The background
News UK is one of the UK’s most recognisable media businesses, home to The Times, The Sun and Talksport. With digital transformation accelerating across all of its brands, the organisation needed to build tech teams that could move fast, adapt quickly and deliver at scale. The challenge wasn’t just finding talent. It was finding the right model to make that talent stick.
The challenge
News UK had become increasingly reliant on contractors across multiple technology functions, creating rising costs and limiting the development of in-house capability. At the same time, the business needed to:
- Scale delivery flexibly across The Times, The Sun, Talksport and central platforms
- Build long-term capability in data, product and AI
- Deliver high-impact initiatives including GenAI, customer experience and editorial automation
News UK required a model that could deliver immediate value while creating a sustainable internal talent base.
The solution
La Fosse Academy partnered with News UK to deliver a multi-squad Associate model, beginning with a pilot GenAI team embedded within News UK’s AI Centre of Excellence.
20 Academy Associates were recruited, trained and deployed across six disciplines: Data, Project Management, Business Analysis, QA and Testing, Software and Product. They worked alongside permanent News UK engineers and La Fosse SMEs, giving News UK fast access to high-quality, adaptable talent while building a pipeline of future permanent employees.
Associates were embedded directly into delivery teams across News UK’s brands, contributing to initiatives including:
- News Assist and News Transcribe AI tools
- The Tabloid Times app and Times article page redesign
- Editorial workflow automation and platform enhancements
- Monetisation and customer experience improvements
The programme was structured as OPEX, enabling rapid deployment and immediate value, while creating a clear pathway to long-term internal capability.
The snapshot
The result
- Immediate time-to-value, with Associates quickly taking pressure off senior teams
- Reduced reliance on contractors and improved cost efficiency
- A successful pilot model that gained executive sponsorship and was rolled out more widely
- Stronger in-house capability to support AI adoption, digital innovation and faster delivery
News UK is now better positioned to adopt emerging technologies, accelerate change, and embed a culture of innovation across the organisation.
Supporting diversity
65% of the Associates placed with News UK were career changers. People who came from outside the traditional tech pipeline but brought the curiosity, adaptability and drive that fast-paced media organisations need.
That’s what La Fosse Academy is built on. We believe the best tech teams aren’t built by fishing from the same small pool. They’re built by looking wider, training smarter and backing people who are hungry to prove themselves.
Across the News UK partnership, 35% of Associates were women and 45% came from ethnic minority backgrounds. It’s a cohort that brought not just technical skills, but different perspectives and ways of thinking to one of the UK’s most innovative media businesses.
For News UK, that meant teams that could move faster and think differently. For the Associates, it meant a career in tech at the forefront of AI and digital media.
Data from 2021–2026
