourselves. This is true across the industry landscape. It’s time for creative companies to stand up and take accountability."
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"Green Light List is an important project for us. Failing to address this unfair treatment puts us, as an industry collective, at risk of real long-term issues with talent acquisition and consequently the quality of work we are able to deliver."
Dom Carter is a freelance writer who specialises in art and design. Formerly a staff writer for Creative Bloq, his work has also appeared on Creative Boom and in the pages of ImagineFX, Computer Arts, 3D World, and .net. He has been a D&AD New Blood judge, and has a particular interest in picture books.
