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The Creative Ladder —a new nonprofit organization dedicated to making creative careers more accessible and inclusive— partnered with Work & Co for the start of its rollout of digital tools to help bridge a severe awareness gap that has kept young talent from pursuing creative careers.

Announced at the 2022 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity by actor and business owner Ryan Reynolds, Creative Ladder is working to inspire and elevate an inclusive new generation of creative industry leaders. Reynolds co-founded the nonprofit with entrepreneur Dionna Dorsey Calloway and veteran Adweek editor David Griner.

“Jobs in creative and digital industries can be rewarding and suited to those from a wide range of backgrounds, but millions of young people simply aren’t told these career paths even exist, much less how to pursue them,” said Griner, Chief Content Officer at Creative Ladder. “That lack of awareness can delay the launch of a career by years, and it especially hurts those who come from backgrounds that haven’t been well represented in creative industries, such as people of color, immigrants, disabled people, and those from low-income households.”

According to a Creative Ladder survey, 78% of nonwhite creative professionals say they didn’t know their current careers existed when they graduated high school. Even after college, 68% of current creative professionals hadn’t heard of the jobs they would end up working in.

Creative Ladder’s newly-launched Career Finder, which was designed and built by Work & Co, is geared toward high schoolers and early college students. It’s a quick and easy way to explore a wide range of careers—from industrial design, content strategy, advertising, product management to cloud engineering —and discover roles that fit their interests and talents. Once you learn a career path exists, the Career Finder surfaces connections with mentors already in the field and resources to help you get started.

At only six months old, Creative Ladder has already become a high-profile provider of free leadership training, networking opportunities, mentorship, and skills-development workshops—all focused on talent from underrepresented communities and offered at no cost to participants. To learn more, try the Career Finder quiz, sign up on CreativeLadder.org to be part of the growing community, stay connected at @CreativeLadderOrg on Instagram, and read more in Ad Age.