CREATIVE INDUSTRIES POLICY AND EVIDENCE CENTRE (PEC), AND CENTRE FOR CULTURAL VALUE (CCV) – WRITTEN EVIDENCE (YUN0023)
Youth Unemployment Committee inquiry
1. Overview
About the project
The “Covid-19: the impacts on the cultural sector and implications for policy” project is part of a 15 month-long national research programme. It is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Covid-19 rolling call through the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and it brings together the Centre of Cultural Value (CCV), the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC), The Audience Agency and a consortium of the UK’s leading academic researchers in cultural management, engagement and policy to look into the impacts of Covid-19 on the UK’s cultural sector.
The project’s main purpose is to deepen understanding of the impact of the pandemic in the cultural sector by building a robust, in-depth and comprehensive picture of the short, medium and longer-term impacts of Covid-19 on the sector. Additionally, the project will identify the implications for how and what policy decisions are made in response to the crisis. The research is organised into distinct workstreams, which critically investigate the impacts on audiences, on the general public, on cultural organisations, on city regions and local authorities, on the cultural sector workforce and on cultural policy.
About this submission
This submission is made by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC) and the Centre for Cultural Value as part of the “Covid-19: the impacts on the cultural sector and implications for policy” research project. It will focus on the impact of Covid-19 on the under-25 cultural sector workforce and specifically on the damaging effect and increased precarity of those workers aged under 25, in comparison to older colleagues. This submission relates to one of the key aims of the inquiry; examining the challenges faced by young people both seeking and in employment, particularly in the creative industries.
It is based on the evidence and preliminary findings of the area of the project’s research dedicated to analysing the impact of Covid-19 on the cultural sector’s workforce. Under the leadership of Dr. Dave O’Brien, Chancellor’s Fellow, Cultural and Creative Industries, University of Edinburgh, this workstream looks at the impacts of the pandemic on employment in the cultural sector by analysing Labour Force Survey (LFS) data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Additionally, we draw on qualitative data findings from our case study workstrands, with interviews focusing mainly on employed and established individuals in positions of power and responsibility within their organisations - theatres, museums and galleries in England- as well as those in management and leadership positions in Greater Manchester- based arts organisations.
2. Introduction
For context, it is worth mentioning that previous research by the PEC has examined at length the value of creative higher education (Bloom, 2020) by investigating the relationship between a range of creative subjects and graduate outcomes in the creative industries. The report, published in August 2020, highlights the fact that even if creative graduates earn less than non-creative graduates, the creative workforce is a high-skilled one, with over 60% of workers being qualified to at least degree level. Furthermore, creative higher education gives graduates the skills they need to gain employment in their chosen career: the research found that 73 per cent of creative graduates working in the creative industries took their job “because it was exactly the type of job they wanted”. This is significant when compared to a total of 66 per cent of non-creative graduates working in the creative industries, as well as with 66 percent of non-creative graduates working in other sectors, and especially relevant when taking into account that the creative industries are a highly valuable to the UK economy, having contributed £111.7bn in 2018. Moreover, the expectation is that demand for creative skills will grow as the economy shifts towards automation (Bloom and Bakhshi, 2020).
Additionally, the PEC report also showed that creative graduates are more likely to be self-employed, freelance or running their own business than their counterparts in other sectors: in fact, according to the latest Employment Estimates from the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the self-employed account for almost a third of the sector’s workforce - compared with 15.6% of the UK economy as a whole.
All of the above is highly relevant when thinking about “what measures should be taken to protect and create jobs for young people”, who have been caught by the pandemic while taking or about to take the first steps in their careers, particularly if those careers were placed within the creative sector.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the entirety of the labour force. However, cultural industries and occupations have been particularly hard hit: many workers in the creative industries faced precarious working conditions, such as job insecurity and limited working hours, even before the crisis, and young workers are one of the most vulnerable sub-groups within the sector. The pandemic has exacerbated their precarity, driving many of them out of the workforce and considerably reducing working hours for those who somehow retained their position. We present here evidence based on analysis of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Labour Force Survey for the first three quarters of 2020 . The analysis looks at workers in the creative occupations (both inside and outside the creative industries), excluding IT occupations.
