The class ceiling inquiry

In a Manchester square, a statue of Friedrich Engels, author of The Condition of the Working Class in England, seems to shun HOME, one of the city’s blue-chip arts spaces, his back turned and arms folded. That image neatly sums up a perceived disconnect between the city’s self-image as a crucible of workers’ rights movements and the current ‘class crisis’ in the creative industries.

That’s the contention of a recently launched inquiry into working-class representation in Manchester’s cultural and creative industries. The inquiry – Class Ceiling – is headed by Nazir Afzal, board member of the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority, chancellor of the University of Manchester and chair of Lowry, with other impressive credits, not least former chief crown prosecutor for the North West.

But comments on Mr Afzal’s LinkedIn post about the inquiry expressed some of the same scepticism I initially felt. “Do we really need another inquiry, another talking shop, another framework?” and “Time to scrap theorising and take ACTION” stood out. The comments are not wrong – working-class representation in the creative workforce has been extensively researched. The Sutton Trust found younger adults from working-class backgrounds are four times less likely to work in the creative industries compared to their middle-class counterparts.

Why Greater Manchester?

But does Greater Manchester have a greater problem with working class representation than peer cities. Why does it need its own inquiry? Sure, working-class culture is crucial to its self-image and tourist industry. Think Coronation Street, those sell-out Oasis tours, LS Lowry. Ensuring the city region can keep harnessing the creativity of its most talented has to be a priority if it is to contribute to the national story, argues Nafzal.

As a Mancunian, I’m torn. Anyone living here can tell you there is working-class energy and talent to spare. Witness Salford-based choreographer and musician Blackhaine, or filmmaker Tibyan Mahawah Sanoh or Alina Akbar, Linda Brogan, Princess Arinola Adegbite, Malandra Jacks and so many more.

On the other hand, it’s true this energy is coming up against barriers. I interviewed 30 creatives from a range of class backgrounds for Waterside Arts in Trafford and found the majority felt their jobs were insecure. Many worked in teaching, and even the NHS, to support their practice. Many worried about how to encourage young people into insecure professions.

Educating Greater Manchester

Many interviewees said AI was having a huge effect on their work. Thanks to AI, the jobs landscape is shifting rapidly – an nowhere more quickly than the creative sectors. Traditional areas such as copywriting are being hollowed out, while new roles in AR and VR are being created faster than the skills market can respond to fill them. Conversely, the rise of AI may also mean craft skills become more valued as creative brands try to differentiate themselves.

The problem is compounded by the widening gap between education and employment. While many students graduate, they lack the industry exposure and soft skills to succeed in the workplace. According to research from the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre, 65% of ‘hard-to-fill’ roles in the creative industries are due to skills shortages, illustrating the growing mismatch between education and the demands of the creative job market.

Higher education, particularly university, is the overwhelmingly dominant route into work in the creative economy. But for working-class students a degree can seem like an unachievable dream. This is where the Class Ceiling inquiry will focus a great deal of its attention. Fortunately, Greater Manchester is in a unique position to address this particular problem – just look at its political landscape. In the latest devolution deal, Greater Manchester Combined Authority took on powers over post-16 education and training. Effectively, it has control of funding for local colleges, work placements, apprenticeships and careers services.

MBacc to the future

The headline intervention has been the Manchester Baccalaureate – or MBacc – a technical education pathway that has so far concentrated on entry to the construction, digital and manufacturing industries. The next push is to develop entry to the creative industries that doesn’t rely on a university degree. To this end, it has been working with Factory International and WPP to understand the needs of local creative employers.

Factory International already has a success story with Factory Academy. In less than two years, its courses have attracted over 1,000 Greater Manchester residents, prioritising skills missing from secondary and even tertiary arts education ranging from event production to how to fill out a funding application or create a risk assessment. Its input into the MBacc will no doubt be of a similar practical bent.

So here in Greater in Manchester, we can see a pathway where the arts are back on the educational menu, with practical skills combined with work placements. Predictable routes into creative careers that are able to support all young people, especially those without the financial safety net or family support critical to launching a career in the arts.

A guiding mechanism

The Class Ceiling report will probably align with this headwind and focus on access to the arts in education, especially among the most disadvantaged pupils. Perhaps the key is to think of it less as an inquiry and more of guiding mechanism, helping the political pieces fall into place.

Is this perfect? No. The emphasis on employment readiness in education is reassuring and practical but can have a deadening effect on a truly creative education. Still, the political stars seem to be aligning, so while this inquiry has no statutory teeth, bolstering local policy already in motion means it will likely have more success than many of the reviews that went before.

Education is only one aspect of the story, of course. There is still the critical question of ensuring the pipeline of working-class creatives reaches all the way to the top. Then there is the soaring cost of living and the fact that developers have penchant for closing grassroots spaces and studios in the city centre in favour of building luxury flats.

But I want to close with a story from my most recent project, commissioned Lowry for its 25th anniversary. Working with a photographer, I interviewed 12 people connected with the Salford arts institution. One session was a double portrait of Apollo aged 16, and Aspen 14. Both said that until they started working with Lowry’s community programmes, they had never considered a career in the arts.

Now Aspen wants to act and Apollo to work in sets and costume. Allowing young people to dream of a future in the creative industries is possible but it takes time and care. I hope the Class Ceiling inquiry talk to kids like Apollo and Aspen to find out what went right.