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Our 12 Highlights from 2025: A year of community and partnerships
This year, our focus has been on building meaningful connections: creating spaces for honest conversation, sharing practical insight, and working alongside people who care deeply about access, opportunity, and sustainable careers.
From career discovery sessions and roundtables to long-term partnerships and creating spaces to connect, community has been our defining theme for 2025.
Out of everything we’ve been part of, we wanted to pause and say thank you by highlighting 12 moments and partnerships that truly shaped our year and reminded us why collaboration matters.
Here are 12 community moments we’re most proud of in 2025:
1. Supporting Small Green Shoots
Building on Handle's career partnership, we proudly backed the Small Green Shoots Alumni Ambassadors Programme - an exclusive initiative designed to engage, empower, and recognise passionate individuals who embody the values and mission of SGS and held Do you feel application ready? workshops with Richard and Adam throughout the year.
2. Finance Mentorship Scheme
We held a 12-month programme pairing successful mentees with C-suite mentors in the creative industries for confidence-building guidance, career growth opportunities, professional development support. And a big thank you to everyone who took part - and to Karla Smith & Christopher Crellin FCPA for leading the conversation and sharing their amazing experience at our Future Proofing Finance panel event designed to bring mentors and mentees together.
3. Career Support at The Great Escape 2025
Adam and David had a few fantastic days in Brighton holding industry career support sessions offering personalised career support and insider advice to support early careers in the music industry - and they were a huge success! It was wonderful to see so many entry level candidates with such an appetite to attend industry networking sessions.
4. Supporting Key4Life
Partnering with an organisation doing vital work to reduce youth re-offending through delivering an innovative rehabilitation programme to those in prison and those at risk of going to prison.
5. Handle People Experience Workshop at LinkedIn
We brought together a wonderful group of HR leaders for an exclusive People Experience event at the Linkedin offices in Farringdon. The focus: elevate your leadership impact by unlocking your personal brand. Thanks to everyone who joined us, those continuing the conversation beyond the session, and to Lara Cullen for running such an impactful session.
6. Career Discovery Sessions
A huge thank you to everyone who joined our Career Discovery sessions this Adam and Suzanne this year, designed to supporting emerging talent by opening doors, demystifying pathways, and helping early-career creatives navigate their first steps. Your energy, questions, and curiosity made all the difference.
A big thank you to:
[Music Industry] Intern Discovery session
Richard Engler, James Moodie, and Alex Eden-Smith who generously shared their career stories, insight, and advice.
[Creative Services] Career Discover session
And to Natalie Mitchell and Jordain Edwards - your insights clearly resonated, and it’s been amazing to see the messages about the impact your advice has had.
7. Handle Collaborate: Sponsored Roundtable at Studio Canal: Has DEI Died?
We partnered with All Things People & Talent for an exclusive, facilitated discussion led by Arit Eminue as part of their Talking Talent Roundtable series. Collectively exploring today’s DEI landscape, examining what’s at stake and how inclusion can become deeply embedded into everyday business practices, not merely as an initiative, but as a business-critical function.
8. Future-Proof Your Creative Career: Creative Ops
We joined Creative Opps for a talk on creative careers as part of their recent Mentorship Programme.
Richard Turrell and Suzanne Boast joined Michelle Kambasha for a straight-talking fireside chat on careers in the creative industry.
9. Talent Development Partners with the High Potential Talent Summit 2025
We joined the High Potential Talent Summit 2025 as a Talent Development Partner! Lots to reflect on but a special mention to Emma Richardson who leads our People Experience division and led a panel discussion on 'Building High Performing Diverse Intergenerational Teams'. And a big thank you to Arit Eminue MBE for organising such an incredible day.
10. Panel discussions at BIMM University
Richard enjoyed getting on stage at BIMM with Rhia Patel and Chris Carey to talk about employability at BIMM University.
11. Broadwick Live Event: Intergenerational Communications
A big thank you to the amazing group of People & Culture Leaders who joined us this morning for our latest Handle Collaborate session, a discussion on Intergenerational Communication in the Workplace.
Sponsored by the amazing Broadwick Live, the session was brilliantly led by Zoë Cotter-Morton, Ashley Marshall and Aisling Tungate. A huge thank you to you all!
12.Power in Partnerships with Workspace
Our Marketing Director Richard Turrell joined Workspace Group at London’s Brightest Businesses to share how collaboration drives real impact for our clients, candidates and communities.
With 2026 fast approaching, this session felt like a timely reset on how collaboration can unlock opportunity across the creative industries, and Richard has shared his key insights from the panel on our blog.
To everyone who partnered with us, collaborated with us and built with us this year: thank you.
We can’t wait to carry this momentum forward and continue doing the work together in 2026.
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About Handle Recruitment
We opened the doors in 1978 and built our reputation in the music industry. We quickly realised that a great brand is not always a household name. A great brand is something people connect with, not just a place they work. Somewhere that helps them become better at what they do. It could be a record label, it could be in media, it could be a tech start-up.
Supporting Great People in Marketing | Finance | HR | Office Support | Sales | Legal | Event Operations | Post-Production.
The Talent Solutions we provide, Permanent, Temporary and Interim Recruitment | People Consultancy | Outsourced Freelancer Payroll & Compliance.
The Industries we support: Music | Film | TV | Entertainment | Fashion | Live Events | Sport | Publishing | Post-production.