THE NATIONAL Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) is set to scale up its work on equality, diversity and inclusion.

The NCTJ, which celebrates its 70th anniversary next year, has appointed Nikki Akinola to the newly-created role of diversity and inclusion co-ordinator.

Akinola will take up her position in the autumn to work closely with Will Gore, head of partnerships and projects, who leads the NCTJ’s work in this issue.

Before joining the NCTJ’s examinations team in 2019, Akinola worked at Reed Learning as a learning and development co-ordinator for eight years.

She has extensive knowledge of training delivery and adult learning and has worked in the industry for 15 years.

The lack of diversity in the UK’s print and broadcast  media has been a hotly debated in the last few years. 

In a recent survey prompted by discussions following the recent Black Lives Matter protests, media publication Press Gazette asked its readers between June 22 and July 5 if they felt the UK’s media was diverse. 

Of 1,940 readers who responded, 1,109(57%) said more needs to be done to make the news industry more diverse.

Also in June 50 black, Asian and minority ethnic journalists wrote an open letter in which they accused UK newsrooms of repeatedly failing to improve diversity in the industry.

Joanne Butcher, NCTJ chief executive, said: “We recognise that tackling inequalities and making journalism better reflect our audiences needs the combined efforts of the industry, businesses, employers and journalists.

“We also appreciate that although this is a tough time for our industry, we need to be bold and to tackle the issues on a much bigger scale to achieve our ambition.

“The NCTJ will do as much as it possibly can to help media businesses attract and retain diverse talent and a broader range of voices in journalism.

Butcher added: “Nikki was a brilliant addition to our exams team last year and I’m delighted she is moving into this new role where, given her skills and passion, I’m confident she will make a real difference to this vital area of our work.”