Guile and Griffiths' five types of work-related learning
In educational theory there is some literature about WRL, though little on the creative industries specifically. A key text is 'Typology of work-related learning styles' (Guile and Griffiths 2001). This article identifies five types of learning styles that students are able to develop through their WRL and relates them to different kinds of WRL experiences.
They are:
* Traditional – 'launching' students into the world of work.
* Experiential – 'co-development'.
* Generic an opportunity for key skill assessment.
* Work process – a strategy to assist students in 'attuning' to the context of work.
* Connective – a form of reflexive learning.
The article emphasises in particular the value of the fifth type: 'connective' learning. This involves 'reflexivity' on the part of the learner, and a close interaction between the educational setting and the employer involved in the process.

| The 14-19 Education and Skills White Paper ### The 14-19 Education and Skills White Paper

The 14-19 Education and Skills White Paper (March 2005) is the Government response to the Tomlinson Report. The key aim of the White Paper is to encourage more young people to stay in education post-16. The White Paper proposes some significant alterations and additions to the 14-19 curriculum. It also provides recommendations for tackling barriers to learning in this age group, strengthening literacy and numeracy, vocational education and partnership working between educational providers, employers and intermediary bodies.

The main curriculum changes proposed are:

• A major review of the Key Stage 3 (A-level) curriculum, strengthening the emphasis on English and Maths and giving schools more freedom to help those who fall behind.
• Specialised vocational diplomas to be introduced: these will include a mixture of vocational qualifications, work experience and GCSEs/A-levels, covering each occupational sector of the economy.
• Employers to take the lead in designing Diplomas, through Sector Skills Councils and with support from HE institutions and QCA.
• Students may progress to advanced studies earlier, or take more time to gain qualifications – 16 to be abolished as a fixed point in the system with an option to take HE modules in the sixth form.
• New Skills Academies to be developed as national centres for excellence in skills, and role of Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) to be strengthened.

The White Paper also proposes ways to tackle barriers to learning. These include extending the Entry to Employment (E2E) scheme to 14-16 year-olds (originally for 16-18 year olds). The Paper states that this should be available to 10,000 young people by 2007/08. The White Paper highlights the importance of strengthening literacy and numeracy so that all students can fully access the curriculum and progress. In addition to the vocational diplomas, the Paper makes proposals for more opportunities for practical, applied and work-related learning for those disaffected by school. The Paper emphasises the need for schools, colleges, training providers, businesses, local education authorities and LSCs to work together in every area to ensure all young people are offered the full range of curriculum options.

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Footnotes:

1.5.2 The Creative and Media Diploma – a new work-related learning landscape

"The introduction of the new Diplomas is undoubtedly one of the most exciting developments in education for young people over the past generation. It is clear that they will engage and stretch learners of all abilities and provide universities with students who will be able to present new skills and competencies."²⁵ (Julian Skyrme, Admissions Policy and Widening Participation, University of Manchester 2008)

The landscape of WRL in the creative industries is about to change dramatically with the launch of the Creative and Media Diploma. One of the first five Diplomas (the others being construction and the built environment, engineering, IT, society, health and development) to be launched in approximately 350 schools (across 62 consortia), the Diploma brings together many of the developments in education seen over the past five years. Key elements of the Diploma are as follows:

• It is delivered through consortia: consisting of a combination of schools and FE establishments. Not only does this provide scale to deliver across the 20 potential disciplines that learners may study in, it also breaks down barriers between specialist and non-specialist schools and schools and further education.
• It is seamless: students may take GCSEs and A-levels alongside their Diploma, but in essence the Diploma offers a pathway from 14-19 that combines academic and vocational elements through Levels 1-3.
• It is learner-centred and project based: students have choice in how they combine the core components of the Diploma, with a natural shift from generic to specialist as they progress through to Level 3.
• It is industry led: the Diploma has been designed with industry's current and future needs in mind.
• It has WRL at its core: students must do ten days of WRL at each of the three stages.

The Creative and Media Diploma offers perhaps the major opportunity to mainstream WRL within agendas in learning and skills and business. The strategic partnership it requires and the resources it introduces will ensure that, if managed effectively, creative businesses can work as equal partners with learning and skills providers and a wider set of stakeholders (including local authorities) to establish WRL that is fit for purpose for creativity, learning and enterprise.

1.6 Bringing creativity to learning

Alongside the shift that has seen employers moved to the centre stage of education, has been the increasing centrality of creativity in 14-19 education, typified most obviously by Creative Partnerships. Creativity in this sense means both unlocking the creative talent in young people, through exposure to creative activity and opportunity to learn and practise creative skills, and the importance of taking more creative approaches to all aspects of education.

The move towards creative approaches in education, and the way that creativity is about more than just individual fulfilment but a core part of future economic prosperity, was signalled by government as long ago as 2001:

"This Government knows that culture and creativity matter. They matter because they can enrich all our lives, and everyone deserves the opportunity to develop their own creative talents and to benefit from those of others. They matter because our rich and diverse culture helps bring us together – it's part of our great success as a nation. They also matter because creative talent will be crucial to our individual and national economic success in the economy of the future."²⁶

The mainstreaming of creativity in education ranges from large capital funding projects such as Building Schools For the Future, which places a real emphasis on engaging pupils in the design of educational spaces; right through to curriculum-based reform such as the launch of the Diploma in Creative and Media. The Creativity Action Research Awards (managed by Creative Partnerships in 2005) are representative of the way that creativity is now seen as not just an add-on but a vital part of the educational experience of young people. The project included a range of interventions and partnerships between creative practitioners, HE academic 'mentors', teachers and students and crossed all areas of the curriculum using different art and creative forms. The awards in particular sought to emphasise how creativity can benefit the development of young people's 'personal, employability, learning and thinking skills', as well as their capabilities at 'investigation, collaboration, reflection, practical self-management and creative contribution' that are necessary for success. The foreword to the evaluation report sums up how creativity is now seen:

"As the pace and change in the world continues to quicken, so does the need for our young people to be flexible, resilient and creative in their thinking."

NESTA's recent collection of essays, 'Preparing for the future'²⁷, makes the point that instilling a lifetime desire to learn, teaching young people to question and take risks is part and parcel of teaching them to be creative. Creativity as a skill needs to be taught; but so does the ability to work as an autonomous being and learn new skills quickly, as Richard Reeves asserts in his essay:

"Those who will succeed in the labour market of the future will be those with a self-developmental mindset and character. Three attributes are critical: autonomy, open-mindedness and application.”²⁸

A creative education that values knowledge for its own sake and teaches the art of continually questioning is the perfect preparation for the type of mindset that future entrepreneurs and employers will need in the future.

1.6.1 Knowledge transfer, knowledge exchange and knowledge networks

Knowledge transfer and exchange, together with knowledge networks, have become far more crucial to the creative industries as the value and contribution of the sector to the wider economy is more clearly understood. Knowledge exchange between institutions and business has been conceptualised afresh: with less concentration on a physical product being transferred and more on the role and place of institutions to create market-places and spaces that permit and allow for free flow of ideas, talent, knowledge, creativity and enterprise. As Richard Florida puts it:

"The increasing importance of creativity, innovation and knowledge to the economy opens up the social space where more eccentric, alternative and bohemian types of people can be integrated into core economic and social institutions."²⁹

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) has developed a range of schemes to foster new types of knowledge transfer that suit both the sector and academic institutions. The schemes often use third-party intermediaries who sit outside the conventional mainstream of institutions – including cultural bodies, non-formal learning organisations and charities. Types of activity include that delivered by the Watershed Media Centre in Bristol, a mixed art-form venue which operates at the intersection of research, debate, culture and commerce, creating new partnerships and projects through a range of initiatives which are helping to bring about real change:

“Watershed facilitates; statutory service providers and the creative industries don't necessarily collide otherwise. You get web designers seated next to social policy people – it's an important synergy and energy. And it is neutral – lots of digital companies lobby the City for business. Watershed is trusted and transparent; exchange does not get shut down – the place is key in maintaining a credible process."³⁰

This new and fresh type of knowledge exchange is one that schools and other learning and skills providers are starting to engage in, often with the help and support of Creative Partnerships, which acts as the facilitator. For example, in the West Midlands, the Serious Games Institute is supported to run monthly events that engage 14-19 year olds in the process of serious game development. The role of networks both within the creative sector and those that connect more widely is being examined as the benefits of peer-to-peer learning, market intelligence and collaborative work are more clearly understood. For young people and creative businesses, networks can provide great opportunities to break down barriers and develop greater understanding on both sides.³¹

