The Creative Employment Programme
Creative Skills Initiative
© James Fletcher
Welcome to the Creative Skills Initiative
The Creative Skills Initiative is a strand of the Creative Employment Programme
which has been specifically designed for young people aged 16-21.
We link colleges with creative and cultural organisations across England, and
work directly with colleges to develop additional creative opportunities for
students.
The Creative Skills Initiative aims to support you to develop a range of new skills
and experiences to help you get one step closer to starting your career.
This pack includes details of what you will be doing as a Creative Skills Initiative
participant, and includes case studies, guidance, useful contacts and the two
forms that we ask you to complete.
The Creative Skills Initiative has five core elements, you may already be doing
some of these with your college, and if so you will not need to repeat them.
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Work experience opportunities with a range of creative and cultural
organisations. This will give you a minimum of 12 days genuine
experience in the workplace. You will get an understanding of the way the
organisation works; different parts of the business; and may get the
chance to work on a specific project such as a festival or event.
Arts Award; a nationally recognised qualification which supports young
people to grow as artists and arts leaders.
A qualification such as: Enterprise, Customer Services, Business Admin,
Art & Design, Performing Arts. If you are already undertaking a level 1 or
2 course the Creative Skills Initiative is being offered as enrichment for
that learning.
Functional skills; whilst apprenticeships don’t necessarily require any
qualifications most employers will want a minimum level of maths and
English. You will have the opportunity to achieve these as part of the
Creative Skills Initiative if you don’t already have them.
Employability skills; this will include help with your CV, applications and
interview skills. You will also be given advice and guidance about the
opportunities that may be available to you.
500 young people have taken part to date and we want to offer
1000 more opportunities by July 2016
© James Fletcher
What is Arts Award?
Arts Award is a unique qualification for young
people, which helps you to grow as artists
and leaders through connecting and taking
part in arts activities and challenges – from
fashion to film, from pottery to poetry.
Arts Award is a nationally recognised qualification and is available at 5 levels
(Discover, Explore, Bronze, Silver and Gold). You will be likely to complete a
Bronze or Silver Arts Award as part of the Creative Skills Initiative. Bronze
Arts Award is a Level 1 qualification on the QCF.
As you work towards your Arts Award, you’ll collect evidence of what activities
and challenges you have done and reflect on your experiences. You will be able
to plan your work with your Arts Award Adviser, and keep a record by creating
your own Arts Award portfolio. Your portfolio might be a folder, sketchbook,
video diary or a website – it’s up to you.
Arts Award Advisers are trained professionals with Arts backgrounds. They
might work in schools, colleges or youth centres, be a professional artist or work
in a museum, theatre or art gallery. Your Arts Award Adviser will support you to
gain arts experiences, provide guidance along the way, and will assess your arts
logs and portfolios. For more info: www.artsaward.org.uk
There are lots of different types of jobs needed in the
creative industries that you may not have even
considered…
What young people are saying about the Creative Skills
Initiative…
Spotlight on Aimee
Artswork delivered the Creative Skills
Initiative in Southampton alongside
Brockenhurst College, Wheatsheaf Trust
and Southampton City Council as part
of a city-wide programme for NEET
young people.
The partners created a 14-week
programme
of
activities
that
incorporated a variety of educational
courses,
personal
development
opportunities
and
work-shadowing
experience.
Aimee was 17 when she joined the
Creative Skills Initiative in April 2014.
As part of her programme Aimee
completed 24 days of work-shadowing
with Artswork as an Arts Administration
Assistant, where she supported the finance and operations team as well as
joining the communications team to host several events, including the Arts
Award conference at the BFI in London in July 2014.
Aimee also achieved a Bronze Arts Award, Level 2 Customer Service qualification
and Level 2 Maths and English Functional Skills qualifications.
“I started off not really caring about anything, but the programme
changes you, it gives you a confidence boost and you feel like you’ve
grown up a bit. I have a much better understanding of what I want to
do in the future, and I’m now looking what options I have.”
The programme inspired Aimee to re-engage with her education, and during her
time on the Creative Skills Initiative she secured a place at Eastleigh College on
the BTEC First Diploma in Art and Design course, which she successfully
completed in July 2015. Aimee is now looking at Level 3 college courses and
Creative Apprenticeships.
