27 May 2010
New funding is providing four talented people an opportunity to do a Creative Apprenticeship in Scotland to kick-start their careers in the arts. The Apprentices are supported by a wage subsidy from the Scottish Arts Council that has been awarded to four arts organisations that would otherwise find it difficult to fund an Apprenticeship.
Developed by Creative & Cultural Skills, Creative Apprenticeships provide non-graduates from a diverse range of backgrounds with the opportunity to get the training they need to break into the highly competitive creative sector. Over the next year the four talented Apprentices will have the opportunity to develop the skills and gain the qualifications they need for a sustainable career in their chosen specialist area. While they are training they will receive a real wage, which is subsidised by the Scottish Arts Council.
The Apprentices are some of the first in Scotland to train in their chosen specialism and include:
- Emma Butchart, Citizen’s Theatre and Scottish Opera, Costume and Wardrobe Apprentice. The 20-year-old from Edinburgh is the first person in the UK to do a Creative Apprenticeship in Costume and Wardrobe. Until June, hardworking Emma will be balancing the demands of a course at Telford College, Edinburgh with her Apprenticeship. Although Emma recognises that there are few opportunities in Scotland for people with her skills, she’s determined to carve out a career in the specialism.
- Garry McLaughlin, Cumbernauld Theatre, Community Arts Management Apprentice. The 30-year-old visual artist from Glasgow is one of the first two Community Arts Management Apprentices in Scotland. The Apprenticeship is enabling the former care manager to change his career. A job in the creative sector has been a long-held ambition for Garry, but without a degree or experience in the arts he found it impossible to secure a job.
- Kirsty-Ann MacFarlane, Feis Rois, Dingwell, Ross-shire, Community Arts Apprentice. The 19-year-old from Ullapool is one of the first two people to do a Community Arts Management Apprenticeship in Scotland. It took the fluent Gaelic speaker/singer, piper and part-time accordion tutor a year to find her first full-time role in the arts. One of her first challenges is to organise the annual Ceilidh Trail, a series of traditional music events across Ross-Shire.
- Clare Saunders, Cultural Heritage Venue Operations Apprentice, Collective Gallery, Edinburgh. Clare, 21, has been attempting to break into the arts industry for the past two years. She applied to art college two years running, but because she doesn’t hold a Higher in English she was turned down. The Creative Apprenticeship is enabling the Edinburgh local to get the training she needs to begin a career in the arts.
Commenting on the successful recruitment of the Scottish Arts Council-subsidised Creative Apprentices, Caroline Parkinson, Director – Scotland & Northern Ireland at Creative & Cultural Skills, said:
The creative and cultural industries in Scotland are economically important and we need a skilled workforce to ensure that they continue to thrive. However, a career in the creative industries remains closed to too many talented young people, particularly those who have few or no qualifications. The Creative Apprenticeship programme is critical. It is a step towards ensuring that we bring people into the industry from a wide range of backgrounds and that talented people aren’t overlooked. It will also help us develop the skilled workforce we need to help guarantee our sector’s future economic success.
Helen Bennett, Head of Creative Industries, Scottish Arts Council said:
Scottish Arts Council has been pleased to support the four Creative Apprenticeships as part of our commitment to developing new routes into employment in the arts. We welcome the range of companies which have come forward to offer these entry-level roles and the associated opportunities to explore and demonstrate how different training pathways may be used. We wish the four recruits every success.
The Apprentices begin their training as new evidence from Creative & Cultural Skills show that many of the nation’s creative organisations are thriving despite the recession. According to the research, 54% of creative businesses in Scotland say that their turnover increased over the last financial year and 16% said it stayed at the same level.
ENDS
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Notes for editors
Creative & Cultural Skills is the Sector Skills Council for the creative and cultural industries. Our remit covers the craft, cultural heritage, design, literature, music, performing arts and visual arts sectors across the UK. Creative & Cultural Skills was granted a new licence to operate in January 2010.
Creative & Cultural Skills is a member of the Alliance of Sector Skills Councils. Together we oversee the strategic development of the workforce in our industries and deliver realistic solutions to skills needs.
There are a total of 40 Creative Apprentices newly in place in Scotland.
Creative Apprenticeships are one of the Modern Apprenticeships managed by Skills Development Scotland. Kirsty-Anne MacFarlane was recently named by Skills Development Scotland as the 20,000th Apprentice in Scotland.
The Scottish Arts Council is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) which was established by Royal Charter in 1994 and is also a Lottery distributor. Investing £61 million each year, including £12.4 million of National Lottery funding, the organisation serves the people of Scotland by fostering arts of excellence through investment, development, research and advocacy. www.scottisharts.org.uk
The Scottish Arts Council will soon be replaced by Creative Scotland, the new strategic body tasked with leading the development of the arts, creative and screen industries across Scotland. http://www.creativescotland.org.uk