The Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, has announced substantial cuts in funding for arts degrees. Jane Ide assesses the impact it might have on training for the sector.
Employers cannot see freelancers as the ‘always on’ source of talent and skill that can be picked up and put down at will, says Jane Ide.
The creative and cultural sectors cannot say they value equality while continuing to be one of the worst offenders for prejudice and lack of access, writes Jane Ide.
With new demands being made for skills and training, Jane Ide asks: is this going to help young people into work?
The creative sector will bounce back, writes Jane Ide. What matters is building a more inclusive sector – and not just because it’s the right thing to do.
Rishi Sunak said hard hit workforces like the arts may have to retrain to adapt to the new economy. Sara Whybrew counters that the new economy means we must adapt our approach to training.
Apprenticeships could help level the playing field and help those from less advantaged backgrounds enter the arts and cultural sector, but it isn’t happening. Plain old prejudice is getting in the way, says Sara Whybrew.
The massive surge in support for the Black Lives Matter movement has everyone busily writing diversity policies, but more important still are some fundamental changes that can be actioned right now, says Sara Whybrew.
As more and more freelancers refuse to accept unfair agreements and start calling out bad practice by employers, there’s a legal, social and moral case for the whole sector to face up to the issues they’re confronting, says Sarah Shead.
If organisations don’t get a grip on the difference between being a freelancer and an employee – and give both the rights and benefits they are entitled to – then the workforce they depend upon may not be returning to them after the current crisis has passed, says Sara Whybrew.