Graduates want 'helping hand not hand outs'
The new government have been urged to reintroduce an Enterprise Allowance scheme (EAS), as students and graduates of the creative industries want a "helping hand, not hand-outs."
Former Undertones frontman and head of Music UK, Feargal Sharkey – whose organisation represents those in the commercial music sector – and Martin Bright, founder New Deal of the Mind, argued in a letter to The Times that the government "must make a commitment to creativity that contributes so much to the UK."
In Bright’s blog, he said: "A scheme (EAS) intended to create a nation of mini-capitalists, spawned a generation of artists, musicians, fashion designers and even the odd left-wing journalist."
These included Oasis founder, Alan McGee, who went on to set up Creation Records on the EAS. Julian Dunkerton of the Superdry fashion label, and visual artists Jane and Louise Wilson.
Their combined research showed that students and graduates of the creative industries wanted small interventions such as; workspace, access to information, mentoring and business skills instead of monetary handouts.
Margaret Thatcher first introduced an EAS in the UK, in the depths of a recession as she saw the importance of the creative industries to the economy.
'Failing to address creative industries'
According to a report by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and Arts the creative industries worth, standing in excess of £50 billion, is comparable to that of the financial sector and by 2013 is likely to employ more people.
New Deal of the Mind’s report Creative Survival in Hard Times, supported by Arts Council England, concluded that the government had failed at addressing self-employment in the creative industries.
The paper stated: "Any new school leaver or graduate aspiring to a future in the creative industries currently enters a bleak economic landscape."
Lifelong earning
Also in the report, they reference results of recent studies that show employment in the industry is gained mostly through "patronage and internships" and that "employment in the creative industries is becoming the prerogative of the privileged."
New Deal of the Mind added: "Even four years after getting their degrees, 39 per cent of graduates were still taking courses to acquire further skills and 23 per cent were still undertaking unpaid work.
"The investment such students are making in their future careers is thus huge, yet lifelong earnings in the sector are, for many, appallingly low."
In their joint letter, the two companies said they "call on politicians of all parties to recognise the value of the arts and commit to nurturing the next generation of artists and creative entrepreneurs."
Politicians have shown an interest in their proposals, according to New Deal of the Mind; Kenneth Clarke, shadow business secretary said the introduction of an ECA for the 21st century could well become a subject of debate.
Comments:
Post a comment: