Past Programmes: Creative Skills Initiative

The Creative Skills Initiative was a strand of Creative & Cultural Skills Creative Employment Programme, deliver on behalf of Arts Council England. Between 2013 and 2016, the programme supported more than 1,000 young people across England to make their first steps in employment through an apprenticeship or paid internship.

Led by Artswork, with a consortium of other Bridge Organisations, the programme worked with some of England’s leading cultural education organisations, forging strong links between colleges and employers that will benefit other young people in the future, by embedding high quality creative and cultural work experience opportunities throughout.

In Southampton, Artswork, Brockenhurst College, Wheatsheaf Trust and Southampton City Council collaborated on a programme for a small group of young people not in education, employment or training. The programme ran for 14 weeks and included a customer service qualification, weekly employability training sessions, cultural trips, and an Arts Award Bronze qualification. The programme also inovlved functional skills training and work shadowing. Participants trained and worked for 21 hours a week in total, with two of these days based with a local creative and cultural employer.

The training programme was a great chance for me to refresh my English and Maths skills, gain work experience and a customer service qualification, and boost my confidence and independence again.  – Young Participant

Read more in The Creative Skills Initiative: A Review (PDF)

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Past Programmes Work-based learning