Troy’s story
“My name is Troy Atkinson, I’m 18 and took part in the
Creative Skills Initiative with RIO in May 2015 whilst
studying Creative media, games production at City
College Plymouth.
I was really pleased to be given the opportunity as my
friend and I had just recently set up a digital gaming
business called HelloWorld Studios and were keen to
network and get a real insight into the industry.
As part of the work placement we got the opportunity to work with RIO staff to
plan and deliver two ‘Digital Futures’ digital games events at Devonport
Guildhall. We were set the challenge of making the events more innovative and
appealing to families and so we created a game called ‘Bread run’ (making links
with the artisan bakery they have on site).
During this time, we got to work with a professional designer to design the flyer
for our community game. This was a fantastic experience as the designer drew
the ideas up as I was talking to him, so I got to see my
ideas turn into a reality.
I feel this isn’t experience you would have in College alone;
as often scenarios like this may be simulated.
The
experience of working to a tight deadline to get the game
completed and promoted was excellent and the game is
going to appear on the new Column Bakehouse website
soon too!
The event gave us the opportunity to meet industry
professionals; we were encouraged to think about how we
could promote ourselves on the day. We used the opportunity to get
merchandise designed and printed and got business cards and mugs to give out,
as well as a T-shirt each to wear on the days.
Since the programme has ended we have attended two local networking events
where we have got to know other small games design businesses and the Head
of learning from RIO has been in touch about the prospect of us helping to
deliver some workshops in Primary schools which is really exciting.
I am about to start a programming degree at Falmouth University and we are
continuing to work on our business projects alongside this.
I would recommend the Creative Skills Initiative to anyone interested in gaining
real world experience in setting up a small business.”
You can check out Troy’s website here: www.helloworldstudios.co.uk
These are just some of the creative and cultural
employers who have offered work experience or work
shadowing placements so far…
Joe’s Story
“My name is Joe and I am 19 years old. I started
the Creative Skills Initiative in conjunction with
CapeUK and Rotherham College of Arts and
Technology in July 2014. On the programme I had
work experience with Sheffield based Records and
Publishing Company DMF Digital.
I was very excited to get involved with the
company, having finished a 2 year long BTEC
Diploma in Music Technology, I was not keen on
the idea of going to university, to further study in something I felt I knew how to
do. I was lucky to get the opportunity to run a stage at the famed Tramlines
Festival.”
Joe made a real impression at DMF Digital, progressing from the Creative Skills
Initiative on to a Creative Apprenticeship with the company. Speaking about his
time there so far:
“During my time at DMF, I have had the opportunity to do many great things
and meet many prominent figures in the Sheffield music scene. I helped
organise two years of the famed Tramlines Festival, and many live events
around the city including putting on a Heaven 17 concert at the O2 Academy. I
have also played a major part in the signing of bands, and facilitating the inner
workings of the label’s business.
The Creative Skills Initiative has helped me gain a foothold in a much
sought after industry, and one of the hardest ones to get into, and
thanks to everyone involved, I hope to continue my career in the
industry and improve my skills as a fully-fledged A&R Representative.”
Spotlight on Hollie
A New Direction delivered the Creative Skills Initiative as an additional
qualification for students completing level 1-2 Performing Arts courses at
LeSoCo, Newham and Barking & Dagenham Colleges.
Hollie Innacone was studying Performing Arts at LeSoCo College when she took
the opportunity to take part in the Creative Skills Initiative in the summer term
of 2014.
Hollie undertook a two week work experience placement at The Almeida
Theatre; attending talks and performances as well as work shadowing in the box
office and props departments. Hollie also completed an Arts Award at Bronze
level.
“Arts Award gave me the chance to learn how to
do presentations, how to express myself.
The highlight of the placement was when we
met Robert Icke, the director of Mr Burns. I very
much enjoyed seeing Mr Burns and having the
chance to review it.
I enjoyed the challenge of going out and buying
props for the new show. I gained skills in
customer service; serving members of the public in the Box Office.
I learned how to watch and talk about performances.”
