New partnership aims to excite more young people across the country about creative careers
Discover! Creative Careers, an England wide industry-led programme, has partnered with YouTube to launch a campaign to excite and energise 11-18 year olds about opportunities in the creative industries. The exclusive screening and launch of the programme’s first film created for its young audience was made by art rock collective Dilettante from the North of England and will be uploaded to a new dedicated YouTube channel. The film itself spotlights the range of professionals that bring live music to life, highlighting how many individuals behind the scenes are needed for musical performers to put on a gig.
Students from TMP College, an independent specialist college in Wigan, hosted the unveiling of the film at their newly expanded campus. After the screening of the film the young people had a Q&A with Francesca Pidgeon, the multi-instrumentalist and composer behind Dilettante and her manager, and she performed a selection of her tracks. The students also had the opportunity to question an industry panel which included representatives from YouTube, UK Music, Kycker and Discover Creative Careers and respond to a filming and photography brief from the Discover! team. Students from a range of courses on offer at the college also had the opportunity to share some of their work.
Dilettante’s brief was to create a short film to feature the collaboration and hard work that goes into a live music gig. The film features some of the people who pulled it all together.
Samuel Nicholls ‘Whiskas’, Director at Music Local who manage Dilettante said: “Through our talent development program Launchpad, we are able to support artists from first releases through to full scale album releases and with Dilettante we have seen her grow her fanbase, play headline shows, major festivals and national airplay. We hope this film can give some insight to the work that goes into being a touring artist, all the associated roles that go into building a successful artist and demonstrate the pathways that young people can get involved into build a creative career themselves.”
Alison Lomax, Managing Director, YouTube UK & Ireland, said: The UK’s creative sector is one of our greatest global exports, contributing over £125bn* to our economy every year. However, career pathways aren’t always clear, and the industry continues to face challenges around accessibility, opportunities, and funding.”
“That’s why we were thrilled to partner with Discover! Creative Careers to spotlight the diverse range of jobs available in the sector – from technicians to producers and promoters – by hosting a special film screening and panel for students in Wigan. Ensuring young people from all backgrounds see the industry as a viable and exciting career option is crucial for its growth – at YouTube we’re committed to playing our part in making this happen and empowering future creatives everywhere.”
Discover! Creative Careers steering group member UK Music worked with its members and a range of talent development partners, to identify suitable candidates for the opportunity. They had an excellent short-list of strong candidates before bringing in Dilettante as the best match for the project. In addition they worked with Little Dot Studios, who supported ScreenSkills and Dilettante with production of the film, and advised on YouTube best practice, creative and post production.
Dr Oliver Morris, Director of Education and Skills at UK Music commented: “We were really happy to help pull this exciting film together showing the range of roles involved in supporting an artist putting on a live event. It shows the power of music as an artform that engages and excites but also really proves that you don’t have to be ‘creating the art’ to be part of the creative industries. We were also really excited to be able to offer paid work experience to students from our Music Academic Partnership (MAP) member the University of Hertfordshire who helped capture footage from Dilettante’s gig for use in the final film. To get to the final piece of music played at a gig like this, there are a huge range of people involved from the artist themselves to others like managers, promoters, and technicians. A lot of these roles can be ‘creative’ but are more focussed on supporting the artist’s work – often with amazing problem-solving, people, and planning skills.”
“Our report This is Music 2024 released on 20th November showed that in 2023 music contributed £7.6billion to the UK economy and supported 216,000 full-time equivalent jobs. Excellent news and a timely reminder during Discover! Creative Careers Week that there are many opportunities to pursue a successful career in music!”
Front row lying down: Joe Kirkbridge, Senior Support Tutor
2nd row kneeling: Lil Hall (TMP College Student), Kylie Morgan (TMP College Student) Mary Rose (Programme Lead, Discover Creative Careers)
3rd row standing: Joanne Taylor (TMP College) Jackie Manning (TMP College); Francesca Pidgeon (Dilettante – the artist); Alessandra Russell (YouTube); [TMP College student]; Laura Mansfield (CEO, ScreenSkills); Hayley Russell (DCMS).
4th row standing: Samuel Nicholls (Music Local/Launchpad); Simon Rix (Kaiser Chiefs); Oli Morris (UK Music); Adam Samhan (YouTube); Danny West (Universal Production Music); Ian Bundred (YouTube); Martin Heaton, Director TMP College, [TMP College student].
Recent findings from Skills England’s first report revealing a shortage of skilled professionals across various creative fields serves to further highlight the vital importance of the Discover! Creative Careers programme which it was recently announced has received continuation and expansion funding from the Government announced to connect even more young people to employers in the creative industries.
Mary Rose, Programme Lead at Discover! Creative Careers said: “Discover Creative Careers is delighted to be returning to Wigan having run our Youth Voice pilot there in November 2023 in partnership with youth charity, Curious Minds. We know that young people can find it hard to imagine what their day will be like when you finally enter the world of work. This collaboration with YouTube and UK Music, enables us to show young people here at TMP College and throughout the country that the things they love to do in their free time can be part of a future career. Music, fashion, gaming, creating with your hands – it’s about developing a broad skills base that aligns with their interests.”
“That there are both creative and non-creative jobs in all subsectors of the creative industries is a message we really need to hammer home. We focus on the soft skills that are needed for success; team player, problem solver or organiser. We also know that the opportunities to develop your own business ideas through self-employment are critical.”
Hal Arnold, Director of Production, Little Dot Studios added: “We’re deeply passionate about supporting creative talent and uncovering authentic ways to tell our partners’ stories. Collaborating with ScreenSkills and Discover! on this project has been an exciting opportunity to showcase our creativity and share our YouTube expertise, all while empowering the next generation of creative professionals. Together, I believe, we’ve created content that not only informs but also inspires. It really was a passion project.”
The event at TMP College came at the culmination of Discover! Creative Careers Week (18th – 22nd November) a week that connects thousands of students with employers in the creative industries. Discover! Week is part of the England wide programme from ScreenSkills, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Arts Council England and a steering group of almost 30 industry partners.
Sir Chris Bryant MP, Minister of State for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism, said: “Our powerhouse creative industries are not only a huge driver of growth, innovation and soft power, but they are also a hotbed of exciting career opportunities for young people.”
“We believe that all children, regardless of background, should be able to pursue a creative career and have the skills and training to help them do so. That is why Discover! Creative Careers Week is so important.”
Martin Heaton; CEO, Jackie Manning; Principal and Tom Manning; Vice Principal at TMP College said: “On behalf of the team here; TMP College is very excited to partner with YouTube, in this opportunity for the young people of Greater Manchester. Being a family run small business; we have a vested interest in grass roots startup projects and for young people in the creative industry. With Greater Manchester’s new emphasis on the creative arts, after so many years of it not being a priority, we are honoured to be a part of the next generation of creative artists in our own hometown. As a Centre of Excellence for Inclusion, we hope this event will showcase the talent of our learners, and people from the area they live in.”
Source: Discover! Creative Careers
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