Entry level employment in Bristol's creative industries sector (ELEBCIS)

Thomson, Sam

Abstract

The Entry Level Employment in Bristol’s Creative Industries Sector (ELEBCIS) research project took place between July 2012 – March 2013.

The project included primary research in the form of interviews with: young people working with, and professionals working for, informal education providers across the Bristol area; professionals working in formal education (at school, in Further Education and in Higher Education Institutions); Creative and Digital Sector Employers and Employees in a range of companies of different sizes located in the city; focus group meetings with young people in formal education settings in different areas of the city, each with comparatively different intakes and traditions of progression for students into both Higher Education and in to employment in these sectors to date.

Secondary research took place in the form of a literature review.

Together, these approaches have enabled the development of understandings about a wide range of issues connected to current and future-predicted entry level employment opportunities in the creative and digital (and other) sectors in Bristol, and have enabled the ‘reflecting back’ of current practice, identification of particular barriers, and potential opportunities for innovation which may help to address these. The process has also enabled the identification of effective (as well as less effective) skills training and development provision which is supporting young people across Bristol to access employment in these sectors.

Through this process, it has been possible to develop a series of recommendations and proposals for Bristol City Council’s Economy, Enterprise and Inclusion Team – who commissioned this work – to consider in future planning and decision-making related to skills training provision for these sectors in the city in the future.

In this way, this report may contribute to the extensive planning and development activity that is currently taking place across the city and the wider region in response to the ambitious plans for the Local Enterprise Partnership’s Bristol Temple Quarter Zone (BTQZ), an Enterprise Zone development in the centre of the city, which are rapidly taking shape.

Additionally, it contributes to the growing body of literature relevant to intermediary employers in the Creative Industries sector, defining 'Community Media Sector Connector' organisations and highlighting their role in enabling access, and addressing the poor labour force diversity evident in these sectors.

Additionally, the report highlights the lack of a shared definition of the terms 'entry level' and 'Crative Industries,' in existing literature.

The report presents a series of recommendations and associated areas for future work which may support the achievement in practice of ambitions which ensure that all residents are able to access and benefit from the economic opportunities being developed in the region and crucially that no-one in the city is ‘left behind’ - a key strategic aim for the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership.

• Report Type: Technical Report
• Publication Date: Apr 1, 2013
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 7, 2019
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: entry level employment, creative industries, Bristol West of England, diversity
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/933345
• Publisher URL: http://www.kwmc.org.uk
• Related Public URLs: http://bit.ly/1hvSoyz
• Additional Information: Corporate Creators : Bristol City Council, Knowle West Media Centre, University of the West of England, Bristol