Hollie completed her course at LeSoCo College and went on to work in a Creative
Apprenticeship with the London Theatre Consortium.
Where could the Creative Skills Initiative take you…?

One performing arts student from West London College, part of the
Creative Skills Initiative delivered by A New Direction, went on to join
Lyric Hammersmith’s Young Company.
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A participant from Creativity Works, Barking was successful in applying for
a 6 month, paid internship at Kazzum Theatre Company.
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After successfully completing his Creative Skills Initiative placement, a
young person from Blyth progressed onto an apprenticeship at a call
centre; which will lead to full-time employment.
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A student from the SAGE Gateshead Creative Skills Initiative progressed
to an employability traineeship with local employer IGEN.
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One student from Central Bedfordshire College completed work experience
with the Royal Opera House and Runaway Media. During the programme
they developed a flair for photography and have made plans to study this
at Level 2 in September.
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A music student from Bsix Sixth Form College, London has gained paid
work with Nice One Films, through Create Jobs.
To find out more about what is happening in your region,
contact:
South East and North West
Artswork
Miranda Hewitt-Green
[email protected]
London
A New Direction
Julia Hayes
[email protected]
Yorkshire and the Humber
Cape UK
Chris Strong
[email protected]
South West
Real Ideas Organisation
Kate Rowlands
[email protected]
East
Royal Opera House
Judy Kenney
[email protected]
North East
Sage Gateshead
Steve Jinski
[email protected]
East and West Midlands
The Mighty Creatives
Carl Quinn
[email protected]
About Creative & Cultural Skills
Creative & Cultural Skills gives young people opportunities to work and learn
in the creative industries. We want to ensure that employers benefit from a
skilled generation of talent and continue on a course of economic growth. Our
network of industry and education supporters – the National Skills Academy
for Creative & Cultural – is open to those who are committed to the provision
of high quality creative education and training, apprenticeships and careers
advice. Together we‘ve created over 3,500 Creative Apprenticeships in the
UK since 2008. Creative & Cultural Skills is the National Provider for the
Creative Employment Programme. Visit www.ccskills.org.uk
About the Creative Employment Programme
The Creative Employment Programme is a £15m Arts Lottery fund, supported
by Arts Council England, which aims to support the creation of 6500 new
work focused opportunities for young unemployed people (graduate and nongraduate) aged 16-24.
Funding will support employers across the arts and cultural sector, with a
primary focus on the following footprint of: Music, Dance, Theatre,
Combined Arts, Visual Arts, Literature, Carnival, Circus,
Contemporary Craft, Galleries, Museums and Libraries.
The Creative Employment Programme is committed to
the following outcomes:
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To create fairer entry routes into the arts and cultural sector
To encourage greater collaboration and innovation by employers to
generate jobs in the arts and cultural sector
Support the next generation of self-employed arts and culture
professionals to enable the growth of the sector by directly addressing
skills gaps and shortages
Help the sector become sustainable over the long term
Have a positive impact on youth unemployment across England
Creative and cultural careers for you
The creative and cultural industries are both a major contributor to the national
economy, and a growing sector. There are literally hundreds of interesting and
exciting jobs available. You can use the ‘natural skills and strengths’ quiz to
find out which careers in the creative and cultural industries would suit you.
What are your natural skills and strengths?
Complete the questionnaire answering each question honestly; there are no
right or wrong answers. Give a score to each statement, grading your answer
between 1 and 5, where 1 = not like me and 5 = very like me.
Ask your tutor if you don’t understand what a question means.
Q.
Do I Like…..
1.
…Working with tools
2.
…Working out my own solutions
3.
…Expressing myself through drawing or craft
4.
…Organising tasks to the last detail
5.
…Spending time with people
6.
…Motivating people about a task
7.
…Physical work
8.
…Learning about things
9.
…Being imaginative
10.
…Working logically
11.
…People more than places
12.
…Taking decisions
13.
…Being outdoors
14.
…Questioning things
15.
…Seeing beautiful or unusual things
16.
…Being relied upon
17.
…Enabling people to develop
18.
…Taking risks
19.
…Making things
20.
