Industry News
12 October 2015
Getting Ready to Fly
It’s easy isn’t it, to ignore the safety announcement at the start of a flight? We’ve all flown before, we know the drill, and if there’s an emergency we’ll panic anyway. These announcements all sound the same; gentle reminders to put our own mask on first.
Thought leader on education, Sir Ken Robinson, uses this analogy to discuss how teachers should get their ‘own mask on first’ when teaching 21st century skills. He argues that teaching creativity, collaboration and compassion is difficult if these capacities don’t exist within teachers.
He’s got a point. It’s logical, particularly when embarking on change, to ensure you’ve got everything you need and are well placed to support others on the journey. And this logic can be applied further, because it’s not only education that’s on the move.
Radio is one of the creative sectors and across the creative industries, there’s a fast paced evolution occurring. At the same time there’s a higher value being placed on the skills and attributes typically associated with this once misunderstood sector. Imagination, unique alliances and original thought are increasingly valued by all industries. Long gone is the notion that creativity is a soft skill – it’s hard and it’s vital.
For those of us passionate about radio and the creative industries as a whole, we owe it to ourselves, and to others, to lead. As part of this, we need to ensure that the industry remains diverse and accessible to good, skilled talent. If the creative industries can’t reflect and innovate, no industry can.
Creative Skillset’s 2015 Census provides us with an opportunity for reflection, and consequently the knowledge to innovate. This survey looks at career development including entry routes, training needs and crucially, barriers to progression. If we complete this survey, we will collectively get our own mask on first.
So please take part in the Census for Radio this year by completing the survey and help Creative Skillset allocate funding to help the industry.
There’s an exciting journey ahead, let’s get ready to fly.
Creative Skillset 2015 Census is available online now. To take part, please visit http://j.mp/Census15-p.
Courtnay McLeod is director and joint-founder of the Bauer Academy, a UK-wide centre of excellence for skills and talent development, promoting diversity across creative industries. She is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