1.7 A rationale: five reasons for the importance of work-related learning in the creative industries

Based on this sectoral and strategic context, there are five main reasons why WRL is a critical tool in the creative industries:

1. Bridging the skills gap: The skills needs of the creative industries, now and in the future, cannot be met through traditional educational routes. WRL – in the context of an education that promotes the desire to learn, mainstreams creativity, combines the academic and vocational, fosters employability and develops enterprise skills – can help deliver the type of potential worker required by knowledge-intensive businesses.
2. Learner-centred: WRL has been shown by the DCSF, QCA, Skillset and other core bodies concerned with education to have positive benefits for learners across the board. These include its capacity to raise standards of achievement in learners, improve motivation and encourage staying on after compulsory education, develop key skills and broader personal aptitudes, improve understanding of the economy and enterprise, and support active citizenship.
3. Improves creativity: WRL is hugely beneficial to the creativity of both business and learners. It provides creative businesses the opportunity to work with the next generation of consumers and employees, giving them an insight into generational differences in terms of technology usage, attitude and mindsets. It provides the learner with an outlet for and opportunity to express creativity in new contexts.
4. Knowledge exchange: Promoting knowledge exchange across sectors, between public and private partners and institutions is seen as vital to economic performance and improvement to public services. WRL is a gateway activity that can be used to develop relationships between schools, FE and HE, business and the wider community. It provides a mechanism for dialogue and discussion.
5. Business growth: WRL can play a part in the growth of creative businesses through the way it can introduce fresh thinking and fresh ideas, provide intelligence on new sectors and help companies access new markets and explore new opportunities, grow employee skills and capabilities, and thus increase management capacity.

2. A shifting landscape: emerging practice in 14-19 work-related learning in the creative industries

This section explores the range of practice for WRL in the creative industries. It shows how difficult but necessary it is to dovetail benefits to young people, business, learning and skills institutions and long-term sector development. Here, different types of impact are introduced – from individual and tacit benefits to longer-term structural change in the creative industries. These are introduced in 2.1 alongside an overview of the existing 'stakeholder landscape' - the five main providers of work-based learning in the creative industries: creative and cultural organisations; large corporates; SMEs; HE/FE; and non-formal learning organisations.

Of these stakeholders, our major concern here is the role of creative SMEs and schools and colleges. Alongside learners, they form the critical axis for WRL in the creative industries. In 2.2 we introduce the spectrum of objectives for why different parts of this axis engage in WRL activities in the creative industries. As will be shown, these too can be projected across a range of issues that span the personal, institutional and commercial.

This section then introduces the models of engagement and delivery for WRL in the creative industries in 2.3 and 2.4. This includes presenting the qualitative cultural, commercial and professional motivations for different partners to engage; and then the practical means of engagement, i.e. delivery mechanisms.

2.1 Providers and stakeholders – a range of interests

The providers of WRL experiences for young people in the creative industries can be divided into five main categories:

The main characteristics of each type of provider are described in the table below:

2.1.1 Three influencing factors

The above table introduces the primary reasons for involvement in WRL in the creative industries. There are three key sets of factors to be considered here in terms of the delivery partners and beneficiaries:

• Personal impact: anticipated direct benefits for the learner. This includes the acquisition of hard skills, wider skills, increased employability, personal development, entrepreneurial and enterprise skills, and engagement in the community.
• Institutional impact: anticipated impacts for schools and colleges that include knowledge exchange, creativity, improved results, staff retention and innovative teaching methods.
• Creative SMEs and sector impact: anticipated opportunities for creative SMEs, including a focus on commercial outcomes, innovation and creativity, capacity, the practical resource requirements of hosting WRL, and the longer-term skills needs of individual businesses and the sector as a whole.

There are three overriding themes that sit across these sets of factors:

• Creativity and innovation: this is the central reason for engagement at a personal, institutional and business level. Improved creativity, through new skills, fresh thinking and ideas and exposure to different processes is a critical motivation for all parties.
• Learning: not just from the perspective of the learner, but also that of the school and business in the form of the continual challenges and questions posed by WRL.
• Enterprise: as a core component of the learner's education, as something that schools benefit from a greater engagement with and as key benefit for businesses.

2.2 Fifteen objectives for involvement in work-related learning in the creative industries

The rationale for engaging in WRL varies by individual, institution and business, with multiple, often contradictory, agendas at play across the axis of stakeholders. The range of reasons for involvement extends beyond simple description, especially when personal considerations are factored-in. Therefore, the 15 key objectives for involvement we present below form an abstracted overview and lack the subtlety to encapsulate every factor.

Figure 2 displays the benefits for schools and colleges, learners and creative SMEs and links these benefits to the potential future of WRL where the outcomes for all three are closely aligned. The approaches highlighted in the final box - the 'future of WRL' – are being explored in an embryonic way by businesses featured in the case studies in this report.

2.2.1 Five objectives for schools and colleges

With performance targets a perpetual concern, learning and skills providers will prioritise improved attainment levels as an objective for involvement in WRL. The new Creative and Media Diplomas provide a direct link to attainment, as do some courses and early undergraduate courses. However, for most WRL, improved attainment levels as an outcome can only be measured qualitatively.

1. Improved attainment levels: WRL must provide quality and excellence if it is to be situated at the mainstream of learning and skills provision. This means it needs to be developed in clear and open partnership, be rigorously monitored, and be measured for impact against a set of factors that include attainment, safety/security, and positive learning experiences.
2. Quality and excellence: WRL also provides opportunities to take the teacher out of the classroom and engage in different types of pupil/student-teacher relationship. Teachers can be encouraged to work directly with businesses to shape the learning experience; and this can impact positively through innovative teaching methods both inside and outside the classroom, providing a continuum of creative learning experiences.
3. Innovative teaching methods: The modern learning and skills landscape requires that new types of partnership and collaboration are positioned as central tools to high-quality and innovative provision. While universities have taken a lead in knowledge transfer and exchange activities; FE and schools are yet to effectively programme knowledge exchange and partnership with business as a core activity. If brokered and managed effectively, WRL activities provide the opportunity to do this.
4. Knowledge exchange and partnership: A learning environment that is conceptualised as operating beyond the school, college or university, encapsulating commercial and virtual spaces, helps to re-purpose the overall learning and skills offer to a point where it is effectively embedded in community, business and place.
5. An improved learning environment: (This point is a logical continuation of the previous description, rather than a separate paragraph.)

2.2.2 Five objectives for learners

WRL works most effectively with an element of compulsion, where it is embedded as part of the curriculum and preferably as a contributor to progression – such as attaining grades.

1. Attainment: Young people will be more motivated and engaged if direct links can be made to future career opportunities. This means that the WRL environment needs to relate directly to existing aspirations of the young person (which requires effective brokerage), or it must be sufficiently stimulating to engender new aspirations for this or other types of employment. With older students, opportunities exist to build direct employment pathways in the business or wider industry. This requires a mix of hard (technical) and soft (personal) skills.
2. Career development: WRL that provides young people with new experiences and invests in them confidence (such as to deliver new unfamiliar tasks) can be an important stimulant that can in turn provoke a more vibrant engagement with learning and skills provision that is delivered 'in the classroom'.
3. Personal development: Opportunities that provide young people with the space and agency to contribute directly to company development – such as in product or service development – are the most inspirational. These involve activities that go beyond simulation to direct contributions where the creative input of a young person is valued and in some cases used.
4. Direct contributions: 14-19 year olds span the age range from childhood into early adulthood. It is important therefore to embrace a sense of fun in providing WRL. This requires opportunities for down-time and for young people to exchange their experiences with their peers.
5. Fun: (This point is a logical continuation of the previous description, rather than a separate paragraph.)

2.2.3 Five objectives for creative SMEs

Creative SMEs rely strongly on creating strong, vibrant brands that are continually updated and reinvented to keep pace with changing tastes and markets. As part of this, keeping in touch with new trends and connecting to new markets and new audiences is vital. WRL can provide a way of ensuring that the business stays close to the next generation of consumers and workers.

1. Brand support and building: Fresh thinking, creativity and innovative solutions are more than just buzz words for many businesses in the creative industries – they are an essential part of organisational DNA. Young people, if given the right opportunity and support and framework, can provide vital injections of fresh thinking.
2. Stimulating creativity: The nature of many creative businesses is that they are started by individuals with a real passion for their field or specialism. Often they see founding their own business as the only way to create an outlet for their ideas and inspiration and are 'evangelical' on the benefits of working in the creative industries. WRL, sometimes linked to giving lectures or talks in learning and skills institutions, provides the opportunity to give others a 'break' or opportunity.
3. Providing a ladder: Local markets can be really important to many creative SMEs. These SMEs realise that raising their profile, gaining publicity and building stronger connections in their local environment makes good commercial and social sense. With traditional barriers between public and private sector being broken down across a range of services, WRL provides a means to ensure that creative organisations are connecting to communities at a grass-roots level in ways that link them to a host of public agendas.
4. Staff development: Devising projects for learners can make workers in creative SMEs bridge their activities at work with their other roles as parents and members of the community.
5. Connecting to local markets: (This point is a logical continuation of the previous description, rather than a separate paragraph.)

