Case study: University of the Arts London Rings

Partnering with University of the Arts London Students’ Union, Eva London launched a Graduation Ring design competition open to students studying BA Jewellery Design at Central St Martins, one of the constituent colleges of the University. The competition was judged by a mixture of leading figures from the fashion industry, the media and the University itself. The result was a completely unique design that demonstrated a dynamic modernisation of the Graduation Ring concept, in keeping with the University’s ethos and image. The winning student received a cash prize, a set of Graduation Rings, design acknowledgement and features in national press (including Vogue.com). The winning designs were taken into production and can now be ordered at the SU shop, graduation ceremonies, alumni events and online at www.evalondon.com/arts.

How to get your university/Union involved

Get in touch with Eva London by calling 0207 148 7060, visit  www.evalondon.com or email info@evalondon.com for more information.

Visit www.artsgroup.org.uk/national-summit/ or click here for more info and to register your delegates.

The summit has be rearrange for July 1st/2nd at University of the Arts London.

Please visit our “National Summit” Pages for more details and to register.

See the manifesto I was standing on here, and the video & manifesto of the winning candidate, Usman Ali.

Alas twas not to be, but I’m sure the NUS will go on and serve Arts Group member Unions well regardless in the year to come. Thankfully the Arts Group policies which will mean alot to Arts Students nationwide passed – see the details at http://www.artsgroup.org.uk/2010/04/nus-passes-policy-on-internships-arts-education/

Freshly returned from NUS Annual Conference 2010 it’s my pleasure to report on the Arts Group Policy that was passed by the sovereign body of the largest organization of its kind in the western world.

Safeguarding funding for arts subjects

NUS passed our calls for funding to be specifically identified and ringfenced for the subjects that feed the creative industries, in recognition of the continued and growing contribution that we make to the UK economy. In policy 301 of the Higher Education Zone, the conference acknowledged that:

Despite the substantial and growing contribution the creative and cultural sector makes to the UK economy, the Arts Subjects that feed them consistently face disproportionate cuts.

And in response has mandated the organization to:

For NUS to lobby for additional and protected funding allocation for subjects related to the Creative & Cultural Industries, in addition to any STEM Funding priorities

Fighting the exploitation of Unpaid Interns

After months of the National Executive failing to take any significant action on internships, the Conference passed policy endorsing the work of the Arts Group and other campaigns including Intern Aware and Internocracy. Our amendment (611a) in the Welfare Zone commits the NUS to act as follows:

1.  
   1. To work with Interns Aware, Internocracy, and Interns Anonymous to highlight the challenges facing students and graduates on unpaid internships.
   2. To lobby the Low Pay Commission to clamp down on employers who are breaking the law by not paying the national minimum wage where this is entitled.
   3. To work with the TUC to highlight to students their rights at work, and their entitlement to pay, if a person is undertaking an internship for more than 3 months.
   4. In partnership with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) lobby the CBI to implement the Interns Charter across all employers who recruit interns.
   5. For NUS to lobby for a crackdown from the HMRC and other government agencies on unpaid “internships” and other instances of National Minimum Wage legislation being broken.
   6. To work on the proposals for the development of a legal definition of an “internship” and how this may differ from existing work experience and volunteer legislation.
   7. To adopt The Arts Group’s stance that living wage should be awarded to Interns.
   8. To work progressively for more and higher quality work experience and placement opportunities across FE & HE Courses that meet the terms of the Arts Group’s recommendations.
   9.  To ask students’ unions to campaign for a distinction between paid and unpaid internships in University careers’ services.
   10.  To investigate the feasibility of total income (whether from loans, grants, bursaries or payment from employers) for students on placements during their courses to be at least equal to National Minimum Wage for the duration of hours they work.

We can look forward to working with the NUS to make sure that this policy generates tangible activity, despite a poor record from the organization of action on our previous calls for action against Hidden Course Costs, passed at last year’s conference (re-actioned on a wider scale by a motion this year). It’s likely that the best approach for impact on the Internships initially would be the introduction of the Skillset guidelines as a legislative measure, as (despite focussing on National Minimum Wage rather than living wage) they outline a fantastic and clearly thought out system of work-based learning opportunities as well as post-graduation Internships.

Words by Lemma Shehadi

The increase of the creative industry’s numbers and economic activity is a recent development. To account for this, the Creative Graduates Creative Futures published a report on the career patterns of creative graduates. Undertaken between 2008 and 2010 and involving 3,500 creative graduates from the last six years, here we outline the CGCF executive summary, released in September 2009, of which a full report is to be published this spring.

What is particular to graduates in creative degrees, is that in pursuing their careers, they tend to engage in a multitude of activities. The CGCF highlights  that these activities combine a pattern of portfolio work and learning. This stems from the practice-led research emphasised in the curriculum of creative degrees. Graduates seem to combine this skill of applying their learning to work, whilst always learning and working throughout their creative careers

What this tends to encourage is a combination of self-employment and employment, and also a perfect ease with self-employment as a means of self-led learning. The summary reports that 45% of the graduates interviewed had worked on a freelance basis.

