Nikki Akinola has been appointed to the newly-created role of diversity and inclusion co-ordinator and will take up her position in the autumn to work closely with Will Gore, head of partnerships and projects, who leads the NCTJ’s work in this area.

Before joining the NCTJ’s examinations team in 2019, Nikki worked at Reed Learning as a learning and development co-ordinator for eight years.

She has extensive knowledge of training delivery and adult learning and has worked in the industry for 15 years.

Speaking at a meeting of the forum today, Joanne Butcher, NCTJ chief executive, said: “We recognise that tackling inequalities and making journalism better reflect our audiences needs the combined efforts of the industry, businesses, employers and journalists.

“We also appreciate that although this is a tough time for our industry, we need to be bold and to tackle the issues on a much bigger scale to achieve our ambition.

“The NCTJ will do as much as it possibly can to help media businesses attract and retain diverse talent and a broader range of voices in journalism.

“Nikki was a brilliant addition to our exams team last year and I’m delighted she is moving into this new role where, given her skills and passion, I’m confident she will make a real difference to this vital area of our work.”