2.3 Modes of engagement for work-related learning in the creative industries

WRL, because it is driven by different agendas, is expressed through multiple models of engagement, with different structures and motivating factors. There are four key modes of engagement, each of which has within it a mix of possible approaches. The core elements are presented below:

Commissioner/provider: schools and colleges buy in services from business to deliver a WRL project or programme. Employer/business engagement is normally supported by an infrastructure of national, regional and local intermediaries referred to as Education Business Link Organisations (EBLOs) that link employers with education and training activities. Most areas of England have an Education Business Partnership (EBP). In most cases, EBPs belong to an Education Business Link Organisation Consortium (EBLOC) alongside specialist organisations such as Young Enterprise and Business in The Community. EBLOs engage around 200,000 employers and support around 80 per cent of the work experience market for 14-16 year-old learners, with the Learning and Skills Councils operating as key intermediaries³² (DCSF 2007).

Strategically funded projects: for example, government-funded initiatives managed via intermediary and delivery organisations such as Creative Partnerships in England; or through key strategic organisations such as the Young Foundation. Here, WRL is targeted as a value-adding activity against agendas that include regeneration, enterprise, and CPD for teachers. An example is 'Studio Schools', a Young Foundation initiative that has been developed to better prepare young people for the world of work (in general – it does not target the creative industries). The initiative combines work experience running real businesses and learning through cross-disciplinary enterprise projects with a particular focus on exciting and motivating young people currently disengaged from education. The initiative starts from a business perspective – working with commercially viable businesses, professional business staff and teachers to create a rich learning environment that links business to the curriculum. In Scotland, the 'Determined to Succeed' programme has played a prominent role in connecting enterprise to education.³³

Corporate social responsibility: here, businesses offer involvement to educators free of charge as an investment in society and, over the longer-term, in the health of the creative industries. This is most common with larger firms (of which there are proportionately fewer in the creative industries) and corporations, with the BBC leading the way through its 'Outreach Programme' – for example, its Community Channel. This includes a media-mentoring project, supported by DCMS, where professionals in the media industry mentor young, disadvantaged people. It also includes the Youth Media Fund: a scheme to help young people make, distribute and exhibit their own media projects.³⁴ Creative SMEs have a very under-developed CSR role due to a lack of capacity and, as a consequence, under-developed formal and strategic links with partners in the public sector. With greater coordination and brokerage, creative SMEs could work more effectively to invest in WRL as a CSR offer.

2.4 Delivery mechanisms for work-related learning in the creative industries

The mechanisms for delivering WRL are evolving rapidly due to new technology and fresh conceptualisations of learning, creativity and skills. In particular, the traditional notion of 'work experience' – perhaps typified by an individual spending a day or a week in a workplace 'gaining experience' - while still the mainstay of WRL, is being joined by more nuanced and sophisticated delivery mechanisms that suit the needs of learners, employers and learning and skills providers. This is being driven by advances in the way WRL is understood and conceptualised from the perspectives of employers, learners and institutions:

• Learners: there is greater awareness of the need for personalised learning that integrates vocational, academic and wider learning experiences, as well as a deeper understanding of how individual skills and developed and retained.
• Employers: there is a greater awareness of the skills that will be required in the future as well as increasing understanding that young people can be much more than passive observers - they bring with them fresh thinking, creativity and new approaches.
• Schools and colleges: there is a greater awareness of opportunities to develop learning beyond the classroom, as well as to bring businesses into the classroom. Moreover, there is an increasing delivery requirement here with the new Creative and Media Diplomas.

The recent review of 14-19 WRL published by DCSF highlights the sheer number of different activities encompassed under the umbrella of WRL.

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Footnotes

While covering the full extent of the types of WRL, the above is simply a list of activities and does not describe emerging and increasingly dynamic WRL practice. While using many of the same mechanisms as the DCSF 15, these emerging examples are different in look and feel, positioning and delivery. They include:

• Brand managing and development: working with organisations in the development of new brands and providing action research for marketing and campaigns with a youth focus.
• CSR: working with businesses in ways that connect their CSR agenda to that of young people, education and the community.
• Game playing: using technology in the form of artificial reality and role playing.
• Creativity in the workplace: through interaction, projects and networking.
• Networking: peer-to-peer learning, increasing confidence and gaining skills through networking events.

In the creative industries, it is possible to isolate three main types of hybrid model emerging through which WRL is delivered by creative businesses. These combine many of the above elements to connect to creative business practice and the learning and development needs of young people within the context of their curriculum and learning institution. Each of these delivery models exists on the scale between non-formal and accredited, loosely structured and rigidly prescribed depending on the circumstance. These are:

1. The structured and focused work experience model

   This model is one that creative SMEs feel instinctively comfortable with, perhaps partly because it was a model that those currently in creative businesses may have engaged in themselves, whether as part of a course or more informally after school or between school and university.

   The model is based around an individual spending from one day to three months with an organisation, in blocks of time varying from an hour or two to full days or weeks. Different approaches exist in terms of structure and focus. With the lack of capacity in creative SMEs, both in terms of space and time, linked with organisational need and preference, WRL is tightly structured and focused around live projects and delivery requirements. Learners are given a taste of real work projects, through engaging in activities such as writing press releases, discussing concept ideas, brainstorming, research and so on. In creative businesses it can provide a great opportunity for junior staff to learn management skills.

   However, a challenge with this model is ensuring that the outcomes for learners are defined in advance. In addition, it is time-intensive and thus requires significant commitment from employers to engage and continue to engage. 2. The technology-facilitated model

   As creative SMEs are so often at the cutting edge in terms of technology, either as users or as organisations that create and develop new forms of technology, it is not surprising that WRL models that utilise technology are emerging in the sector. These models include creating specific areas on a corporate website for students to access and learn about the company in a classroom environment and using online technology to create work simulations.

   The Stagework website developed by the National Theatre uses video, games, interviews and workshops to allow students to get behind the scenes and understand how theatre works from the inside. Often the best examples combine the scalability of online technology with practical visits and workshops. While it is true that currently many of the best examples of activity in this area are being delivered by larger organisations (such as The Guardian, Channel 4 and the BBC) there is real potential here for smaller creative businesses and organisations to equally benefit from the scalability, reach and brand building that these types of initiative have. 3. The creative project-based model

   This model sees creative businesses and organisations using a project or challenge as a means of engaging young people in WRL activity. Often using a project that has a strong connection to the lives of young people - such as regeneration, environment, food or safety - this type of WRL is especially effective as it easily connects to other parts of the curriculum. There are numerous examples led by Creative Partnerships.

   In addition, the Design Council initiative, DOTT 07 worked with thousands of young people in north east England across a series of projects managed by a combination of creative individuals and organisations. Themes such as energy, health and building schools for the future were explored; often engaging students to co-design projects and input ideas.

   Running alongside these delivery models as a cross-cutting theme is the growing use by creative businesses and schools of creative learning techniques and approaches such as work-related DVDs, business games, e-mentoring and work simulation.

   Horsesmouth³⁷, an online social network developed by educational charity Edge, promotes informal mentoring. It allows young people to gain information on and discuss subjects related to all aspects of life, careers and work with a wide range of mentors who are “not professional experts but real people who have 'been there and done that' and can offer support, guidance and insider wisdom from the benefit of their own personal experiences".

   Project Dynamo in Wales, an initiative to promote entrepreneurship in young people, uses a range of youth-orientated media to produce teaching materials that can be used as part of WRL, including CD-ROM video cards to demonstrate the opportunities that exist in the Welsh economy, and The Dynamo Challenge, an interactive game that puts the learner in the driving seat as an entrepreneur. ³⁸

3. Different approaches to 14-19 work-related learning in the creative industries

As has been shown, the mix of delivery models and modes of engagement in 14-19 WRL in the creative industries can be attributed to different reasons for engagement. A range of different approaches is therefore inevitable. Below we present the distinguishing features of a range of approaches.