…Solving problems
Score
1 (low) – 5 (high)
21.
…Focusing on creating something
22.
…Creating clear processes or regular routines
23.
…Helping others
24.
…Seeing people do what I request
25.
…Being active
26.
…Thinking about new ideas
27.
…Being an individual
28.
…Working accurately
29.
…Focusing on people’s needs
30.
…Getting the job done
31.
…Fixing things
32.
…Having insight into things
33.
…Participating in art or music
34.
…Working with clear instructions
35.
…Discussing things fully
36.
…Influencing people
When you have finished all the questions, write your scores in the scoring table
in the box beside the number of each question. Add up all the scores and see
which three strengths come out the highest
Scoring Table
A
B
C
D
E
F
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
TOTAL
SCORES
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
Strengths
A: Practical
B: Investigative
C: Artistic
D: Organisational
E: Social
F: Enterprising
My top three areas of strength are:
1._____________________________________________________
2._____________________________________________________
3._____________________________________________________
“What type of person are you?”
The Feedback
Look at the descriptions for each of your 3 main areas of strength.
A: Practical (Things) - You solve problems by DOING
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You like to develop manual, mechanical, and electronic skillsYou like to
work with tools, objects, machines or animals
You like using your hands
You admire physical co-ordination, strength & agility, and logic
You tend to be down to earth and matter of fact
You could do well in jobs which involve making, building or repairing
things such as: Set design, Prop-making, Festivals, Sound Technology or
Ancient Monuments Inspector
B: Investigative (Ideas) - You solve problems by THINKING
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You like to develop skills in Mathematics, Biology, and the Physical
Sciences
You enjoy using your mind
You tend to be curious, studious, independent, intellectual and sometimes
unconventional
You like thinking through problems and trusting you own mind more than
other people and things
You admire logic, use insight and enjoy intellectual challenges
You could do well in jobs like: Archaeological Scientist, Inspector of
Historic Buildings, Exhibitions Researcher or Gemologist
C: Artistic (Ideas & People) - You solve problems by being CREATIVE
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You like to develop skills in language, art, music, drama and writing
You enjoy beauty, unstructured activity, variety, interesting and unusual
sounds, sights, textures and people
You tend to be creative and talented
You are often non-conformist, sensitive, independent and expressive
You like jobs where you can use you creative skill such as: Artist, Actor,
Musician, Dancer, Playwright or Poet
D: Organisational Administrative (Information & Things) - You solve
problems by following ROUTINES
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You would tend to develop office and arithmetic skills
You enjoy orderliness and clear routines
You like activities that encourage organising information in a clear and
logical way
You tend to be responsible, dependable, careful, logical and accurate
You have an eye for detail
Cont.
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You like jobs involving systems, operating computers and work processes
You enjoy order, security and certainty
You often like working in large organisations
Roles like: Arts Administrator, Tour Manager, Operation Co-ordinator or
Event Organiser might suit your skills
E: Social (People) - You solve problems with your FEELINGS
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You would tend to develop skills in working with people
You like activities that involve informing, training, teaching, understanding
and helping others
You tend to be helpful, friendly, concerned leaders, sensitive, supportive,
responsible and perceptive
You are genuine, tactful, and empathetic
You enjoy sharing problems, being in charge and being close to people
You like jobs such as: Arts Therapist, Community Arts Practitioner,
Exhibition Guide, Training Co-ordinator.
F: Enterprising (People & Information) - You solve problems by RISKING
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You would tend to develop skills in leading, motivation and persuading
people
You love projects
You like leading and influencing people
You enjoy challenges and meeting or exceeding targets
You are driven, hard-working and ambitious
You may enjoy roles such as: Art Dealer, Record Producer, Music
Promoter, Fundraiser or even building your own creative company
Jobs types that suit my main strengths are:
1:______________________________________________________________
2:______________________________________________________________
3:______________________________________________________________
Hopefully now you have a good idea about what kind of job you’d like to do in
the future so…
Where will your Creative Skills Initiative take you?
Some useful contacts
Creative Choices: www.ccskills.org.uk/careers
A careers resource offering advice, insights, jobs and opportunities for anyone
who wants to find out more about working in the creative industries.
