Develop the skills to create engaging content, build online communities and manage a professional social media presence across today’s leading digital platforms.
JSTA’s Social Media & Networking programme combines creative content development with practical platform management, helping participants understand how organisations use social media to communicate, build relationships and strengthen their online presence.
Programme Experience
Duration: 3 Months | 6 Months | 1 Year Format: Initial Training | Individual Social Media Tasks | Group Campaigns | Hybrid Working Module Group Size: Up to 10 participants
Participants begin with guided training on social platforms, content creation and professional online communication. They then progress to independent tasks and collaborative campaigns. The Hybrid Working Module provides experience in virtual content meetings, shared planning tools, remote collaboration and managing social media activities to deadlines.
What Participants May Do
Participants can experience activities commonly associated with Social Media Assistants, Content Creators and Community Management roles, including:
Creating social media posts, captions and visual content
Researching audiences, competitors and content trends
Planning weekly and monthly content calendars
Scheduling and organising social media posts
Supporting Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and other social channels
Responding appropriately to comments and online interactions
Maintaining consistent brand messaging
Monitoring engagement and basic performance metrics
Supporting awareness and promotional campaigns
Collaborating with design and marketing teams
More advanced participants may explore social media strategy, audience segmentation, campaign optimisation, community management, social analytics, paid social concepts, influencer research and multi-platform content planning.
What Candidates Can Learn
The existing JSTA programme introduces participants to platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter and LinkedIn, while exploring their applications for marketing, advertising, branding and professional communication.
Social Media Platforms & Strategy Understand how different platforms work, who uses them and how organisations can select appropriate channels for different audiences and objectives.
Content Creation & Storytelling Learn how to develop engaging captions, graphics, short-form content and campaign messages while maintaining a consistent organisational voice.
Social Media Management Explore content calendars, scheduling, publishing, community interaction and techniques for maintaining an active professional presence.
Branding & Audience Engagement Learn how organisations use social media to communicate their identity, build relationships and encourage meaningful audience interaction. Branding and professional use of social media are key themes within JSTA’s existing programme.
Digital Etiquette & Online Safety Develop an understanding of responsible online communication, professional behaviour, privacy and safe use of social networks—areas specifically covered by the current JSTA course.
Practical Social Media Projects
Participants may turn their learning into practical experience through projects such as:
Content Calendar Project – Plan a structured month of social media content
Awareness Campaign – Develop posts and messaging around a charity, community or social initiative
Brand Social Media Project – Create a consistent social presence for a business or organisation
Content Creation Challenge – Produce graphics, captions and short-form digital content
Community Engagement Exercise – Plan appropriate responses and audience-engagement activities
Social Media Performance Report – Review engagement data and identify opportunities for improvement
Where appropriate, participants may contribute to content supporting JSTA initiatives, charities, SMEs, social enterprises or community projects, giving them insight into working with real communication objectives.
Building a Social Media Portfolio
Throughout the programme, participants can develop examples of content plans, campaign ideas, social graphics, written content and performance reports that demonstrate practical ability.
They can also strengthen transferable skills including creativity, communication, teamwork, organisation, audience awareness, adaptability and professional online communication.
The programme can support participants interested in pathways such as Social Media Assistant, Social Media Coordinator, Content Creator, Community Assistant, Communications Assistant, Digital Content Assistant and other entry-level social media and communications roles. The current page similarly identifies social media management, marketing and communications as relevant career areas.
Please Note: Our core mentoring, workshops and work-experience programmes are 100% free for eligible young people aged 16–25. We also deliver paid commercial training to businesses and individuals; 100% of that profit is reinvested into our free youth programmes.