Structure

• The preponderance of initiatives that focus on social agendas rather than business and creative economy growth agendas - for example, supporting disenfranchised young people to engage in learning and skills; or developing outreach with local communities as a form of audience development and CSR for a cultural institution that houses an education programme.
• Low levels of WRL that has a direct attainment focus, where it is streamlined into accredited learning and skills programmes. Clearly, the new Creative and Media Diploma provides a major opportunity here. Exceptions are set out in the table below.
• A predominance of initiatives that sit within the wider cultural sector, with low levels of WRL activity in the commercial and growth-orientated creative industries sector. While the cultural sector forms a critical part of the overall creative economy and is a large employer of young people, it is clearly desirable to embed WRL across the creative economy.
• A large organisation and corporation bias: a capacity and partnership threshold exists, where smaller businesses and organisations find it difficult to broker and manage WRL activities and are rarely approached or supported to do so. Where small businesses and organisations are involved, it can be non-formal, ad hoc, piecemeal and sporadic.

Content

• Standard work experience packages remain the norm, with young people still undertaking a largely passive 'view from the sidelines' role. An exception is The Sorrell Foundation in the case study below.

Joinedupdesignforschools, 2005: What if you put pupils in charge of improving their schools? www.thesorrellfoundation.com

The Sorrell Foundation joined up students from all over Britain with some of the best designers in the world to encourage the students to improve their schools through design and collaboration. The students in over 60 schools were the clients, commissioning an array of 50 international designers and architects, including Richard Rogers Partnership, Paul Smith, Thomas Heatherwick, Will Alsop, Marks Barfield, Graphic Thought Facility, Priestman Goode, Wolff Olins, Urban Salon, SeymourPowell, Conran & Partners, Judge Gill, Terry Farrell and Kevin McCloud. The designers and architects were briefed to design inspiring learning and social spaces; more civilised dinner halls and canteens; safer, more hygienic toilets; good communications; new storage systems; better uniforms; and to improve schools' reputations and identities.

During the process, the students discovered a host of new skills such as problem-solving, reasoning, team-working, communication and negotiation. The experience also helped to boost their self-belief.

"If people demand better quality of their environment, not just as clients but as users as well, then the quality of the whole environment will improve. And where better to start than at school and in their school." Julia Barfield, designer

• New models that embed multiple points of engagement - such as web-based tools, a direct project role for young people, simulations 'back in the classroom', and 14-19 year old peer learning and sharing fora (where young people can exchange perspectives and relay their their experiences) - are underdeveloped, though a nascent mix of exciting interdisciplinary practice exists as set out in the table below.

• The relationship between WRL in a creative business and direct career development for young people, is under-explored. The emphasis is more often learning-led rather than business-led, which means that entrepreneurial skills can be neglected in favour of technical skills.
• creativity and innovation credentials: they encourage creative thinking, stimulate explorative ways of working, and lead to innovation in learning and business; and
• enterprise credentials: they are predicated on a partnership of business and institution; geared towards supporting creative businesses to innovate and grow.

The case studies

The following case studies have been selected for their:

• learning credentials: they facilitate effective learning opportunities with tangible benefits for learner and institution;

Collectively, therefore, they traverse a range of positions, offering a blended introduction to current practice.

Case study: Circus Space

www.circusspace.co.uk London

What's on offer?

Circus Space is one of the three leading circus schools in Europe. It is a registered charity and a centre of excellence in the circus arts, working in partnership with the public and private sectors at local, regional and international levels to redefine perceptions of circus and broaden its appeal. It offers a diverse artistic programme that includes the UK's only degree level education in the circus arts; professional development opportunities for aspiring and established performers; participatory and leisure activities for young people and adults; and a varied performance programme, including the annual Circus Space Festival. It also provides affordable workspace for related arts companies and opportunities for private and public sector organisations to use circus skills as a staff development tool.

Through its Youth Programme it offers work experience placements to young people between the ages of 14-21, each of which provides an exciting opportunity to find out what goes in to the running of the UK's premier circus training centre. Successful applicants spend time working in each department alongside arts and circus professionals. They experience a wide range of jobs from front-line reception work to senior management. There is a focus on developing key skills that participants may use straight away as they set off into employment. This will include experiencing an interview situation, using administration systems, developing customer service experience and furthering IT skills. Circus Space also offers Youth training teaching apprenticeships for those interested in working with young people.

Who makes it happen?

Circus Space's youth programmes are part of its core activities and are overseen by Eira Gibson (Youth Programme Manager), and coordinated by the youth team Rowan Massey (Youth Programme Coordinator) and Lydia Ashman (Youth Programme Assistant). Circus Space has built up connections with a range of local schools and education providers, but the Work Experience and Apprenticeship programmes are open to any student who applies.

"The work experience package that we offer is a chance to find out what goes on behind the art – how do all these amazing things actually happen?!"

"As we create opportunities for young people to become circus artists, we need to show that is only a small part of work in the arts industry. It is important to us to develop career options for young people who may not want to be centre stage. This placement is a chance to experience a range of jobs from the senior management team right through to the part-time reception staff. This allows you to see the individual importance of all the different jobs that work together to make the operation run smoothly (young people are often surprised to find that we have an IT department and a finance department in our circus school!). It sounds cheesy, but the aim is to give you a chance to see all the cogs which make The Circus Space a success."

What are the benefits?

"It was rewarding to successfully complete tasks to aid the running of things! An invaluable experience was talking to the Chief Executive about the history and development of the space and its place in relation to the arts and funding. This kind of insider knowledge is useful to anyone interested in the arts' future and expansion". (Chloe, age 18)

The young people who take part in work experience at circus space not only get to benefit from engaging in something they are passionate about, but they also benefit from a very structured and monitored process of work experience which enables the learner to gain a wide set of skills. The work experience begins with a practice interview – even though the learner has already been accepted, because Circus Space wishes to make the scheme as realistic and beneficial as possible to the learner. The learner's experience is structured around the different departments at Circus Space – including the Chief Executive's office, marketing, operations, health and safety and IT. Activities can include working on a press release or writing a new CV. Skills passed on are therefore a mixture of hard practical skills, wider employability and creative skills.

The education providers benefit from the work experience scheme because it offers a way for young people to engage in something they may feel passionate about in a context which will allow for progression routes to further education. Circus Space offers a foundation degree in Circus Skills as well as an apprenticeship scheme for young teachers, both of which provide potential routes for those who have a positive experience on their work experience.

The creative enterprise benefits from a close connection to young people, part of its key audience for its activities. Circus Space feels strongly that young people on work experience give as much back in terms of new ideas and fresh thinking as they gain from the scheme. In addition the work placement programme has allowed the work of young people to integrate into the normal day-to-day running of the company. Circus Space sees the work experience scheme as part of its connection to the wider educational community and part of the spectrum of its activity from the non-formal through to the certified foundation degree.

What is the USP?

Circus space has created a work experience scheme which is remarkable for the degree to which it is structured and the range of exposure it gives learners to all aspects of running a busy educational establishment that provides both formal and informal learning for all ages. It manages to be both fun (engaging in circus skills) and extremely useful (e.g. help writing a CV) at the same time.

A model for the future?

Circus Space offers a model for the future as it moves towards creating a more seamless connection between its work-related learning activity, engagement with schools, foundation degree and other aspects of its youth programme. Through allowing learners to experience all aspects of the running of a creative organisation, it shows a realistic side to the nature of employment in the creative sector, which balances aspiration with pragmatism.

Case study: DreamLab Learning

www.dreamlablearning.com Belfast

What's on offer?

Dream Ireland Ltd was established in 1999 as a not-for-profit company which supports and nurtures digital content as a key driver of innovation within education, learning and enterprise in Northern Ireland. It set out to explore how the impact of digital technologies could be focused upon developing new ways of learning, being entertained and commercialising business ideas.

“Effective education and learning and skills acquisition is key to the promotion and sustainability of a developed, outward looking and progressive economy. Nurturing and supporting talent in creative ways is central to the organisation's aims and objectives. DreamLab Learning evolved from our activities within both formal and informal learning environments across Ireland that explored the potential for digital technologies and digital content to impact upon the engagement, educational attainment and achievement of young people in profound ways."

DreamLab Learning aimed to assess and measure the impact of using digital technologies and industry professionals within formal school environments to re-connect young people within learning, in new ways that measure 'distance traveled' - by assessing impact upon attitude, motivation and attainment – through benchmarking, evaluating and disseminating both qualitative and quantitative outcomes. The project worked to create a formal, sustainable learning network for teachers within and across schools in Northern Ireland that is focused upon sharing experience, expertise and aspiration through the creation of this learning community. This network was focused upon defining, developing and refining a learning model based upon the application of digital, creative skills within schools for 'hard to teach (reach)' young people (at Key Stage 3) to re-engage them in the learning process.

