Previous research has identified the importance of formal, informal and non-formal skills and the ability to promote transversal skills when entering the Creative and Cultural sectors. While the European Commission has identified the Creative and Cultural sectors as areas for investment, the development of skills often utilised by these sectors, such as communication, creativity, critical thinking and collaboration, are currently under developed as educational institutions across Europe are reducing, and in some cases eradicating, the teaching of humanities subjects which offer such transferable skills. There has been a significant focus placed upon the development of the 4C’s within the agenda of the European Commission, and as countries, such as the UK with their SHAPE agenda, begin to recognise the need for humanities as a means of developing such skills despite the lack of training in the area, this project provides innovative practice to support young people in developing these useful lifelong learning skills at a time when Creative and Cultural sectors are particularly difficult to enter. The sectors have been hit particularly hard by the current pandemic, damaging its resilience. This project seeks to utilise the skills of young people to rebuild and nurture the resilience of the creative and cultural sectors in the future. By responding to the need to bridge the gap between further education and employment in the Creative and Cultural sectors and the harsh reality of employment in the sectors where low wages, insecure contracts, and skill deficit that have been compounded by the devastating effects of Covid-19, the project seeks to aid the reopening and rebuilding of these sectors by assessing their future skills need and through a series of interactive education sessions up skill-young people to be the creative and cultural sector innovators and entrepreneurs of the future. In doing so, this project additionally addresses the problematic issues of diversity in the sectors by making the educational resources accessible through digital innovation which sees the replication of in person teaching online. Supported by the creation of a digital portfolio, CREATIVITY aims to assist young people and industry professionals in opening up dialogue about education and employment as a means of aiding a full recovery of the sectors. Working with 10 young people, 14 informal educators, higher education institutions and a range of industry professionals, the project seeks to provide a clear route from school through to employment for both young people and the industry. To do so, the project will conduct a detailed research analysis on the skills training of student and the predicted future needs of the sector. This will inform the creation of 10 digitally interactive education sessions and supporting teaching materials that will utilise performing and visual arts methods to develop key competencies. The validation of these competencies will be provide by the creation of a digital portfolio designed to be shared with future employer and educators. An evaluative report detailing best practice once a rigorous evaluation process has taken place will enable the continued development of the practice and relationships fostered in this project. The project anticipates the important development of key competencies in young people fostered by their engagement with creative education that will prepare them for future education and work in the creative sector. Additionally, through an inclusive approach to learning, the project seeks to diversify the sectors as a means of support the resilience and innovation of the workforce. The collaboration between young students, educators and industry will additionally strengthen the arts offering across Europe. The impact of this project is preserved through the open nature of the resources it produces. By offering access to education sessions delivered by practitioners and academics, the attainment of young people is better supported and a clear trajectory from education to employment is established. Long term, the young people and educators who take part in this research will utilise skills and learning for either further teaching in this area or professional employment. The Europe wide aspect of this project additionally creates an intercultural dialogue on the issues which will develop a robust understanding of the sectors and their needs for future generations.
The project had 5 main objectives: 1. to create opportunities for young people to improve their skills to enable access to Higher Education and employment whilst also building the resilience of the Creative and Cultural sectors. 2. Enable young people to identify and promote their key competencies and transferable skills 3. Empower young people to utilise innovative practice and creative entrepreneurship while developing new digital skills. 4. Enable more inclusivity and diversity in expressive and visual arts teaching and employment in the sectors through making materials accessible to all. 5. To open dialogue between young people and industry to able them to respond to the skills needs and ensure more employment opportunities. The key achievement for us was to provide space for learning and for that learning to be recognised and utilised throughout an entire journey for a young person.
Following the closure of schools during the pandemic, young people were experiencing a skills deficit, compounded by the closure of creative arts subjects in schools. The Creative and Cultural sectors were additionally struggling from damage to their resilience through a lack of engagement during the pandemic and the skills shortage in the labour market. This project sought to respond to the needs of young people and the sectors through the development of key competency skills in the future generation of the labour market. The project recognised the importance of creative arts teaching for the development of key competencies and so sought to harness the delivery of expressive and visual arts teaching in HE and the professional sector to devise a series of workshops to enable to learning of these skills. The key needs addressed by this project are the need for a space to learn key competencies through expressive and visual arts, the need for digital innovation in the delivery of education, and clearer, more supported routes in the HE and the Creative and Cultural sectors that recognise the skills need and enable the redevelopment of resilience in the sectors.