Les Ebdon highlights opportunities for graduates to gain practical experience.
The creative industries are the UK’s fastest growing sector, accounting for 7.3% of the economy. Much of this growth is due to the innovation instilled in creative graduates by universities at the forefront of the creative revolution, as well as the development of technology, research, knowledge transfer and incubation space to help bridge the gap between universities and creative enterprises. In the report ‘Creative Futures’, the university thinktank Million+ and Napier University researched the relationship between the creative industries and the universities that have been promoting and supporting them. From this research it is clear that whilst a small cluster of universities are actively engaging with the creative industries, putting funds and resources into the development of creative graduates, there is still a lot to be done fully to realise the potential of this sector. Successful initiatives developed by universities include live projects, enterprise schemes and centres of excellence. Centres of excellence at universities provide a hub of expertise and support for local businesses and graduates, taking a central role in the local creative economy.
The University of Sunderland’s ‘The Hatchery’ and University of Bedfordshire’s ‘Knowledge Hub’ provide resources and educational support for graduates to develop their enterprise skills and start up their own creative businesses. The incubation facilities in The Hatchery include advice and support from academics and business mentors, contacts with external organisations, office facilities and membership of various enterprise agencies, whilst the Knowledge Hub provides enterprise education and also runs PACE (Professional Training for Artists and Creative Entrepreneurs).
Bath Spa University’s ‘Artswork Exchange’ centre of excellence provides state-of-the-art industry standard facilities alongside expertise and learning support. Through the provision of these facilities, universities can enable their graduates to develop practical skills, whilst also catering to the needs of local businesses which lack these resources.
The development of centres of excellence also enhances graduates’ employability skills, as the students are able to use the facilities to develop their expertise by applying their technical skills to live projects. For example, students on a creative enterprise module at Bath Spa University independently managed a DVD production for the Government initiative Sure Start, from initial storyboarding to final production.
Buckinghamshire New University also provides students with the chance to develop practical skills by working on live projects with local businesses. Many work placements can be passive experiences for students, but live projects in creative industries courses give students valuable professional experience working directly with an employer. Spatial Design and Video Production students at Bath Spa have worked with the Wycombe Swan Theatre to produce exhibitions and DVDs of local productions, whilst Live Music and Events Management students regularly work with professional clients on the promotion and staging of concerts.
Many universities have recognised the fact that self-employment and working for small or micro-businesses is a very real expectation for many creative graduates, and have started to incorporate entrepreneurship and business skills into creative courses. The Centre for Employability through the Humanities at the University of Central Lancashire offers students the opportunity to develop their employability skills alongside the academic content of the creative courses. Students are also able to gain work experience in the Centre’s Realistic Work Environment.
The University of Bedfordshire’s ‘MediaTrain’ project acts as a half-way house to help students prepare for employment in the media sector. As the media sector is highly competitive in terms of jobs, it is important that graduates develop practical skills to complement academic development. One successful feature of the project is the mentoring of students by recent media graduates
Professor Les Ebdon is Chair of Million+ and Vice Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire.