New Creative Apprentices scheme aims to foster talent in workplace
Mar 22 2009 by Anna Blackaby, Birmingham Post
Forward-thinking creative and cultural employers across the West Midlands are being urged to help safeguard their future workforce by taking part in a new scheme to develop creative talent.
Creative Apprenticeships, the first official training scheme of its kind in the West Midlands, is open to leading creative and cultural organisations in the region and aims to address future skills shortages.
Managed and coordinated by Birmingham-based agency Creative Alliance, the scheme is part of a national pilot to encourage investment in the industry by matching talented and passionate individuals to employers.
Launched nationally by strategic development body the Creative and Cultural Skills Council, the scheme has already seen overwhelming success in Liverpool and Newcastle, counting the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Tate Liverpool and The Sage Gateshead among the current pool of employers.
With an emphasis on professional development in the areas of project management, fundraising, outreach and youth work, Creative Apprenticeships offers more than a basic wage and training.
In conjunction with specialist training, review sessions and seminars delivered by Creative Alliance, each applicant will work to achieve agreed targets and objectives that will benefit the employer.
Companies who have pledged support for the scheme by recruiting individuals include Trilby Multimedia, Dancefest, Friction Arts, Iceni Productions and Dynamic Arts.
Creative Alliance director Noel Dunne said: “Employers keep reporting that new talent entering the creative and cultural sector are just not job ready.
“The apprenticeship helps new talent develop the essential ‘employability skills’ that are so necessary to employers so that people add value to our organisations as quickly as possible.”
During a recent visit to Liverpool to launch Creative Apprenticeships Week, culture secretary Andy Burnham said that, at a time of “fundamental change” in the global economy, Britain needed to build on its cultural strengths.
He said: “Creating apprenticeships to allow young people to make the most of their talents and give them the skills they need to pursue successful careers is at the heart of all the work we are doing to make sure our creative industries and cultural sectors continue to thrive”.
“I’m delighted that so many companies across the UK have committed to making our aim of establishing 5,000 Creative Apprenticeships by 2013 a reality, and I urge more to get involved. Creative Apprenticeships are a structured route for young people to develop their artistic talents and aspirations”.
Other major organisations supporting Creative Apprenticeships include the National Trust, English Heritage, the Royal Opera House, EMI and Universal.
Last week Sir Alan Sugar paid a visit to Birmingham to encourage employers across a wide range of sectors to tap into the benefits of hiring an apprentice.
He took part in a roadshow which brought together employers, apprenticeships and education institutions. Ed Balls, secretary of state for children, schools and families, and John Denham, secretary of state for innovation, universities and skills, also attended the event.
