In taking on their first intern, Oliver Grace believed that the opportunity had to be paid, well planned and well executed. Enter graduate intern, Chelsea Birrane. Chelsea first came to Oliver Grace in May 2022 through Never Not Creative, an organisation helping make the creative industry more accountable and more diverse. As a graduate designer, Chelsea had the theory but needed the real world experience. She also needed the means to support herself.

Bringing a talented young creative onboard as a design intern and paying them for their work was a no brainer for Oliver Grace. Not only would they receive the practical support they needed, they'd also have the unique opportunity to foster a new generation of talent and give back to the industry they love so much.

Co-Founder, Nick and the team were blown away by Chelsea's particularly strong work ethic and creative point of view. So much so that they offered her a full time, permanent position at the end of her 12 week internship.

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Never Sit Still are an energetic and collaborative team of animators based in Sydney. They specialise in motion branding, bringing brands to life through the art of animation. They partner with companies, startups, and entrepreneurs across the globe to empower their brands and captivate their audiences.

When looking to broaden the horizons of the team, founder, Mike Tosetto turned to the idea of the agency's first internship. It was a great chance for some of the team to mentor emerging talent and to also try out a graduate to see if they may be a good fit for a permanent hire.

At the same time, Izzie Trudgian was looking for her break in the industry and had seen Never Sit Still at a recent guest lecture at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).

Never Sit Still were keen to do the right thing by the internship. Mike found the NNC internship guides and saw the program template as a great fit for how he'd like to make sure that both the agency and Izzie could get the best out of the opportunity.

The guide helped define how to share an intern’s time between shadowing, mentoring, and producing billable work. It also gave guidance on how long the program should run, how many hours should be worked per week, and how much they should be paid. Never Sit Still also signed the NNC pledge to meet the minimum standards for internships, giving graduates the fair opportunity to forge a career in the creative industry.

The internship was a huge success and Izzie is now a permanent member of the Never Sit Still team and is already winning awards across the globe.

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