There are five key objectives embedded within DreamLab Learning that have shaped the development of the project and underpin the key learning outcomes of work to date:

1. The creation and development of a learning community and network for teachers to share experience and expertise.
2. Through evidence-based assessment and practice, the development and implementation of new learning models in schools, working with six schools in Northern Ireland and two schools in the North West of England to explore the impact and transferability of those models.
3. Through strategic dissemination, the transfer of knowledge and experience of the learning and networking models throughout the UK.
4. The development of an 'off the shelf' learning package for schools and teachers.
5. To impact upon current policy through practice, developing linkages with existing education provision and new learning initiatives supported by NESTA.

What are the benefits?

The young people: a practical, 'fun' learning experience that provided direct access to high quality industry expertise (from film to interactive programming) in a clear and programmed fashion. Other benefits include improved levels of digital skills for students (and teachers), increased levels of confidence for both students (and teachers), demonstrable impact upon performance for students and impact upon grades. An additional key outcome is high quality digital media products produced by students using industry standard software.

The education providers: teachers explore with DreamLab Learning approaches to bring different departments and disciplines together in the schools – music, art, design, technology, media, business, etc. – directly shaping the new learning environment. A formal learning network was established for teachers to create clusters of schools within a learning community focused upon dissemination and learning events for teachers to share experience and expertise across the educational spectrum which has a clearly developed pathway to the decision-making processes within schools and across a wider group of partners.

The creative enterprise: for the industry professionals, personal development sessions were held to set the educational context for the programme, ensuring that it connects to industry needs. DreamLab Learning created a network of potential industry professionals with a variety of skillsets - ensuring a degree of knowledge exchange within industry as part of the programme.

What is the USP?

The evolution of strong partnerships and 'user-led' programming throughout the project.

To a large extent they influenced the structure of the individual learning sessions within the schools so that resources could be deployed to address skills and knowledge gaps, support teaching and curriculum development and cascading expertise and learning throughout the school.

"The dynamics of the inter-relationships within the school and the classroom are key to the successful implementation of the model. The industry professional needs to be supported by the teacher in the classroom in the context of the overall teaching framework and the personal development/behaviour of the students.”

Case study: Inbox

www.inbox.co.uk Swindon

What's on offer?

Inbox is an award-winning, creative digital agency offering services in strategy and data planning, email and viral marketing, microsites, and online advertising. The hand-picked team has created highly successful campaigns for many of the world's leading brands. Clients range from Panasonic to Pringles; BBC to Fiat; Penguin to Alliance & Leicester. The agency prides itself in the quality of its team, with a very proactive recruitment strategy that targets talent which is young, hungry and driven. Work-related learning operates as a direct investment in future talent. It is purposefully orientated as a recruitment strategy to attract, embed and nurture talent which can progress to work with Inbox on a permanent basis. This is a growth-orientated company that requires a "fatter pipeline; of quality talent; it is keen to recruit and succeed; and therefore it actively engages in work-related learning activities as a 'loss leader for future growth."

“Creative directors are busy. And they get stressed. And they get sent a lot of CVs by prospective designers/programmers and from endless recruitment people flogging dead-beat, over-priced candidates with no talent. So standing out from the crowd is vital in order to catch our attention." ** (Oli Christie, Creative Director, Inbox. See: www.yconline.com)**

Activities are centred on providing young people with the space and flexibility to express themselves. They are actively encouraged to be part of the team; to take part in the convivial atmosphere of the company. Young people are given practical, project-driven tasks that are not simulations but relate to a real project. They are urged to pitch ideas, suggest new approaches, and introduce creative and technical solutions. The young people that show the most initiative and seem to fit in with the wider culture of creativity and teamwork, are then nurtured more intensively with a view to a longer-term role at the company. While technical skills are considered important, it is the mix of 'softer' creative and social skills that count for more. Indeed, a perception persists that in some instances young people are overly-orientated in education toward technical skills with fast out-moded technology. This can have the effect of 'training-out' those less tangible skills required for innovation and entrepreneurialism.

Who makes it happen?

Rather than develop a structured, strategic relationship with learning and skills providers, Inbox has established a fast-track recruitment policy where young people – mostly 18 and older - who approach the company directly are enrolled on a work-related learning programme at the company. Most approaches are through speculative enquiries. Oli Christie, Creative Director, plays a leading role, sifting through CVs, filtering those which show the right attitude and appetite as well as harder technical and creative skills. The aim is to develop an open engagement with young people - give them a chance, provide them with some 'space' to develop ideas and contribute.

This is an emerging practice, with work-related activity largely undertaken in an informal and ad hoc manner. However, there is a realisation at Inbox that with a more structured approach, perhaps underpinned with a relationship to the learning and skills sector (such as universities and the local further education college, which is piloting the new Creative and Media Diploma), more appropriate candidates might come forward to work a the company.

What are the benefits?

"Personally, I don't really give two hoots about CVs – do I really care that you got an A at Geography GCSE? Nope. All I wanna know is where you live, how old you are, what skills you've got, where you've studied and worked and what you like doing in your spare time. One page should suffice really. And be creative with your CV – you're meant to be creative, not a sodding suit." ** (Oli Christie, Creative Director, Inbox Digital. See: www.yconline.com)*

The young people who approach and then work with Inbox get a straight-talking, no nonsense introduction to creative agency work. They are given the room to breath, to contribute, to express themselves; and they are supported to find their real strengths and to successfully exploit the value of their creative potential. If they are then recruited by Inbox, at the very least they return to education or the employment market with a sharper appreciation of the culture of doing business in a fast-growth creative agency.

The education providers are currently under-connected to Inbox. They supply the talent but not in a structured or brokered way. Inbox, as a creative SME that has previously lacked the capital or contacts to engage with the learning and skills sector, is open to exploring a more structured way of supporting work-related learning as both a tool that fulfils learning and skills agendas, and as a 'loss-leader' investment into future talent.

The creative enterprise benefits from engaging with a ready supply of young talent that, even if it is not ready yet to operate as 'ready-made employees', offers valuable creative ideas and new ways of seeing the value of engaging with younger people: as a CSR engagement; to develop new creative talent for a future work-force; and for the immediacy of the user-generated innovation that they bring. Inbox most usually engages with young people aged 19 and above: after all, they are more likely to have a more established portfolio and a track record of working in the industry.

"And if you're lucky enough to get a break in an agency, make yourself 1,000% indispensable. If you're good enough, they'll keep you on. Be friendly, fun, work quickly, be brilliant, don't be shy in brainstorms, chip in with ideas in the office, send around cool URLs on stuff you like, go to the pub, ask questions, meet people, network...and bloody well enjoy it. It's the best job in the world and count yourself lucky you're not an accountant." ** (Oli Christie, Creative Director, Inbox. See: www.yconline.com)**

A model for the future?

Inbox provides an example of business-led, work-related learning that has evolved informally and without direct strategic links to learning and skills providers. It works for the business and it works for the learners. The task now is to build a more structured relationship to learning and skills institutions so that the creative assets of Inbox can become a resource for a wider group of future creatives.

Case study: IPC Schools' Design Programme (IPC SDP)

www.creative-partnerships.com/content/gdocs/ipc.pdf London

What's on offer?

• A ten week training course delivered by the London College of Communication (LCC) in magazine design and the use of In-Design (industry standard software) for Year Ten onwards.
• A work simulation week at LCC for students to apply their new skills to the design and content of 4 Real a magazine for and by Southwark young people.
• A placement week on an IPC title during which students work on 'live' designs and, if good enough, their work will be published.
• A buddy scheme for teachers and design professionals at IPC.
• Onward mentoring for students that become serious about wanting to become designers.

Who makes it happen?

The core delivery team incorporates Jane Boswell (CSR Manager at IPC) and Dennis Brown (a tutor at LCC). Each of the three participant schools has a co-ordinator. Partnership agreements are signed by head teachers and board level representatives for IPC and LCC. Programme development has been supported by Creative Partnerships, London East and South.

Matt Gould, a consultant for Creative Partnerships London East and South, was bought in to develop the IPC SDP. Matt was key to the development of the model, processes and tools used across the programme including brokering and developing the core delivery partnership (LCC and IPC), developing and delivering training for work placement hosts and supporting the development of internal skills, knowledge and practice at IPC. Matt has previous experience of work-based learning projects involving large corporate, FE and HE partners. He has also been a director of several creative businesses and is therefore able to draw on a wide range of experience, skills and knowledge.

What are the benefits?

Young people gain sector specific skills and knowledge that are tested and applied in real work scenarios. The expectations are high and the challenge is substantial meaning that with the support of those that work with them, young people will gain confidence and self-esteem. They also benefit from developing a range of portfolio material including work published to professional standard in either 4 Real or their host magazine. Those that choose to continue down a design-related progression route will be offered the chance to be mentored by their host should they feel that the relationship is sustainable. As students are also familiar with the opportunities offered locally at LCC and have a foot in the door for degree level entry into IPC, they are given a real opportunity to make progress into employment.

Participant schools get input into art and design, English and D&T curricula as well as staff development opportunities and quality work experience placements. They also get to build work relationships with an important local FE and HE provider and a flagship creative business.

LCC gets an important strategic board level working relationship with IPC, a large local industry partner. They also get input into the development of working models for the delivery of 14-19 learning, student recruitment and staff development.

IPC gets to influence practices and ensure industry awareness in the teaching of design within local schools, FE and HE. They are also able to make a valuable contribution to the development of local young people in keeping with their corporate values and those of their parent company, Time Warner. The preparation and involvement of work experience hosts provides important skills development and volunteer engagement opportunities.

What is the USP?

The IPC SDP is a quality and effective local progression route partnership that includes 'school to employment' delivery partners and gets results early through young people's work being published ensuring that they experience real success at a key point in the development of their own progression planning.

How will the programme be sustained?

The strong partnership at the core of the programme is well placed to secure continuation funding that is needed for the delivery of the programme elements delivered by LCC (due to the substantial value of the in-kind contribution and pump priming funding provided by IPC).

A model for the future?

The 14-19 education reform process, notably the development and roll out of the Creative and Media Diploma, needs working and successful models. The IPC SDP has been developed with participant schools, a HE and FE provider and a significant industry partner. The development process has also included input from local third sector organisations and, most importantly, been responsive to the needs of young people.

Case study: On/Off

www.thedoll.org/onoff/ London

What's on offer?

On|Off is the lead platform for emergent, top quality design talent at London Fashion Week, the key nurturing agent for this talent and the event producers of choice for showcasing London and the UK's design talent at home and abroad. Key services include:

• Playing a role as the leading Off Schedule Fashion Show at London Fashion Week.
• Operating as a key showcasing and events company for UK fashion at home and abroad.
• Operating as a key showcasing and events company for the wider creative offer of London and the UK, innovatively exploring the diverse creative interface of fashion, music, art and design.
• Providing a sector access and support point for diverse creative practitioners that are under-represented across fashion and the wider Creative Industries.

On|Off provides a dedicated, structured fashion development and incubation role for emergent talent in the industry, adding value to the wider fashion support landscape. Every year, On|Off recruits fresh talent to work as volunteers in developing the Off Schedule show at London Fashion Week. Up to 20 young people, mostly aged 17 upwards, work with On|Off to support the delivery of the show and work across a wider agenda that includes developing the On|Off brand, securing sponsorship, designing the stage and showcase stalls, and wider event management tasks. Some young people also provide a development role for On/Off's sister brand, Doll. Every year some of these young people stay with On|Off beyond London Fashion week and engage in a wider business development role for the company. A wider set of young people continue to participate in On|Off's network of creative partners, often renewing their role at On|Off at subsequent London Fashion Weeks. On|Off therefore provides a strong 'creative community' of social and practical support for young creatives.

Who makes it happen?

Lee Lapthorne, Director of On|Off and Doll, is a champion of talent development in fashion. On/Off is the lead showcase for emergent talent in UK fashion and this spirit is carried into the overall production of the company. Central to the ethos of On|Off is a nurturing and mentoring environment for aspiring young creatives. Young people are recruited to On|Off as valued contributors who will enjoy a warm and dynamic experience: they will work hard; undertake multiple tasks, many of which are relatively menial; and they will be supported as part of a close community that looks after them emotionally as well as providing practical advice. Lee also lectures at different colleges and universities, and plays an active role in the London Fashion Business Support Network: this provides a recruiting ground for creative young people (in fashion, design and art), and connects On|Off to a wider business support network into which young people can be signposted.

What are the benefits?

The young people get a direct hands-on role in a dynamic creative production company at the heart of London Fashion Week. They have access to the formal and informal experience of running a high profile event and to a network of up-and-coming fashion designers. They are given direct responsibility to, for example, attract sponsors and inform set design. They are also offered advice on opportunities in the Creative Industries. Finally, they become part of the growing 'On|Off community' – an alumni of creative people that provides a rich community for business development. On|Off does not provide any formal training and it is a very much 'sink or swim' environment for young people: if they can not cope with a very intensive, self-starting environment, they will be asked to leave. This is because On|Off is a very fast-moving, deadline-driven environment that requires highly motivated contributors – hence most young contributors being 17 and above.

The education providers do not have a direct relationship with On|Off, unless Lee Lapthorne has recruited young people directly through his teaching role. Young people do return to education with a much sharper appreciation of the industry and a set of contacts that they can draw upon as they continue their education.

The creative enterprise benefits from having a hungry, energetic and free labour resource at a time when it needs to 'scale-up' – i.e. prior to and during London Fashion Week. In addition, On|Off benefits from the creative input of young people – bringing new ideas and ways of seeing; plus an accessible alumni of creatives over the following months and years. Indeed, several young people return to On|Off on an annual basis and in some cases have developed a professional working relationship with the company. Finally, On|Off's brand is very much advantaged by the presence and contribution of young people: the spirit of youth keeps On|Off contemporary.

What is the USP?

The development of an informal creative alumni – providing a nurturing environment over a longer period of time.

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Footnotes

Case study: The B Group

www.thebgroup.co.uk Newcastle-upon-Tyne

What's on offer?

Work experience placements and work shadowing in a creative SME.

Who makes it happen?

The B Group is a creative agency. Key services include branding, design, web, copywriting, campaigns and strategy development for clients across the UK including corporations, charities and public sector organisations. The B Group’s core creative campaign activities involve working for a number of clients in the education sector. This led them to get involved with educational providers in terms of assisting with policy and strategy, sponsoring a creative campaigns module at Northumbria University, and offering work experience and work shadowing in their own organisation. The educational work is driven by the chief executives of the company, Siobhan Bales and Diane Gates, and is part of their CSR remit.

What are the benefits?

The young people: every year 12-15 young people have the opportunity to participate on a one or two week’s work placement at the B Group. The young people are able to work on actual projects that the company is involved in at the time, to work alongside the creative team and to gain insight into how the organisation works and the kinds of clients it works for. The young people who participate are able to develop ‘hard’, ‘sub sector-specific’ skills in areas such as design and multi-media. They also learn wider skills which will assist them with improving their employability, and gain a unique insight into a cutting edge creative agency. A distinguishing feature of the work experience is that each young person is assigned a mentor from the B Group staff. This enables the young person to be supported and inspired on a one-to-one basis.

"We work them hard. They are not here to make cups of tea and coffee, but to work in a real creative business environment and to learn about the creative industries sector." (Diane Gates, Chief Exec, B Group)

The education providers: schools have the direct benefit of their students participating in work experience which contributes to the work-related learning elements of the curriculum. The creative campaigns module at Northumbria University means the university benefits from direct input from a real creative agency, which provides the students with real campaigns to work on. The B Group’s work with other public sector clients such as universities, local authorities and regional development agencies, enables education providers to benefit from their branding and strategic expertise on a regional and national level.

The creative enterprise: the work experience and mentoring by the staff provides professional development for the B Group management team. The skills needed for mentoring a young person are transferable into management skills with colleagues in the workplace.

From a business development point of view, some of the young people are asked to take part in market research focus groups on campaigns at the company. They test out new ideas and represent potential customer groups of the future. The business also benefits from the energy and creativity young people bring to the organisation. Diane Gates (CEO) highlighted how:

"A diverse working environment can produce new and different ideas. The creative input from a diverse section of people is invaluable to the innovation of our business."

What is the USP?

An innovative initiative developing synergies between creative industries SMEs and the learning and skills sector.

A model for the future?

CPD for creative professionals: the mentoring of work experience participants by members of the B Group management is a good example of how staff in creative enterprises can gain professional development opportunities through providing work related learning to young people. This could be a key selling point to creative SMEs when encouraging employer engagement.

Creative SMEs and learning and skills strategy: the close involvement of the B Group with its policy and educational clients such as Regional Development Agencies and universities shows how even small creative SMEs can begin to have influence in educational and skills strategy. This is vital if work-related learning is to develop effectively in line with the needs of both educational providers and employers in the creative industries.