Apprenticeships: www.apprenticeships.gov.uk
Find out what apprenticeships are out there and how to apply.
Artful jobs: www.artfuljobs.com
A jobs board for culture and the arts.
Artsjobs: www.artsjobs.org.uk
Current vacancies and opportunities in the arts community.
Hiive: www.hiive.co.uk
A professional network for creative people.
National Careers Service:
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/Pages/Home.aspx
Information, advice and guidance to help you make decisions on learning,
training and work opportunities. This is supported by qualified careers advisers.
Prospects: www.prospects.ac.uk
Jobs, study, advice about work experience, internship opportunities and
graduate careers.
Seed Creative Network: www.seedcreativenetwork.co.uk
Connecting media, design and the arts. A platform for creative talent to launch,
interact and showcase themselves.
The Dots: www.the-dots.co.uk
A career network for creative talent. Get your creative portfolio online and in
front of employers.
This is It!: www.thisisitnetwork.co.uk
Networking and professional development for creative careers.
The Creative Skills Initiative Registration Form
Please complete this form at the start of the Creative Skills Initiative and return
the completed
form
to Experience/Shadowing
your college or work experience/shadowing
Your
Work
Placement Details employer
Your Name:
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Organisation Name: ……………………………………………………………………………………………..
Organisation Art Form: (please tick)
Carnival Arts
Circus
Combined
Contemporary Craft
Dance
Gallery
Library
Literature
Museums
Music
Theatre
Visual Arts
Work Experience/Shadowing Role:
Start date:
………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………
End date: …………………………………………….
Your Details
Work Phone:
……………………………………… Work Email:
………………………………………..
Personal Phone:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Personal Email:
………………………………………………………………………………………………….
NI Number:
……………………………………….. Date of Birth:
………………………………………
Gender:
Male
Female
Other
Prefer not to say
Ethnicity:
Asian/Asian British
Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British
Mixed/ Multiple ethnic groups
Other
Not known
White
Prefer not to say
Your Details (continued)
Highest qualification level:
Postcode:
…………………………………………………………..........................
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Do you consider yourself to have a disability:
Yes
No
Don’t know
Prefer not to say:
I give / I do not give (please circle/delete as appropriate) consent to share my personal
information with Creative & Cultural Skills, and for Creative & Cultural Skills to hold my
information on file and process it for purposes related to the Creative Employment Programme as
outlined above, including sharing it with Arts Council England, CEP evaluation partners, The
Creative Society and the Department of Work and Pensions.
Signed:
………………………………………………………………………………………….
Date:
………………………………..
All persons will need separate media consent for use of photograph, recorded images and case studies. All
persons under the age of 18 will need parental/guardian consent for use of photograph, recorded images and
case studies.
Project Evaluation
We want to make sure we offer the best programmes possible. Therefore, we would also
like to be able to contact you about this programme. Creative & Cultural Skills is
working with evaluation partners CFE Research and Qa Research to conduct a three year
evaluation of the Creative Employment Programme which will run from October 2013 to
March August 2016. As part of this evaluation CFE Research and Qa Research will
contact a sample of CEP participants and employers at specific points during the
opportunity to conduct a short survey about your experiences
Project Monitoring
To monitor the project, we need to share some basic details with Creative & Cultural
Skills. We may also need to share some of this information with Arts Council England,
CEP evaluation partners, The Creative Society and the Department for Work and
Pensions for the purposes listed above. The data and information provided will be used
to inform the training and support we provide and for administrative and research
purposes related to the Creative Employment Programme. This information may also
contribute to the programme’s overall evaluation.
The Creative Skills Initiative - Final Participant Survey
Please complete this form at the end of the Creative Skills Initiative and return
the completed form to your college or work experience/shadowing employer.
If you would rather complete this form online please ask your college or work
experience/shadowing employer for the link.
Thank you for completing the survey. The Creative Skills Initiative was made possible by
the funding available through the Creative Employment Programme. The information you
provide will help the organisations that managed and supported the programme Creative & Cultural Skills, Arts Council England and the Department for Work and
Pensions - to measure its impact and improve programmes like it in future.
