Creative Blueprint Northern Ireland
• Northern Ireland has a creative workforce of 36,800 which is 1% of the UK creative & cultural workforce
• Creative businesses contribute £214 million GVA to the UK economy
• By 2014, industry growth of 1,500 jobs is expected
• Three quarters of the jobs will require higher skills.
The creative and cultural landscape in Northern Ireland
The creative and cultural industries have experienced rapid growth in the UK over the last ten years, which has begun to focus government's attention on the industries in terms of policy development and action and on the role of creativity and innovation in business and the economy. The Northern Ireland Assembly has set a target to grow the Creative Industries to 15% by 2014, this is supported by a Creative Industries Innovation Fund of £5m which was launched in October 2008, to assist in the development of creative businesses.
If we are successful, by 2020 parents' faces will not fall when their little Shirley says she wants to go on the stage or their wee Liam declares he's going to be an artist. They'll know that there is a good pathway into self employment and paid work in the creative industries and that great systems exist to support and develop talent, continuously. Indeed, as regular volunteers with the local drama festival, the parents opened the door to the arts for their children, Shirley learning so much volunteering as stage manager and Liam building up his portfolio as set designer. This voluntary experience was captured in NVQ s and so laid a foundation for their future arts education and creative careers. — Brenda Kent, Voluntary Arts Ireland
Creative & Cultural Skills: working in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Design Alliance
Creative & Cultural Skills has been working with designers in Northern Ireland to establish the NI Design Alliance. The purpose is to build a design community, encourage professional development and create a voice for the design industry within education and government.
The NI Design Alliance website, www.nidesignalliance.com, was launched in October 2010 and in November 2010, Martin Lambie-Nairn came to speak to an audience of 200 designers in Belfast.
As a group of professionals, the NI Design Alliance believes that great design makes things better for people, for business and for the planet. Visit the NI Design Alliance to find out more and read the full manifesto.
Qualifications
Creative Apprenticeships
The Creative Apprenticeship is an alternative way of recruiting roles which require specialist skills learnt on the job, such as theatre technician and front of house assistant. A Creative Apprenticeship lets candidates who cannot afford to do unpaid work experience access jobs in the industry.
Working with employers, stakeholders and our training provider, Belfast Metropolitan College, we plan to establish a pilot programme by February 2011. If you would like more information on this pilot scheme please contact the NI Manager, Sara Graham on 028 9038 5272 or email sara.graham@ccskills.org.uk. (Please note, that under the current operational guidelines of the Department for Employment and Learning, anyone with a degree is ineligible to apply for this scheme).
Sector Qualifications Strategy
As part of our SQS, we are working with partners in Northern Ireland to ensure that qualifications meet real employer needs in our sector.
Continuing Professional Development
Education and training context
• Northern Ireland has 2% of the UK Further and Higher Education provision
• 29% of the businesses in Northern Ireland had difficulties with recruitment and 23% had skills gaps
• 41% of employers had arranged training with their staff
• More than 9 out of 10 businesses have no training budget
'Thriving or Surviving'
As part of a joint initiative to encourage and support continuing professional development (CPD) in the arts sector, Creative & Cultural Skills, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Arts & Business and Audiences NI have produced a booklet entitled 'Thriving or Surviving’.
This is a response to the skills research that we conducted in 2009, which highlighted a number of core competencies in which the arts sector needs to invest to keep moving forward.
The booklet highlights 6 core building blocks for a healthy and vibrant arts organisation, these are:
• Leadership & Management
• Governance
• Fundraising
• Marketing
• Audience Development
• Strategic Business Planning
Why not download a copy and a take few minutes to complete the organisational health check on pages 8 and 9? The booklet also contains information on how we (all 4 organisations) can offer further support to build organisational capacity.
Professional Development through Mentoring
Following on from producing 'Thriving or Surviving', Creative & Cultural Skills, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Arts & Business Northern Ireland, and Audiences NI, have launched a new programme, 'Professional Development through Mentoring'. This is a pilot scheme which will run from December 2010 to March 2011 and focus upon fundraising and marketing/audience development skills.
The Mentors involved are highly experienced, successful professionals who have been selected because they embody good practice in the sector as well as a desire to pass on their expertise. The pool of Mentors includes:
Fundraising: Graeme Farrow, Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s; Paddy Gilmore, National Museums Northern Ireland; Norma Sinte, Queen’s University Belfast; Mary Trainor, Arts & Business NI
Marketing/Audiences Development: Christine Adams, Audiences NI; Lydia Gamble, Ulster Orchestra; Steven Hadley, Audiences NI; Áine McVerry, The MAC.
We anticipate that this programme will help develop professional skills, confidence and the build capacity in the sector. We currently have 13 participants on this pilot, all of whom have a role in either fundraising or audience development and have been matched with a mentor accordingly. Each participant will receive 4 mentoring sessions between Dec 2010 and March 2011.
Creative & Cultural Skills Northern Ireland Leadership Programme
In 2009-10 Creative & Cultural Skills ran a pilot leadership programme to develop Northern Ireland’s existing creative and cultural leaders and to prepare emerging leaders for the future. This programme was in response to industry demand and proved highly successful.
Creative & Cultural Skills has a commitment to working in partnership with the Arts Council of NI, Arts & Business NI and Audiences NI to continue investing in our leaders and developing skills in the sector. Check back on this page for updates on our future work in this area.
Information, advice and guidance
Creative Choices° is an online service offering resources and inspiration for careers in the creative and cultural industries. This website contains specific information on Northern Ireland (can we link to the NI page on choices from here - as it's not obvious on the Choices site), including interviews and articles with industry professionals.
Creative Industries Innovation Fund
Creative & Cultural Skills alongside industry representatives and other stakeholders, has worked with the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure (DCAL) in the development of the Creative Industries Innovation Fund (CIIF). In October 2008 DCAL established CIIF to contribute to the growth of Northern Ireland's cultural capital by supporting creativity and creative talents in their business activities. To date this fund has supported 156 organisations to grow and develop their creative businesses.
Northern Ireland Employers Skills Group
We are led by the views of employers in the creative and cultural sector, in Northern Ireland. Creative & Cultural Skills receives advice and direction from its high-profile Northern Ireland Employers Skills Group. The Group is led by Roisin McDonough, who represents Northern Ireland on our main board. Members of the Northern Ireland Group come from across the industry sub-sectors.
• Chris Bailey, Director, Northern Ireland Museums Council
• Michael Ockwell, Chief Executive, Grand Opera House
• Shiona Croft, Head of School Performing & Creative Arts, South Eastern Regional College
• Ross Graham, Free Range Music'
• Carole Kane, Development Officer Creative Industries, Workers Educational Association
• Joe Kelly, Director, Craft NI
• Roisin McDonough, Chief Executive, Arts Council Northern Ireland and Chair of NI Employers Group
• Brendan McGoran, Creative Industries Officer, Belfast City Council
• Hilary McGrady, Director, National Trust
• Colin McKeown, Creative Director, Whitespace2
• Peter Richards, Founder and Gallery Director, Golden Thread Gallery
• Nicola Thompson, HR Manager, National Museums of Northern Ireland
• Mary Trainor-Nagele, NI Director, Arts And Business NI
• Ian Montgomery, Dean of Faculty of Art, Design and the Built Environment, University of Ulster
• Andrew Ferris, Director, Smalltown America
• Bronwen Williams, NI Theatre Association