Creative SMEs as educators: the B Group's module on creative campaigns at Northumbria University demonstrates how creative entrepreneurs and SMEs can work directly with young people in an educational environment, providing access to real creative industries projects and integrating the work-related learning into the curriculum. This model could be replicated at the 14-19 school and FE level. It is an important example that could be built upon in the forthcoming creative media diplomas and creative apprenticeships.

Case study: Visible Media

www.visiblemedia.uk.com Newcastle-upon-Tyne

What's on offer?

Visible Media is a small enterprise producing video, photography and multimedia products for a range of clients in both the private and public sectors. Every year six school students aged 14-18 are given the opportunity to gain one or two week’s work experience at the company. The young people participate in all aspects of the creative business, including meeting clients, working on projects and using up-to-date digital technology including software such as Photoshop and digital video editing packages.

Who makes it happen?

The work experience is devised and led by Liz King, the CEO of Visible Media, and funded privately by the company as part of its CSR remit. Liz is an example of an entrepreneur who invests in young people to help develop the creative entrepreneurs of the future.

Liz decided to offer work experience placements as a result of her teaching creative and multimedia skills in City Learning Centres in the local area, and seeing how the young people would benefit from some hands-on work experience to complement the practical skills they learn. The work experience is mainly offered on an individual basis, to young people who apply directly to the firm. Some placements are also offered in conjunction with the North Tyneside Business and Education Partnership.

What are the benefits?

The young people who participate gain ‘hard’, ‘sub sector-specific’ skills in areas such as video, multimedia and design. They also learn wider skills that are vital for employability. Liz King emphasises the importance of these wider skills and says that they can be what’s lacking in the young people who come to her company for work experience:

"The young people come across as intelligent, and have technical and creative skills but they need to be better at English, especially written English and grammar. They need to develop a sense of responsibility for getting the job done, a better attention span, and to learn how to apply themselves to tasks and pay more attention to detail."

The education providers benefit from work experience in a creative SME providing a hands-on aspect to the vocational and work-related learning offered to their students. Liz King and Visible Media make an important contribution to developing links between education and creative enterprise, not only through offering work experience, but also through Liz’s teaching, and her participation in QCA consultation events about the new Creative and Media Diplomas.

The creative enterprise benefits from the contribution of energy, ideas and engagement with new technologies that the young participants bring. Liz King values this innovative potential immensely:

"Young people of today shape the industries of tomorrow. Often they are ahead of business in terms of using technology – for example, mp3 players and ipods, mobile phones. Young people are at the cutting edge, industry has to catch up."

What is the USP? 'A creative entrepreneur giving back time and energy to developing the creative entrepreneurs and innovators of the future.'

The entrepreneur who set up this scheme plays an important mentoring role to young people, both through the work experience offered by her company and through the teaching work she does in educational establishments. The model used of having two students participating together means there is also the potential for ‘peer mentoring’ and support, a valuable tool in personal and professional development. This scheme shows a real belief in the value of young people to the creative economy, both as innovative users of ‘cutting edge’ technology, and as potential workers and creative entrepreneurs of the future.

Mentoring and continuous professional development

The work experience at Visible Media includes mentoring from the staff of the company and peer mentoring between the student pairs who participate. The entrepreneur behind the scheme takes a mentoring role as she goes out into the educational community to pass on her knowledge and experience. Mentoring is a vital element of professional development, and creative entrepreneur mentors are invaluable in influencing young people in their own creative entrepreneurial aspirations. Mentoring schemes on a more formalised basis, not only linked to work experience, but also bringing creative entrepreneurs into schools and other community environments, could help inspire and support young people to engage with the creative economy from a young age. This could be followed up with e-mentoring, for example.

Taking initiative

The model of work experience at Visible Media is primarily one where young people take their own initiative and contact the company directly for opportunities. This is an example of a practice that is vital for success in creative industries. Taking initiative, networking, and keeping in touch with industry developments are skills that are not necessarily taught. But they could be emphasised as important by educators and creative practitioners who come into contact with young people, in order to encourage young people to begin equipping themselves for work in the creative economy.

A model for the future?

The work experience programme at Visible Media provides examples of best practice that could be replicated, and lessons that could be learned for those involved in or interested in becoming involved in providing and accessing work-related learning with creative SMEs.

Case study: Youth Conspiracy

www.theyouthconspiracy.com Newcastle-upon-Tyne

What's on offer?

The Youth Conspiracy was founded three years ago by Richard Maryniak and Quinn Stainfield-Bruce. Their experience in working in marketing and research let them to believe there was a gap in the market for an agency which understood young people – not through employing experts on young people but by employing young people themselves. The agency now employs eight people full time but has a network of 800 young people which it can call on in a variety of ways as projects demand. The agency works with a wide range of clients interested in understanding the youth market from FMCG through to government agencies.

"I was fed up with going to presentations on what young people wanted which were being made by middle-aged men. I realised I would be middle-aged before I got to make a presentation so I decided to set up my own agency."

Who makes it happen?

The Youth Conspiracy has a unique way of working with young people which has at its heart the concept that young people should be allowed to express their ideas and views without being forced into preset positions or notions. At the core of the Youth Conspiracy system is a network of ‘Party Heads’ who are recruited at universities around the UK and via word of mouth. The Party Head is a critical role:

"The Party Head has to be engaged in youth activity as a way of life. We want them to be themselves to represent their scene or region. The most important skills they have is the ability to communicate what it is they do, what they enjoy and what they want."

The Youth Conspiracy operates on a project-by-project basis paying Party Heads and other members of the network for the work they deliver. Projects vary hugely – including recently arranging the world’s largest music video for MTV – but in general they rely on young people telling Youth Conspiracy what their issues are, in a context which allows them to lead their lives as normal.

What are the benefits?

The Young People who are part of the network get to benefit from a greater understanding of how marketing and research works. They gain confidence and self-esteem through being able to express their own views. Many of the young people who take part are interested in founding businesses or companies of their own and working with Youth Conspiracy is part of their enterprise education.

The education providers that Youth Conspiracy works with include Bath and Westminster Universities, where they work with students on courses as interns. The Youth Conspiracy offers a unique connection between learning and work, offering young people the chance to engage with an organisation that enables them to be themselves while at the same time learning real skills around presentation, marketing, research, project organisation and enterprise.

What is the USP?

The Youth Conspiracy’s USP is that it never pretends to be expert on the needs of young people - rather it relies on capturing what the real experts feel and think in a naturalistic and unforced way. Through clever use of internet and mobile technology as well as a clever organisational structure it is able to very quickly mobilise its network for whatever project it needs too. Through only employing young people it is true to itself as an organisation - though as the founder gets older, it will be interesting how that original mission develops.

A model for the future?

Through working with young people in a flexible and innovative way that takes its lead from the lives of young people, Youth Conspiracy offers a great model for future organisations that want to engage with young people. Youth Conspiracy demonstrates that there is a market for projects which get young people to take a step back from their lives and consider what products and services mean to them which could be utilised in non-commercial ways by government agencies, charities and other services for the benefit of the individual and wider society. The networked delivery model of Youth Conspiracy is also worth noting as it builds trust and credibility while maintaining organisational capability.

4. Going forward: the top five opportunity areas and seven new ideas for work-related learning in the creative industries

"A young person's abilities, along with their motivation, aspirations and self-confidence, benefit greatly from engagement with business and industry people who can pass on skills and experiences not readily available in the classroom."³⁹ (Jonathan Bramsdon, Partnership Director, Edge)

This study has introduced the significance of WRL at the mainstream of agendas that benefit learners, learning and skills institutions and businesses in the creative industries. It has shown how these three key types of stakeholder engage and involve with WRL across a range of priorities, objectives and motivations. It has also shown that WRL that provides an equal level of value to each stakeholder is all too rare. Under-developed networks and issues of capacity, flexibility and sustainability are classic barriers to effective strategic WRL.

There has never been a more exciting time for WRL in the creative industries. Learning about work, learning through work and learning at work have shifted from being at the fringes of educational provision for 14-19 year olds to something that is core to the rounded education of all young people. It is seen as having a vital role in the delivery of key social, economic and educational agendas that will help the UK meet the challenges of an increasingly globalised and competitive environment. It helps ensure that young people have the employability, entrepreneurial and sector-specific skills required by a knowledge economy in the twenty-first century. Through the sliding scale it operates on between the non-formal and accredited or institutional and business, it can break down barriers between the academic and vocational in ways that are necessary to meet new targets around young people staying in education or training post-16; or build-up opportunities to embed entrepreneurialism and creativity at the heart of education. Through enabling young people to engage in creative activity and open new progression routes into creative futures, it can help in unlocking creative talent.

