Guest blog post by Kay Brown
If recent reports about social mobility are to be taken at face value, I should have never had the opportunity to gain work experience in my chosen industry. Why? Because we still have the ideological assumption that as a student, a young person, you can only succeed in a career if someone you know (usually a family member) opens doors for you. If this was the case for everyone, then I certainly wouldn’t be working in the arts and I’m sure there are others too who have got where they are through their own hard work and determination.
As the youngest of four daughters I had lived with the expectation that I would go to university, because of no other reason than the fact that my sisters hadn’t made it for one reason or another. My parents weren’t fussed about what I studied, all that mattered was that they had a child that had gone to university. My parents had no thoughts about what I would do after university, it seemed to them that a degree automatically opened doors for you. I wasn’t so naïve and didn’t know what career I wanted until I saw a public relations work placement advertised towards students on my course in my first year. After researching more about public relations and marketing I took the first steps into securing a work placement; I searched Google for local PR companies, researched them and sent speculative emails.
The current furore in the media surrounding Nick Clegg and the cries of hypocrisy surrounding his outcries in regards to work placements seem to ignore the fact that people are perfectly capable of making their own enquiries to companies without any inroads to the organisation (and that they can also be successful!), that it is possible to balance unpaid work in the field they wish to work in alongside other paid work (and not always having to rely on the bank of mum and dad) and that fundamentally the whole culture surrounding a sector/industry needs to be accessible not just the contacts within an organisation.
If I had let the fact that my parents have no connections, knowledge or interest in the creative industries prevent me from making speculative enquiries I would have wasted the perfect opportunity for gaining experience; the time when I had very few timetabled hours and a student loan boosted by part time work. The only factor that would have stopped me from making speculative enquiries is if I had never been encouraged to be interested in culture and the arts to begin with. My parents never played a part in encouraging me to go the theatre, cinema, music events or to read literature (other than for educational purposes), instead it was my college tutors that made culture accessible to me.
At the age of 18 I was given the opportunity to visit the theatre for the first time with a trip from another college course, it was to see The Cherry Orchard at The Crucible in Sheffield. It may not seem a big deal but the fact that my English tutor acknowledged my interest in literature and culture on a broader level, made me aware for the first time that theatre was accessible to me. The door that was opened for me on that day has since allowed me to encourage the rest of my family to attend cultural events; one of my elder sisters visited the theatre for the first time at the age of 29 and my 7 year old nephew loves nothing more than visiting the theatre or cinema and discovering books from the theatrical adaptations he’s seen.
Since my first steps into PR and marketing I have developed an active interest in arts marketing and find it an amazing stroke of luck that I’ve had the opportunity to work in theatres in the region in the four years since my first steps into The Crucible. For me the lack of connections was never going to be an issue when getting a job, nothing was going to change that, I just needed someone to make me aware that I was capable, and I was allowed have an active interest in culture and the arts. I think this is why I am passionate about supporting and promoting the arts and events in the city. Leeds has a lot to offer its residents, the region and the country and I hope that the cuts don’t take us a step backwards to a time where areas of society, like the arts become less accessible to us.
I think the points raised are valid, and initiative shouldn’t be undervalued, but there are real issues with internships and the work experience catch 22.
There are opportunities out there and, whats more, many employers are willing to pay people to gain this valuable experience.
These seem to be the same employers who see a duty of care for those in internships and who deliver worthwhile programme of training. One of the best schemes in the country is based in Yorkshire.
But that’s not to deny the internships that border on exploitation. Take industries like fashion, finding certain chambers in law, media and politics.
You could possibly get internships outside London, but the way to get the top jobs is narrow and tends to involve months of unpaid work in the capital. The bar is not so much the ‘friends’ but the finances.
And you may argue that we should not be obsessed in chasing the dream of the top job, that better jobs may come with serendipity elsewhere, and that future financial reward isn’t all its cracked up to be – but try telling that to a 16-21 year old.
There are companies who offer “experience” unpaid, deliver little training except how to make coffee and use the photocopier and prey on the vulnerable inexperienced,young and ambitious.
By closing the “less than minimum wage” loop hole, opportunities are more democratic and less related to finances. And that’s good for developing the best talent whether its in the arts, banking or accountancy.
The real shame over the issue is that the government fails to invest in internships programmes which have a proven benefit to companies and the young job seeker, resulting in encouraged talent and more profitable businesses.
I think from hearing Clegg on the subject he is talking about a rarefied level of work in Westminster and political party head offices. If internships have a formal recruitment and pay structure as Clegg suggests then they are for all intents and purposes a job. I think Emma is right. A big problem in disincentivising young people in this sort of area is negativism. Being told you won’t get anywhere in life without a degree or contacts does massive damage and is completely misleading. I met a young lady recently who wanted to work in marketing, but not go to university. Her school effectively abandoned her, saying that she would never find a job etc. Gave her no help in looking. No university meant she had willfully thrown herself on the scrapheap. She wrote round, got a job and has been working in a marketing firm for two years while her contemporaries are still studying. I have a graduate with me on work experience who has been told to expect 2 years unemployment before she finds her first job. Consequently many of her classmates can’t see the point in trying. Emmas experience shows that overcoming doomsters can pay off.