Creative graduates find the transition from higher education to the work place quite smooth. Their creative curriculum requires them to apply their learning through live projects. In the course of their degree, they are asked to set up exhibitions, they may receive commissions, and they work amongst teachers who are also practising artists.  Practice-led research becomes an important factor that creative Higher Education institutions want to maintain and enhance for the future.

Whilst portfolio careers are more desirable to creative graduates, they are financially less sustainable. As the summary states, creative careers are not always very well paid. It emerges then that graduates working one steady job earn more than those engaged in three or more paid occupations. The latter, rely on these combined income streams to make a living.

However such a statistic-led research, though it can bring to light certain key patterns amongst creative graduates, does nothing to illustrate how such dynamics are achieved. Neither can it account for the concerns or the exceptions that it highlights. Why graduates choose portfolio careers over having one job with higher pay is not a question that can be answered by the executive summary. And whilst it gives a positive and dynamic portrayal of the ever growing cultural sectors, it merely glosses over a concern that creative roles tend to have a low pay.

‘Of course students may be concerned, which is why we are working hard to show that real opportunities are available to them including work, further study, volunteering and Internships. Internships are great way for graduates to kick start their careers by gaining the valuable skills and work experience at a time when they face a more competitive job market.’

Yes David, ‘a great way’ for those who can afford to be exploited by organizations violating the National Minimum Wage. Thanks a bunch. Welcome to the only government who simultaneously claims to champion social mobility whilst also using unpaid work as a strategy for streaming graduates for recruitment.

Pre-Registration is now open.

The National Arts Student Summit is open to all representative (from sabbatical officers to course reps) from creative subjects across the UK.

At the Summit you will have the opportunity to debate and discuss the development of Arts Education and Employment from Primary School to the Workplace.

For more information and to pre-register your delegates please click here 

Mr Clegg’s speech unfortunately seemed to plaguerise uncredited one of the best known speeches by Sir Ken Robinson but we’ll forgive him this one as it is very good. Perhaps more dubious was his claim the the Arts were ‘a duty’ for any government to support, which again probably had the right sentiments behind it, but could do with a little more work on if he wants to make it party mantra. For the record Nick we’d like to be seen as a strength, an opportunity, a vital contributor to society and at minimum a partner to Government and society – not something you’re obligated to look after.

The Arts team of Don Foster MP and Baronness Jane Bonham-Carter were on hand to introduce and speak to guests, and as usual did a fantastic job of raising the profile of creativity in government. Their approachability and willingness to except input from across the sector (including inviting the Arts Group to contribute to their policy discussions) should be welcomed, and even if we’re not going to see a Liberal government elected any time soon, it’s good to know people like them are on hand to put the pressure on with the other parties.

In terms of the actual content of the proposals, the Lib Dem press release has a capable summary of the highlights, including proposals to:

”

• Change the way the National Lottery is taxed to generate more money for arts and heritage as well as for the Treasury
• Provide support for new start-ups in the creative industries and enable more businesses to offer internships and apprenticeships
• Offer all our children a more creative education by freeing up the curriculum and increasing the amount of time trainee primary school teachers spend learning about the arts and creativity
• Make it easier for small venues to host live music events by reducing bureaucracy that restricts small venues
• Make sure the regions and cities outside London do not miss out by reviewing the Arts Council England’s funding structures and creating a new administrative status for national museums that will enable them to be more enterprising and independent
• Open up the Government Art Collection for greater public use “

The key points the Arts Group pushed in consultation were around our internships work and Further/Higher Education, which both have a mixed presence in the policy.

On internships…

“a new “Paid Internship” for the first year of the next parliament, enabling hundreds of thousands of young people to work for up to three months with any employer, without cost to the business. Each intern would be paid a new “Training Allowance” of £55 per week”

The Paid internship bit and supporting a scheme with little cost to employers is a good call, but £55 a week? Half of this would go on travel in London alone, and it falls dramatically short of National Minimum Wage. In fact, if the young people are ‘to work, and not in study, this is illegal even by current employment standards. Revise it to cover at least National Minimum Wage however, and this sounds like a great idea.

On further/higher education…

Development for either of these in a tangible sense is difficult to find from the policies, but there are some good statements…

“Creativity is undervalued in our education system. All too often cultural learning is seen as an ‘add-on’ while priority is given to what is measurable through exams and league tables. The Liberal Democrats will seek to change this perception and place creativity at the heart of our education system.

Similarly, creative skills have often been inadequately supported in our society. Government needs to offer more support to the creative industries to enable them to offer training opportunities through apprenticeships and internships and to foster greater levels of partnership working to share expertise.”

It’s nice to hear Skillset and other agencies also mentioned explicitly…

“We are fully supportive of the invaluable work being done by Skillset through their academies network and training programmes and advice. We will ensure that government structures and regulation don’t form a barrier to creative organisations working in partnership with higher education providers in setting up academies and training courses.”

FE & HE aren’t mentioned explicitly elsewhere, and our input to the policy to look at making Arts education at this level more accessable by making sure materials and associated costs of study were covered by student finance appear not to have made the cut. However we’ve invited the team to join us at the National Arts Student Summit so with any luck they can be challenged to make some pledges there.