The Northern School of Art has a history of nurturing and developing the creatives of tomorrow. Employer related skills are at the heart of the curriculum with many of the teaching staff having an industry-based backgrounds from specialist disciplines. As we continue to prepare our learners for their next steps there is a strong emphasis on ensuring they are learning and developing the skills and behaviours necessary for the workplace. The programme is designed to follow the Further Education Careers Policy which includes guidance from the Gatsby Benchmarking standards. Why do we need a careers programme, are there any jobs in the creative industries? Between 2011 and 2017, the number of jobs in the creative industries have increased by almost one third (28.6%), which is triple the rate of job growth across the UK economy (9.3%). Furthermore, creative jobs within the North East have grown nine times faster than the average job growth in the region. So, if you’re interested in a career within the creative industries you’ve come to the right place. As the creative industries continues to grow at rapid pace, The Northern School of Art ensures that we have our finger on the pulse to make sure our learners have the best opportunities to develop the skills needed for industry. Many of our learners arrive with different ambitions and aspirations. Some learners know exactly what career they want and the best route to get there, whilst others know they want to do something within the creative industries but they aren’t quite sure exactly what, and a few have no idea what they want to do but they have a need to ‘scratch a creative itch’ if you like. The journey towards employment. We believe the journey towards a creative career is as important as your intended destination. Therefore regardless of any prior knowledge The Northern School of Art has a clearly defined ‘learner journey’ programme which all learners follow whilst studying

This journey often starts prior to learners even enrolling into the School. We have a dedicated recruitment team that work with local schools to promote the creative careers available and the routes to get there. Once enrolled onto a study programme learners will work through a variety of activities to reflect upon their interests whilst learning about alternatives that they may have never considered to ensure the study programme is the correct route for them. Learners will be supported at each stage with advice from our tutors who often have industry experience within their subject area. Learners will log their interests and aspirations as they progress through their study programme. Whilst exploring creative outcomes and building a level of technical skill within their interests, learners will also build upon the important skills that employers desire such as; developing independence, communication skills, working with others and many more. Across the journey learners will also have the opportunity to partake in guest lectures, trips and visits, explore the next level of study / experience Higher Education days and work on live client projects. Activities will be logged in a personal ‘skills for progression’ booklet. What if I study at The Northern School of Art and realise I don’t want a job in the creative industries? Have I wasted my time? Absolutely not. We understand that not every single one of our learners want to progress into a creative career. Learning about what you don’t want to do in your future career is as important as learning about what you would like to do. Many of the skills you develop throughout your time at The Northern School of Art are transferable skills. These may include; problem solving, generating ideas, communicating with others, digital literacy, developing your maths and English skills and many others. Despite the majority of our learners progressing into creative disciplines we have supported learners to successfully achieve alternative destinations such as apprenticeships and studying alternative Higher Education courses.

The Northern School of Art aims to provide learners with wider knowledge and experiences of progression opportunities from varying sources. We welcome the opportunity to work with providers who will have an inspirational input with our learners, enabling them to explore alternative routes of study and career opportunities. There are a variety of opportunities for providers to integrate with our careers programme. Please contact our careers leader, Rob Kane to discuss opportunities. Rob.Kane@northernart.ac.uk. Click to access our provider access policy.