KOMI group – the Manchester headquartered social media marketing company – is continuing to grow after appointing three key new members of staff to its media and social teams. Their arrivals follow the news a few months ago that its turnover hit £1m for the first time and that it aims to double that figure in 2021.

The first new starter is Sian Broderick who joins as KOMI Media’s new head of editorial. Sian will be running and overseeing all aspects of the KOMI’s editorial output across its pages and will implementing a brand-new editorial strategy as well mentoring and growing the team. She joins KOMI from Global in London where she was a senior social editor running Capital FM’s social media channels. Sian has also worked at LADbible Group. She holds a BA (Hons) in Multimedia Journalism from the University of Salford and the National Council for the Training of Journalists Diploma in Journalism.

Emily Brewster has joined as KOMI’s new social media presenter and voiceover artist. She has a long-standing passion for presenting and bringing stories to life so will be working across all KOMI social channels including It’s Gone Viral, Happiest and Ultimate to develop scripts and create engaging and original voiceover and video content. She will also be working on in-house projects and, when COVID restrictions finally lift, will work with the team to create more original content including games and challenges. Emily has previously worked as a PR consultant for technology brands and as a broadcast journalist for Global.

The final new starter is James Wiles who is the firm’s new original producer. James’ new role will see him create original video content for KOMI and its partners. He started his career at Jungle Creations before moving to Electric House as a video producer for both branded and original content.

Andrew Trotman – managing director of KOMI group – said: “2021 is set to be a big year for the group so we are delighted to be bringing in these three talented creatives. Each bring fantastic experience that I know will add value to the business and our clients as we continue to drive forward and grow.”

Sian added: “As a social-first editor, KOMI group felt like the perfect fit for me as it has amassed an impressive portfolio of highly engaged social channels. My focus will be on helping to ramp up their offering and reach millions of people with a whole range of engaging, interesting, targeted, and diverse stories.”

Since the start of the coronavirus crisis, KOMI has won major contracts with brands including SWAN, Mars Pets and The Flava People. It has also committed to take out additional office space at its base in Beehive Mill, Ancoats. Earlier this year, it rebranded from It’s Gone Viral and restructured which saw it become a three divisional agency business consisting of dedicated social media, marketing, and licensing teams.

Its team of content creators, analysts and video producers have made and then distributed video content and viral campaign adverts for international brands such as BBC Films, O2, Universal, Bud Light and Disney.

Content has been shared across its Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts including the It’s Gone Viral page, which is dedicated to relatable, informative, and educational content; as well as Go Fetch, a platform for dog lovers to connect with one another; Happiest, which focusses on bringing the most entertaining and uplifting content and real-life stories; and Ultimate which is a community based around crafts and lifestyle.

On average the company delivers over one billion views across its portfolio of pages each month.

Greater Manchester peer learning organisation Yipiyap has appointed Jess Shepherd to the role of Company Operations Manager, six years after she joined the company as a peer tutor herself.

In her new role, which starts this Summer, Jess will be overseeing and supporting the team of regional directors as they provide peer tutors to schools and colleges all over the UK, while seeking to expand the business into new areas and build its franchise offering.

Yipiyap, based in Altrincham, harnesses the talent of high-achieving school leavers and places them with schools for a unique gap year. They provide support to teaching staff and help students achieve better understanding and results in the core subjects of English, maths and science. Being close in age, they are relatable to the younger pupils and have proven results in raising grades, supporting GCSE resits and managing online learning.

Says Jess: “I first joined Yipiyap after completing my A Levels at Loreto Grammar School and when the opportunity came up to join the company straight afterwards, I jumped at the chance. I have loved helping to recruit and train other peer tutors and see them help more young people achieve their potential: so many of our tutors change their plans and end up working in some sort of educational role, as it’s so satisfying. Those that don’t still go on to further education or employment with an amazing new set of skills, thanks to the experience.”

Founder and former teacher Anne Morris says: “Jess joined us six years ago and was a fantastic peer tutor, providing support across three schools in Greater Manchester. As Regional Director and Senior Regional Director she has been pivotal in our growth and has helped us expand fourfold since 2015. We now have tutors all over the UK and Jess’s insights and experience make her the perfect person to take the company even further, benefitting more young people than ever.”

A new partnership is set to transform the lives of black women across the North West and inspire their entrepreneurial ambitions in the tech sector by offering fairer access to digital skills training and career opportunities.

Innovation hub HOST, the Home of Skills & Technology, operated by IN4.0 Group, is partnering with socio-creative organisation Niyo Enterprise, to support its expansion into the North West and empower black women into tech careers.

While 17 per cent of women work in the tech sector in the UK, only around 0.7 per cent are from a black, African, Caribbean or black British background according to BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. Women from a BAME background are also less likely to have leadership roles in the tech sector, despite having a higher level of education than other groups.

In a bid to challenge this gender diversity disparity, HOST based at Media City, is collaborating with Niyo Enterprise to break the barriers of entry to the tech sector facing black women to create a supportive community for them to access digital skills training and secure employment in the industry.

The inclusion and support of black women will be applied across all of HOST’s Skills City academies which will include Black Codhers, a specialist software engineering bootcamp, as well as two Black Disruptor programmes, a data science and project management course for black women and an XR bootcamp focused on building 3D and immersive technology skills as a Unity developer.

There is a huge demand from black women to learn new digital skills as Niyo Network’s Black Codhers bootcamp recently received over 3,000 applications from all over the world. As a result, it has upskilled 50 black women into software developer roles in high profile companies such as Citibank and KPMG.

This collaboration is part of HOST’s Skills City, a digital technology academies bootcamp dedicated to transforming talent diversity in the North West tech sector with a commitment to fast-tracking 450 people into digital technology careers every year.

Established in 2018, it will be the first time that Birmingham-based Niyo Enterprise expands into the North West alongside its not-for-profit arm, Niyo Network, which aims to equip and train black women who are unemployed or are at risk of unemployment.

HOST is working closely with employers and the CEO and co-founder of Niyo Enterprise Oyin Adebayo, to ensure that there are learning and employment opportunities available for black women across all of its programmes.

This includes FreelanceHER 100, a ground-breaking fully funded training accelerator for women working to launch and grow sustainable businesses in digital, creative, media and technology sectors.

Oyin said: “We are excited to be working with HOST and the wider Skills City co-operative to ensure that black women are part of pioneering change in the tech industry. Our major aim has always been to see as many black women as possible in high impact industries. We believe that with this partnership, black women would not just be able to dream but also create and thrive in the tech industry.”

Mo Isap, CEO of IN4.0 Group, operators of HOST, said: “We are proud to be working with Oyin and Niyo Enterprise to offer a range of opportunities and choices to black women in the North West so they can be fully supported throughout their journey into tech careers. Whether they are seeking a job in the tech industry, looking to upskill in digital or aspire to be a tech entrepreneur, we want to ensure that there are opportunities available for them here at HOST and across the region.

“Supporting diversity and inclusion and removing the barriers to entry to the tech sector is at the heart of Skills City. Our ambition is to continue to support women who remain largely underrepresented in the tech community, which is why in this exciting new chapter for HOST, we have committed that 50 per cent of all our learners will be women.”