Smyle’s CEO, Keith O’Loughlin, CEO at Smyle, has shared his views on the Autumn Budget.
“Although the Chancellor heralded ‘a new era of optimism’ in his Budget, for young people wanting a career in the arts or creative industries, optimism is thin on the ground,” comments O’Loughlin.
Rishi Sunak announced an investment aimed at making the UK a ‘science superpower’, and £3bn in ‘skills revolution’ funding, £1.6bn of which will be used to provide extra classroom hours for 16 to 19-year-olds studying for technical-based qualifications.
Commenting on this, O’Loughlin said: “The Government’s ongoing focus on STEM would be very laudable if it didn’t appear to be coming at the expense of creative education.
He adds: “The creative sector contributes about £112bn to the economy every year, amounting to nearly 25% of GDP, a greater contribution than the UK’s automotive, aerospace, life sciences and oil and gas industries combined. Yet, arts subjects and creative education in this country continue to be undervalued and are under attack.
“Following the announcement of cuts to funding for arts education by around 50%, the Government is reportedly considering recommendations that graduates must start repaying their loans earlier from an earning rate of £27,295 to as low as £23,000. As well presenting yet another barrier to students from poorer backgrounds pursuing further education, such a move would further deter people from studying arts degrees and courses with lower salary returns.”
According to James Purcell, the president and vice-chancellor of the University of the Arts London, 7% of students took arts courses in 2019, around same number as in 2014.
“In light of the fact that the creative industries were growing five times faster before the pandemic than the rest of the economy, we should be encouraging more people to take arts subjects,” states O’Loughlin.
“On top of cuts to creative education, myriad forces, from Brexit to Covid-19, are leading to a talent drought in the creative industries. Support for alternative routes into the creative sector, such as apprenticeships and mentorship programmes, is more important than ever to provide diverse young people with a way in and offer this industry much-needed access to a talent pipeline.
“At Smyle we are doing all we can to focus on outreach to young people, building relationships with a diverse range of educational institutions, as well as partnerships in the community for those who are not in education. We believe that by doing so, we can play our part in nurturing future talent, connecting them to opportunity, creating the space for great careers as well as challenging the industry to transform where it finds its talent and move towards a better, more diverse, more fair industry of the future.”
