There’s a class gap in access to careers in the arts – innovative skills education could help

The creative industries are of vital importance to the UK economy, accounting for £115.9 billion in 2019. It’s estimated that film and high-end television production alone – one of the UK’s fastest growing industries – will require between 15,130 and 20,770 additional full-time equivalent employees by 2025.

But there are major issues which need to be addressed if the screen industries are to continue to prosper. These include not only the loss of skills as older workers, women and carers leave the sector, but the over-abundance of screen sector workers from upper-middle class backgrounds.

A new report from charity the Sutton Trust has found that young people aged 35 and under in the creative industries are around four times less likely to be from a working class than a middle-class background.

This is an issue we also encountered in our research on training for the UK film and TV industries. There is a key lack in the “soft” skills required for career success in these industries, such as communication, team working and time management. And these skills are often far more difficult to build for those from poorer or more marginalised backgrounds.

This article is part of our State of the Arts series. These articles tackle the challenges of the arts and heritage industry – and celebrate the wins, too.

These are skills that are traditionally honed on the job – or through (unpaid) internships and work placements. But these are notoriously difficult to secure even for those registered on formal educational programmes. The reality is that access to these careers often comes down to personal connections and the kinds of skills that are fostered through private education and existing networks in the arts.

Learning professional skills

We carried out research funded by the Screen Industries Growth Network into skills gaps and training for the UK screen industry, interviewing screen industry professionals, training providers and university and college lecturers. Our research underscored how difficult it can be to teach professional skills in the classroom.

We worked with creative charity One to One Development Trust to develop an educational game that will help students develop the professional skills they need for working on a film or TV set.

This is an approach that has received support from the UK government. In 2023 the Department for Culture, Media and Sport launched the Video Games Research Framework to help develop and promote research on games and game-related technologies. A key priority focuses on the use of games to teach and develop skills to support the growth of the creative industries.

In the game we developed – Play Your Way Into Production – game players can choose to be a runner, a trainee sound assistant, or a trainee grip. These three entry-level roles give players the chance to experience different elements of working on a set, undertake a variety of tasks and interact with cast and crew.

Getting set-ready

Each of the tasks included in the game are based on real-life studio experiences and are designed to help players develop the skills highlighted in our skills gap report.

These include industry knowledge. There was a perception among training providers that graduates knew how to write, edit or operate a camera but didn’t understand the industry as a whole or how different roles worked together.

The game also works to build professional skills, also known as soft skills: being able to work in a team, communicate effectively or be assertive.

Some interactions are dictated by the game script and can’t be altered by the player. Others depend on a task which comes with a range of responses which feed into the feedback players get at the end of the game. One example of this is when Hazar, the sound technician, overhears a sexist comment from Nick, the camera operator. Hazar can challenge Nick, laugh along, or not respond. What Nick does next depends on the choice the player makes.

The game also includes a virtual TV studio that can be explored in virtual reality. Players can explore different pieces of kit, read profiles of the cast and crew characters, and find out about different job roles.

While the game isn’t designed to replace work experience, our research has shown that students and industry professionals find it beneficial in helping develop the professional skills required on set. One lecturer commented on how playing the game would mean that the environment on set wouldn’t come as such a surprise:

Imagine if you’ve gone through your whole degree, and this is like your first working experience. And all of a sudden, like the ground would shift beneath you. It’s like, okay, so I know all this stuff about editing and camera, but I don’t understand the flow of working on a set. So yeah, I think, I think in that respect, that’s kind of the game’s USP for me in a way.

In an industry where it’s notoriously difficult to get a foot in the door, having a broader understanding of the culture and requirements of a film set can only be beneficial for young people who might lack the connections to get ahead.