Grace Blue 'Transition' platform aims to help laid off talent find a job

Advertising recruitment firm Grace Blue has partnered with a range of organisations, brands and trade associations—including Amazon, Snap, Headspace, the WFA, the 4A’s, Spikes—to launch a free online platform designed to provide laid off talent with access to advice and job opportunities.

The platform, called Transition, was quickly turned around in response to the growing cohort of advertising and marketing staff that are being retrenched during COVID-19.

"We have never seen such disruption in employment in the marketing, media and advertising industries at all levels, and across many sectors," said Grace Blue Partnership founder Juliet Timms.

Grace Blue created Transition to consolidate open job roles into one place, as well as provide a useful resource for businesses and individuals to share tips and support in this challenging time.

"We want to reach every person that has found themselves out of work and every company that might be hiring, and we all need to come together to help," Timms said.

Transition officially launches today (June 4) and is supported by more than 30 global organisations. The list includes brands such as Amazon, Snap, Fortnum & Mason, trade associations including the WFA, IPA, IAB and 4A’s, equality movements such as The 3% Movement and The Female Quotient, creative organisations including Spikes and D&AD, and wellness-focused companies like NABS and Headspace.

The partners will bring different qualities to the platform: the brands can advertise open job roles, while other organisations can provide useful resources on how to write a CV, prepare for a job interview, and manage anxiety during COVID-19, to state a few examples.

The founder of Headspace, Rich Pierson, said the launch of the platform comes at a time when "so many are worried about their future". 

"It is a resource that will bring inspiration and hope to a lot of people,” he said. “As a company that has wellbeing at the center of our beliefs, we are proud to support it.”

Stephan Loerke, the chief executive of World Federation of Advertisers, called it a "great initiative" at a time when so many individuals from across the industry will be looking for much-needed support.

Bernard Chan, the CEO of the Association of Advertising and Marketing in Singapore, commented: “Today, when the industry is challenged on so many fronts, two things need to be done simultaneously. The development of newer and more effective business practices and models to ensure our AdMarcom businesses survive and do well in spite of the harsher conditions post Covid19; and to collaborate on initiatives like the Grace Blue’s Transition platform to provide added options for our practitioners’ survival and wellbeing during the pandemic.”