Creative is the top industry choice for Year 11 students according to the Future Skills Questionnaire. Fantastic! There’s huge demand for creative services.
The creative sector also has huge skills shortages and is a priority sector both for London and the UK. We need more people doing jobs in gaming, graphic design, editing, art direction, production, branding.
For us at Big Creative Education, these two facts don’t quite compute – if young people want to go into the creative industries, why are there skills shortages in the sector?
In this blog post we explore some of the misconceptions about the careers in the creative industries giving young people cold feet about taking up a creative subject at 16, veering them away from a career they are truly passionate about.
There are well-paid, stable jobs in the creative industries
Often young people and parents perceive that jobs in the creative industries are poorly-paid and it is an unstable career.
Look at the stats though – it’s a huge sector and growing, and there are skills shortages in all areas. Marketing executives are in short supply, for example, and every company has someone doing their social media and branding. Build up your portfolio and you can get jobs at £50k+ in London. Work for yourself as a freelancer and you can earn even more and be your own boss!
Your average starting salary for jobs in the creative industries is 32,000.
If you’d like to find out more about creative careers, have a look at the careers section of the BCE website, or check out official statistics from Creative UK and Business LDN.
“I’m so pleased my mum and dad supported me…”
Parents rightfully have a big influence on the paths their young people take and we want to celebrate the parents who encourage their young people to follow their passions. Parents say to us that they just want their young person to be happy and young people really believe in the power of wellbeing through the creative arts.
There is evidence to show that creativity supports positive mental health, improves confidence and social connections. Too often we hear parents saying they would prefer their young person to be an accountant or dentist when they would rather get into acting or fashion.
A third of our students at BCE get a distinction for their qualification, the same as three A* at A Level. It shows just how much students thrive by doing what they want to do.
AI is not taking your job
AI seems to have taken over, but employers in the creative industries are reassuring us that AI has not removed entry level jobs for young people. AI is a tool. It’s being used to create mood boards, speed up research and do quick mock ups. It’s not taking away the quality work that creatives do.
You might have heard the term ‘AI Slop’ which lots of employers are referring to – low quality pieces which is filling the internet with rubbish.
Employers will always need creative brains directing AI, for which you need imagination and communication. AI can’t do everything and we’re teaching our young people to be able to command AI effectively.
We’re very proud of our students who are now working in the creative industries, and over 70% of our students do. What’s great is that students create their own networks while they’re at college. Music students know media students to film their videos, drama students collaborate on new pieces, fashion students do costume and styling.
There is a force of creative young people from BCE now in industry making it happen and doing amazing things, which all came from a decision at 16 to follow your passion and take a creative subject. We’re glad you didn’t get cold feet.