3. Research findings
● Under 25s leaving the cultural sector - More than a quarter (27%) of creative workers under the age of 25 left creative occupations after (the first) lockdown, compared with 14% of workers aged 25 and over (see Figure 1). We would normally expect the under 25s to have a relatively high turnover in and out of the creative industries compared with workers of other ages. However, the rate of leaving since lockdown is much higher than the normal rate (around 15%).
Figure 1 Percentage of the workforce leaving creative occupations since lockdown
● Under 25s working hours - There is an increase in the proportion of people under the age of 25 working zero hours per week compared to those over 25 (see Figure 2). Over 30% of workers under the age of 25 reported working zero hours per week compared to less than 20% of workers over 25.
Figure 2 Change in the distribution of hours worked in creative occupations
Below we will directly address some of the key questions in the Challenges and Jobs & Employment sections of the Call for Evidence, by drawing out highlights from the first-hand perspectives of our case study interviewees.
Challenges
1. What are the main challenges facing young people seeking employment today? How do structural factors impact youth unemployment, and how might these be addressed?
All of our interviewees identified the significant mental health impact of the pandemic, noting that its effects were exaggerated for young people and new graduates who had experienced severe disruption at moments of significant transition. Effects were associated with a loss of direction, purpose, and hope. More practically, concerns have been raised about whether the cultural sector will be seen as a viable career path for young people post-pandemic as disruption to the sector, reduced programming, reduced workforce and reduced cultural budgets all present barriers to employment.
Interviewees noted that while it may be very rewarding, the cultural sector can demand a lot from its workers, highlighting long and unsociable hours and sometimes limited financial rewards. Some used the term ‘vocation’. It was noted that this could make the sector unattractive for young people with additional responsibilities, or for those without access to additional financial support. Some noted that the pandemic had made them reassess the sacrifices involved in working long and antisocial hours, especially for relatively low pay. Accordingly, some had left the sector to find better paid work elsewhere or to undertake postgraduate study.
A key point is that young people are facing multiple new barriers to employment as a result of the pandemic. Interviewees noted that at times of crisis, ‘there can be a tendency to let the new inexperienced staff go and to retain the steady hands that have done it for years’ (Executive Director), meaning that young people are both less likely to become employed and to stay in employment. Secondly, the pandemic has resulted in significant missed opportunities for young people at key moments in their professional development, in terms of skills development and relationship/network building. Young people entering the workforce now appear comparatively under-skilled and the knock-on effect of over a year of lockdowns and related restrictions is an overabundance of people in competition for a severely reduced number of entry-level positions.
Many interviewees described leading development programmes for practitioners and offering individual mentoring and support to young and emerging practitioners – particularly focused on helping them apply for funding. It was suggested that the skills, understanding and experience required to complete complex funding applications were a significant barrier for many. Greater transparency and flexibility around requirements was suggested as one means to address this.
2. What are the main challenges facing employers in the labour market today? What barriers do they face in recruiting young workers and setting up apprenticeships and traineeships?
While almost all interviewees were sympathetic to the plight of young and emerging practitioners and those wanting to enter the industry, many noted an organisational focus on supporting those they already employed, or freelance practitioners with whom they already had relationships.
Some described initiatives to increase diversity (for example, by not making a degree or experience an essential criteria on a job description, or using Openhire – www.openhire.uk). However, this may have limited effect in a competitive marketplace. One theatre employee described how a recent job advert for a short-term post had attracted many highly experienced candidates and that it had proved impossible to ignore this when making the hiring decision.
Interviewees from Greater Manchester observed the challenge of the current context to equality of representation and diversity in the sector workforce. This is linked to historic barriers already facing people from diverse backgrounds, the limited progress that has been made on representation and diversity in the sector, and the trend for newer, less experienced employees to bear the brunt of cost-cutting measures at an organisational level, which is likely to be exacerbated due to the desire to be risk averse as a direct result of concerns around funding and financial stability for the rest of the year and into 2022.
Several organisations are actively engaged in offering apprenticeships or other training opportunities (eg KickStart scheme, sometimes as part of regional consortia including Local Education Partnerships and Local Authorities; on their own initiative with funding from eg Jerwood or ArtFund; or through Museum Futures). Most were enthusiastic about these opportunities, but some questioned the ability of the organisation to follow through after the initial training had finished.
Some interviewees suggest that an open and honest discussion about the difficulties (and rewards) of working in the sector and the values involved needs to be a part of arts and cultural education at all levels.
