Lights, camera, Action! Fancy yourself as a bit of a maverick? Full of artistic flair and craft-like ideas but not afraid to share them amongst others?! If so a future in the creative industry by starting an apprenticeship in the sector can be a fantastic place to be innovative, inspiring and somewhere just to have fun!
What’s it about?
The creative industry is buzzing, both with ideas and in popularity and jobs are hard to come by and traditionally, those who have experience in the field tend to get offered the jobs. So an apprenticeship is a great way to get that all important experience.
Creativity takes on many forms and as an apprentice you could be working in a wide range of exciting areas, such as promoting live events, a theatre technician, games testing, promotion music or giving something back to the community by working for a community arts programme.
The UK excels in the creative industry and you’ll find most opportunities in London and larger cities but you’ll find openings for creative types in most places. Hours are often long and taxing but if you really have the passion for your work, you’ll go far- and who knows, you may end up rich and famous!
Who’s it for?
To survive in this industry you need to be prepared to work long and unconventional hours and be motivated by doing a job you truly love and not just money. You need to be able to work well within a team and enjoy listening to other people’s new ideas and have plenty of your own.
Having genuine passion for what you are working towards is seen as a great trait and you really need to become an expert in whichever field you decide to dabble into if you want to go far and end up working with the big boys.
What do I get out of it?
This industry is incredibly competitive and you may have to work for free at some places but you should not underestimate how impressive that looks on your CV.
Once qualified you can expect a starting salary between £12k-£16k and starting an apprenticeship at Level 2, the framework in England and Wales consists of; covering work (based training and knowledge based learning)- this may comprise of an NVQ, Technical Certificate and Key Skills, or a specialised framework tailored to meet the needs of the employers and the sector.
While in Scotland there three mandatory outcomes of a Modern Apprenticeship for Scotland: An S/NVQ must be achieved at Level 3 or above , all five Core Skills must be achieved at Intermediate 1 or above and the Apprentice must undergo industry specific training and achieve on-the-job training.
An apprenticeship in the creative sector provides individuals an opportunity to ‘earn and learn’ at the same time- and in doing so, may give you an edge over those candidates looking for work in the creative industry, who have decided to go to University and get a degree and are without the same experience as you will have gained.