The first part of the survey asks for some information about you. This information is
needed to confirm that you took part in the programme. All of the information that you
provide will be reported anonymously. From time to time, we may wish to use the
information you provide to create case studies. On these occasions we will always seek
your permission first before sharing your information publicly. If there are any questions
you would prefer not to answer please leave them blank.
Please note that Creative & Cultural Skills is working with CFE Research and Qa Research
to conduct a three year evaluation of the Creative Employment Programme. CFE
Research or Qa Research may contact you to obtain further feedback about your
experiences.
About you
1. Your full name:
……………………………………………………………………………….
2. Work experience/shadowing role:
3. National Insurance number:
……………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………….
4. Name of the organisation where you completed your placement
opportunity:
…………………………………………………………………………………..
5. Name & job title of your work experience/shadowing supervisor or
manager:
……………………………………………………………………………………….
Cont.
6. What is your gender? (Please select one option only)
Male
Female
Other
Prefer not to say
7. Please tell us how old you were when you started the Creative Skills
Initiative?
………………………………………………………………………………………
8. Do you consider yourself to have any of the following?
A disability
A health condition
A specific learning difficulty
None of the above
Prefer not to say
9. Which of the following best describes your ethnicity? (Please select one
option only)
White
Asian or Asian British
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
Mixed/Multiple Ethnic Groups
Not known/Prefer not to say
Other ethnic group (Please specify in the box below)
Cont.
About your experience on the Creative Skills Initiative
10.Which of the following were you doing immediately before you joined the
Creative Skills Initiative?
I was unemployed and claiming unemployment related benefits such as
Job Seekers Allowance
I was unemployed and supported by family/friends (not claiming
unemployment related benefits such as Job Seekers Allowance)
I was at college full time (Please state the course in box below)
I was at college part time (Please state the course in box below)
I was in full time employment (30 hours or more per week) (Please state
role in box below)
I was in part time employment (Please state role in box below)
I was in a training opportunity
Other (Please state in box below)
11.Which of the following best describes what you are doing or planning to
do when you complete the Creative Skills Initiative?
I will be going to college part time (Please specify course in box below)
I will be going to college full time (Please specify course in box below)
I will be doing an apprenticeship
I will be in full time employment (more than 30 hours per week) (Please
specify role in box below)
I will be in part time employment (less than 30 hours per week) (Please
specify role in box below)
Cont.
I will be unemployed but supported by family/friends (and not claiming
unemployment related benefits such as Job Seekers Allowance)
I will be unemployed and claiming unemployment related benefits such as
Job Seekers Allowance
Other (Please specify in box below)
12.Have you ever worked for a creative or cultural organisation before?
Yes
No
13.On a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 = not confident at all and 7 = very
confident, how confident did you feel looking for jobs before you started
your recent programme?
1
2
3
4
5
6
(Not confident at all)
7
(Very confident)
14.On a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 = not confident at all and 7 = very
confident, how confident do you feel looking for jobs now?
1
2
(Not confident at all)
3
4
5
6
7
(Very confident)
Cont.
15.On a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 = very dissatisfied and 7 = very satisfied,
how satisfied are you with your experience during the Creative Skills
Initiative?
1
2
3
4
5
6
(Very dissatisfied)
7
(Very satisfied)
16.What were the main benefits of taking part in this programme? (Please
tick all that apply)
Building confidence
Gaining work experience
A greater understanding of careers in the Arts
Getting into a routine
Undertaking an Arts Award
Planning your next career steps
Studying towards Maths and/or English functional skills
Gaining a qualification
Understanding your own skills and strengths
Knowing who to approach to help you with your career
Other (Please specify in box below)
Cont.
Please use the box below to provide any further feedback about your
experience on the Creative Skills Initiative E.g. What you enjoyed, how you
have benefitted, what your employer or training provider did well, or how the
programme could be improved.
Subject Access requests
You have the right to request access to a copy of the personal information held about
you. Any access request may be subject to a fee of £10 as a contribution towards our
administrative costs of dealing with your application.
Please address any questions, comments and requests regarding our data processing
practices to Toma Dim, General Manager of The Backstage Centre at
[email protected]