In many ways, the launch of the Creative and Media Diploma in 2008 represents the coming of age of WRL, combining seamlessly the academic and vocational, the creative and the practical, the generic and specialist, the requirements of industry and requirements of the individual learner. In dismantling so many previous barriers to true interaction between employers and schools such as the rigid school day, inflexible curriculum and qualifications and disconnects between schools and further education - it will allow creative businesses and individuals who previously could not connect to the classroom to bring the skills, talent and opportunities they represent in new ways to a new generation of learners.

However, work, particularly in the creative industries, does not stand still, with new technology, new business models, new challenges and competitive threats continually changing the way that companies operate. While creative SMEs are well placed to adapt to changing models due to their flexibility and ability to adapt, WRL should be seen as something that offers genuine commercial and creative advantage in an increasingly competitive environment. Whether it is through injecting fresh thinking, giving opportunities for staff to gain management experience, understanding new markets or connecting to new audiences, WRL should be seen as something that smart, successful, creative SMEs engage in.

Schools and colleges and brokers in WRL need to ensure that when they connect with businesses, they understand the need that businesses have for continual exploration and evolution. Just as creative companies are on the look out for new technology that can keep them ahead, so they will require increasingly sophisticated and nuanced approaches to WRL that help them to develop as organisations as well as meeting their other requirements around CSR or community work. One of the challenges for the sector will be in ensuring that WRL practice keeps pace with this evolving picture.

There are five main areas of opportunity that need to be explored further if the creative sector is to build on the current position:

1) Blurring the boundary between the cultural sector and the creative industries

For young people, similar outcomes can be achieved in WRL if the partner is a cultural organisation or creative business. Both offer opportunities to engage in creative activity, learn practical sector-specific skills and wider, employability skills. However, projects that actively seek to combine both cultural organisations and creative businesses have the potential to deliver more and have a wider set of positive impacts on the creative and wider economy.

At an organisational level, the creative industries can benefit hugely from the free thinking, space and techniques that cultural organisations can offer while cultural organisations can benefit from sharper approaches to brand, markets and business models. Involving organisations in cross-sector, cross-discipline projects such as DOTT 07 or Joinedupdesignforschools shows how individual organisations as well as the wider community can benefit from combined approaches to systemic issues and challenges.

2) Using work-related learning as a gateway into HE

Knowledge exchange and transfer between creative industries and higher education has taken a back seat to activity involving businesses from other sectors including science and technology. There have been numerous barriers to engagement on both sides, including those to do with the nature of knowledge being exchanged, institutional and business structures, mindsets and cultures. WRL offers real opportunities as a gateway activity, involving as it does a common currency in the learner and shared objectives around learning, skills and creativity. The breaking down of barriers between HE/FE and schools could help bridge the current gaps between creative businesses and universities, creating new networks and consortia in addition to the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships currently in place. There are opportunities for universities to develop action research projects around learning and innovation, and for new connections around enterprise and incubation to be explored.

3) Developing techniques in user-generated and collaborative innovation

New approaches to innovation, including user-generated design and collaborative approaches, are becoming increasingly mainstream for creative businesses. WRL offers creative businesses real opportunities to work with young people in new ways to help solve common challenges or issues across a wide range of areas from health, the environment and sustainability through to crime and safety issues. While engaging young people in innovation for purely commercial gains would be inappropriate, involving young people in the development of services that affect their lives and those of the wider community is not. Through project work, creative organisations could develop and refine their techniques for engaging hard-to-reach groups and other more vulnerable segments of society.

4) Smarter use of social software and technology

While technology is now routinely used in the delivery of WRL, it is still lagging behind the way that 14-19 year olds play with and use social software, mobile telephony and gaming as part of their everyday lives. Serious gaming programmes, such as that advanced by the West Midlands Serious Games Initiative, have led the way on showing how using technology borrowed from games can have real educational impact. Huge potential exists in engaging young people by learning from the media they use themselves such as Bebo, MySpace or Second Life. As well as breaking down generational barriers, the potential to learn from how young people use technology, the scalability, possibilities of cross-sector and cross-discipline collaboration, and removal of geographical barriers, make this an attractive area of opportunity.

5) Developing new networked consortia

While the Diploma makes consortia approaches mandatory for schools and colleges, it makes no such demands of creative SMEs. Such businesses, which lack capacity, resources and connections, could benefit hugely from pooling resources to develop networked approaches to delivering WRL. Creative businesses benefit from clustering as well as networks that connect them to new markets, supply chains and potential sources of talent. Developing networks of cross-sector creative businesses, schools, colleges and universities is an exciting prospect which would bring huge benefit to all partners involved.

4.1 Seven ideas for effective work-related learning in the creative industries

This study, with its qualitative focus on existing practice, has explored the range of WRL in the creative industries. This has illuminated a set of positive ideas for genuinely advancing the role that WRL plays in the creative economy and - by extension - the role that creativity plays in learning and skills. With lessons learned from creative businesses, learning and skills institutions, and a mix of additional strategic stakeholders, a set of ideas for effective WRL in the creative industries has been illuminated. These are not developed as direct policy ideas. Rather, they provide points of consideration for future policy and action, such as a proposed pilot programme of WRL.

The learning and skills landscape of the UK is transforming. Currently, business sits too far from the centre of this emerging landscape, even when the new diplomas and apprenticeships are factored-in. Moreover, the future economy and world of work are also transforming, and indeed, business does not have a requisitely substantial role in shaping learning and skills landscape so that it is fit for purpose in providing an effective skills pipeline for the future.

The creative industries bring with them the ideas, technologies, and ways of working that characterise a future economy and world of work, so it is all the more important that they are positioned close to the mainstream of business involvement in learning and skills.

• Creative businesses need to take this agenda seriously: there are advantages in terms of innovation, creativity, competitiveness and growth.
• Schools and colleges need to take this agenda seriously: there are advantages in terms of attainment, productivity, aspiration and motivation.
• Policymakers need to take this agenda seriously: there are advantages in terms of economic growth and competitiveness, a vibrant and productive learning and skills sector and a confident, fitter-for-purpose workplace.

WRL is a key tool: bringing creativity into the classroom and business; connecting young people to a changing world of work, and supplying the economy with a creative, innovative and entrepreneurial workforce.

Appendix: List of consultees

About NESTA, Make Your Mark and Tom Fleming Creative Consultancy

NESTA

NESTA is the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts. Our mission is to transform the UK's capacity for innovation. We invest in early stage companies, inform innovation policy and encourage a culture that helps innovation to flourish.

NESTA's goals are to:

• Build well-evidenced models of how innovation can work.
• Establish NESTA as a renowned centre of expertise in innovation.
• Have NESTA's models adopted by others.
• Make NESTA a highly effective organisation.

We undertake practical, experimental projects that aim to build a body of evidence about how best to stimulate and support innovation.

More information about NESTA is at: www.nesta.org.uk

NESTA's Future Innovators programme

NESTA's Future Innovators programme aims to embed effective approaches to delivering the skills and attitudes necessary for innovation within mainstream education and informal learning. We do this by supporting the professionals and institutions that work with young people, testing new approaches and disseminating ideas and resources about education for innovation.

The objectives of the programme are to:

• Demonstrate ways of stimulating and supporting the development of the skills and attitudes needed by young people in their role as innovators of the future.
• Build the capacity of schools/colleges and the informal learning sector to nurture the innovators of the future.

More information is available at: www.nesta.org.uk/futureinnovators

Make Your Mark

Make Your Mark is a national campaign to unlock the UK's enterprise potential. It aims to inspire people to have ideas and make them happen. The not-for-profit campaign is backed by an unprecedented coalition of businesses, charities, education bodies and government.

It was founded by four leading UK business membership organisations – the British Chamber of Commerce, the CBI, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Institute of Directors. Their Director Generals sit on Make Your Mark's board. It is also supported by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and is endorsed by the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.

More information can be found at: www.makeyourmark.org.uk

Tom Fleming Creative Consultancy

Tom Fleming Creative Consultancy offers policy and industry leadership across the creative, cultural and knowledge economy. Through research, strategy and partnership, it positions creativity as a key tool for economic and social development.

The company offers:

• High profile strategy and commentary for the creative and knowledge economy.
• Creative economy and cultural sector knowledge resource.
• Creative business accelerator services.
• Creative economy and cultural regeneration research and consultancy.
• International creativity and cultural commentary.
• High profile public speaking and commentary services.

Clients include government, NESTA, Arts Council England, UK Film Council, UK Design Council, the regional development agencies, local authorities, the Nordic Council of Ministers, and many other organisations.

More information is available at: www.tfconsultancy.co.uk

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