Continuing Professional Development

Overview of Problem

Businesses across the creative and cultural industries are predominately small, self employed, freelance or sole trader. This has a big impact on how continuing professional development, time constraints and cost are commonly cited by industry as obstacles.

Although the sectors vary, in general they are graduate heavy. In some sectors gaining a post graduate qualification is expected. Despite this skills are still lacking. There has been a general mismatch in expectation between what employers are demanding of education and what education providers are delivering.

More support is needed identifying funding streams to enable practitioners to access the training needed to succeed in the sector.

Demand Side Evidence

• A move toward work-based learning is considered important along with more support for planning and funding training programmes.
• The sector has a tendency to focus on short term horizons when planning strategically, and as a consequence it is reactive rather than proactive toward change.

Supply Side Evidence

• 68% of organisations did not arrange for training in 2005/6. If there was a need for training, the main reasons were a lack of time and money.
• The majority of employers and practitioners across the UK fully fund any training undertaken within their business (70%) even though nearly 90% don’t have a specified training budget.
• Less than 20% of employers are aware that they can access funding for training, while, of those that were aware only 31% did so.
• 86% of training in the creative and cultural industries took place during office hours.

If you would like to know what Creative & Cultural Skills are doing to address this issue please visit Projects.