3. What future social, economic and technological changes are likely to impact youth unemployment? What impact might these changes have, and how should this be planned for and addressed?
Interviewees from Greater Manchester framed these concerns in relation to an ecosystem of employment opportunity. Concerns have been raised about the atomisation/stratification of the cultural sector, with interviewees observing that the freelance workforce, in particular, relies on a cycle of job creation and opportunity across the sector. These responses relate to observations that emergency funding has been most effective in supporting large-scale building-based organisations, but that the health of the sector overall, including the job market, relies on the success and continuation of organisations and projects of a variety of scales and ambitions. Support for grassroots, community led or otherwise atypical organisations should be prioritised in future funding rounds, with considerations made for how smaller scale organisations with less experience of bid writing might be supported to access these funds.
In terms of technological change, interviewees noted an increased emphasis on digital skills. Interviewees suggested that young people might want to have a portfolio of skills and options available to them and an openness to applying their skills in new contexts (such as healthcare or within the community). Some employers suggested a broadening of training across the cultural and creative industries - for example in 3D drawing and design, and linked this to successful apprenticeship schemes (e.g. at the National Theatre).
4. Is funding for education, training and skills enough to meet the needs of young people and of the labour market? How can we ensure it continues to reach those who need it most?
Interviewees have noted that skills and training are a specific challenge for the cultural sector. This is because funding is commonly project limited and doesn’t take into account the training and development of cultural workers, and because of cuts to drama, music and cultural education in primary and secondary education. Interviews point to two main solutions: a national programme of upskilling and professional development designed to take into account the impacts of the pandemic on the cultural sector and their consequences for young people; statutory integration of arts education within school curricula. Two organisations described schemes by which they had placed freelance artists within schools to support both teachers and pupils with creative learning.
Jobs and employment
11. What lessons can be learned by current and previous youth labour market policy interventions and educational approaches, both in the UK and in other countries?
Greater Manchester Artist Hub represents an important contribution to these debates. Established as a cross-organisational partnership project in support of freelance practitioners, it demonstrates the benefits of an ecosystems approach to sector recovery. It links organisations from across the cultural sector in partnership, allowing them to pool funds, resources and expertise to support artist development. As a consortium, project partners represent a significant cross-section of the sector, allowing on-the-ground understanding of skills gaps and organisational need to inform their programme of activities and the support offered to cultural workers. Finally, the GM Artist Hub’s network model instils a non-competitive approach to sector support, encouraging partner organisations to collaborate on shared ambitions for sector recovery, including the health of the labour market.
Several interviewees described influential involvement in ‘Change Makers’ type programmes for young people / recent graduates. The benefits of these often appeared to lie in the way in which they served to introduce participants to valuable networks of people and organisations.
One theatre interviewed runs a ‘ChangeMakers programme’ (18-25 years) which supports a diverse group of young creatives through introducing them to different aspects of arts and creative production; it also finds that the activity supports the theatre’s own organisational learning about the needs of younger audiences.
References
O'Brien, D. (2020) 'A jobs crisis in the cultural and creative industries’, PEC blog series as part of a project with the Centre for Cultural Value (CCV) and the Audience Agency (AA) on the impacts of Covid-19 on the cultural sector [Online]. Available from: https://pec.ac.uk/blog/how-covid-19-is-impacting-the-cultural-sector-with-the-loss-of-55-000-jobs-in-thearts (Accessed: 26th January 2021)
Bloom, M. (2020) ‘For Love or Money? Graduate motivations and the economic returns of creative higher education inside and outside the creative industries’, PEC report [Online] Available from: https://www.pec.ac.uk/assets/publications/PEC%20research%20report%20-%20For%20Love%20or%20Money.pdf (Accessed: 28th April 2021)
Bloom, M.; Bakhshi, H. (2020) Graduate motivations and the economic returns of creative higher education inside and outside the creative industries, Insights for Policymakers [Online] Available from: https://pec.ac.uk/assets/publications/Insights-for-policymakers_-Graduate-Motivations-and-the-Economic-Returns-of-Creative-Higher-Education-Inside-and-Outside-the-Creative-Industries.pdf (Accessed: 29th April 2021)
DCMS (2021) Sector Economic Estimates: Employment Oct 2019 - Sep 2020. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dcms-sector-economic-estimates-employment-oct-2019-sep-2020 (Accessed: April 29th 2021)
10th May 2021