Do we need a new arts apprenticeship system?
Hattie Fisk
Thursday, February 1, 2024
Focusing on a recently published report from the All-Party group for Creative Diversity, Hattie Fisk takes a look at the debate around the accessibility of apprenticeships in the arts.
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As last year drew to a close, the All-Party Parliamentary group for Creative Diversity, co-chaired by Deborah Bull and MP Chi Onwurah, recommended the ‘urgent’ revision of creative and cultural education provision. Pressing the Department for Education (DfE) to consider the implementation of a new education plan that spans from the beginning of every child's time at primary school to the end of secondary, the group believes that education can reinforce the ‘talent pipeline’ that leads to creative careers. This group worked with the Society of London Theatre (SOLT) and UK Theatre to create the Making the Creative Majority Report, launched in October 2023. One of the prongs of its requests focuses on reforming and updating the arts apprenticeship system.
The current system and its flaws
In its current form the government uses an apprenticeship levy, which is a tax paid to employers that is then stored in a fund that may be accessed if needed for apprenticeship training costs. SOLT and UK Theatre have stated that this system is ‘not fit for purpose’ as it does not make apprenticeships ‘financially viable’ for employers and creative organisations, adding that the current operating system does ‘not provide the necessary courses, at the necessary levels, with the necessary flexibility’.
One spokesperson, who contributed to the report, says that apprenticeships ‘have huge potential for the creative sector, particularly as creative organisations face skills shortages’, adding that currently there are not enough on offer.
The reports findings
Making the Creative Majority found that degree courses were ‘overwhelmingly [the] dominant route’ into a creative career, stressing the importance of broadening access to arts education in order to improve equality, diversity and inclusion in the creative sector. The subjects it looked at included performing arts, design, dance and crafts.
The report also recommended the implementation of ‘a major information and publicity campaign’ to improve industry perceptions of creative apprenticeships, as well as calling for ‘significant DfE investment in careers advice in schools and for young people’ about careers in the arts.
‘The under-representation of individuals from global majority backgrounds, a clear class-crisis and gender disparities highlight an urgent call to action,’ says Labour MP Onwurah on the report. ‘This report critically sets out “what works” to begin building a more equitable creative education system for those aged 16-plus and to dismantle the obstacles facing the next generation of creative talent. If we are to remain a creative nation, systemic change is not just necessary but absolutely vital.’
What are they asking for?
SOLT and UK theatre have appealed for a flexible skills fund to replace the current apprenticeship levy system. The overhauled system would be more accessible for companies across the UK and would provide upskilling and reskilling opportunities for young people. On the topic, UK Theatre co-chief executive Claire Walker says that she has ‘a number of concerns regarding the current apprenticeship system’.
‘In many ways, the bigger problem is lack of good careers advice regarding the value of apprenticeships’
Some members of UK Theatre and SOLT are currently working with the DfE to pilot more flexible apprenticeship models. One example of this is the National Theatre, which runs an apprenticeship programme and has trained over 60 apprentices in the past decade. The NT also runs several training programmes for young people to learn about creative careers and boost skills development, including Young Technicians, which is being delivered nationwide. Kath Geraghty, head of workforce development, explained that the NT is working with the Royal Opera House, White Light and ATG to pilot a new Flexi-Job Portable Apprenticeship, which allows apprentices to get experience across organisations.
Other voices
While this is one element, another part of the debate surrounds the impression schools and parents have of apprenticeships. Audio-visual supplier of apprenticeships, White Light, said that there is a lack of awareness of these opportunities. A spokesperson for the group says: ‘In many ways, the bigger problem is lack of good careers advice that helps us persuade teachers and parents that apprenticeships are a great way into the industry’.
Elsewhere, SOLT and UK Theatre have also launched a new scheme called the #TheatreForEveryChild campaign. As the name suggests, the campaign aims to make sure every child witnesses a show at the theatre by the time they leave school. While not directly linked to the apprenticeship system, the groups hope that the scheme will spark a love for the arts in more students, feeding the future cycle of apprenticeship-users.