Diverse Perspectives and Tailored Strategies: A Two-Week Exploration on Independent Creatives in the Workforce
Supporting Creative Hustlers in the UK: Navigating a Policy Jungle
almost a third of the UK's creative industries workforce comprises freelancers, with 95% of creative organizations being small businesses. Unfortunately, current policies in areas like skills and immigration do not cater well to industries heavily relying on freelancers.
Take the apprenticeship levy, a skills policy geared towards larger companies with apprentices. However, its focus on large enterprises disregards the needs of freelancers prevalent in micro-businesses and the self-employed sector. Similarly, the post-Brexit immigration system has limited possibilities for skilled freelancers, unless they're exceptionally talented or have substantial funds for a new business.
There is a deficiency in government data collection on working practices among the self-employed, making it difficult for policymakers to comprehend the impact of their reforms on this diverse group of people. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the extent of these structural challenges and the insufficiency of the current policy climate.
Arts professionals, in particular, have suffered heavily during the pandemic. With theatres, galleries, and venues closed, many have found it challenging to attract new audiences online. Research, conducted by our project with the Centre for Cultural Value and the Audience Agency, uncovered this crisis, revealing a loss of 55,000 jobs across music, performing, and visual arts, and a decline of 38,000 self-employed individuals in all creative professions since 2020.
The screen industry faced similar struggles, with cinemas closed and production halted during the first lockdown. In Scotland, recent commissioned research found that government support schemes did not meet the needs of creative freelancers.
Despite the hardships, examples of resilience emerged during the pandemic. Freelancers in the theatre industry often formed close-knit, informal peer networks that helped them adapt to the new reality. Formal networks, like the Association of Illustrators, provided essential support and useful information for freelancers, typically missing from their employer-driven counterparts.
However, there is a significant risk that as other sectors recover from the pandemic, some parts of the creative industries might be left behind. Research indicates that more than a quarter (27%) of young workers left their creative occupation after the last lockdown, a rate higher than the usual turnover rate. In performing arts, where 88% of the workforce are freelancers, 72.4% felt more pessimistic about their future as a freelancer.
There is also a substantial risk that the creative industries might be consolidated in London and South East England, which would reverse the trend of new creative clusters emerging in places like South Wales and North East England, obstructing the Government's efforts to boost the regions.
Over the next two weeks, we'll be focusing on creative freelancers, highlighting their role within the creative sector, the hurdles they face, and the policy interventions required to support them. Our aim is to demonstrate the social and economic value of freelancers to the creative industries, helping policymakers and industry experts break down barriers blocking new freelancers' entry, progression, and sustainability within the sector.
In particular, we'll be releasing research findings on the struggles faced by arts sub-sectors, analyzing the experience of self-employed workers in theatre compared to New York's Broadway, and delving into the career paths of freelancers in Scotland's screen industry.
Inequality within the creative sector is likely to persist if policy changes are not implemented immediately. The Government must be proactive in creating policies that address the challenges faced by freelancers in the creative industries, providing equal opportunities for growth and sustainability.
Update 1: From Tuesday 4th - Friday 7th May, we'll examine the experience of self-employed workers in theatre, conduct a pay and working condition comparison between New York's Broadway and London's West End, and perform a deep dive into freelancer careers in the Scottish screen industry.
Update 2: In the second week, from Monday 10th - Friday 14th, we'll highlight various policy responses, including insights from our Industry Champions, an analysis of how different creative sectors have fared over the pandemic, and a summary of our findings and recommendations for supporting the creative industries in a post-pandemic economic landscape.
Who are Creative Freelancers?
According to the Government, someone is self-employed if they run their own business and accept responsibility for its success or failure. The term 'freelancer' is less clearly defined and is often used to describe self-employed, highly skilled managerial, professional, and technical occupations, ranging from lawyers and accountants to designers, doctors, writers, and high-level managers.
Over the next two weeks, our research will delve into different aspects of self-employment, particularly focusing on freelancers of all definitions.
Related News and Press
Breaking Articles1. International talent powers UK creative industries growth, reveals new report2. New research reveals increasing inequality in arts and culture3. Government launches survey providing unprecedented insight into what drives growth in the creative industries4. Government's growth ambitions threatened by widening skills gap in creative industries5. Invest in place-based approaches to boost 'Foreign Direct Investment' in the creative industries6. With the right financial support, the creative industries could fuel economic growth and bridge regional inequalities.
Recent Articles1. Access to Finance: Launch of new research project2. New research outlines severe decline in creative further education participation3. New research provides comprehensive overview of audiences and workforce across arts, culture, and heritage.4. UK's creative industries are an export success story5. Introduction of the Creative PEC's Research Fellows Network6. 'One Creative North' plans finalised ahead of Convention of the North.
Author
- Creative PEC
We provide independent research and policy recommendations for the UK's creative industries.
Image by Sebastian Erzi.
- Given the significant proportion of freelancers in the UK's creative industries workforce and the prevalence of small businesses, it is essential that policies addressing skills and immigration cater to these sectors.
- The apprenticeship levy, a skills policy focused on larger companies, overlooks the needs of freelancers and micro-businesses within the creative industries.
- The post-Brexit immigration system poses challenges for skilled freelancers who are not exceptionally talented or wealthy enough to start a new business.
- Lack of comprehensive government data on the self-employed workforce makes it difficult for policymakers to understand the impact of their reforms on this group.
- Research shows that the pandemic has had a devastating impact on arts professionals, causing a loss of over 55,000 jobs across music, performing, and visual arts.
- During the pandemic, freelancers in the theatre industry formed close-knit, informal networks to adapt to the new reality, while formal networks like the Association of Illustrators provided essential support.
- There is a risk that as other sectors recover from the pandemic, parts of the creative industries might be left behind, with more than a quarter of young workers leaving their creative occupation after the last lockdown.
- The government's efforts to boost regions might be hindered if the creative industries are consolidated in London and South East England, as new creative clusters are emerging in places like South Wales and North East England.
- Our research will focus on creative freelancers over the next two weeks, highlighting their challenges and the policy interventions required to support them.
- We will be releasing research findings on the struggles faced by arts sub-sectors, comparing the experience of self-employed workers in theatre between London's West End and New York's Broadway, and examining freelancer careers in the Scottish screen industry.
- Inequality within the creative sector is likely to persist if policy changes are not implemented quickly, and the government must be proactive in creating policies that address the challenges faced by freelancers in the creative industries.
- In the second week, we will highlight policy responses, provide insights from our Industry Champions, analyze the performance of different creative sectors during the pandemic, and summarize our findings and recommendations for supporting the creative industries in a post-pandemic economic landscape.
- Creative freelancers are self-employed individuals who run their own businesses and accept responsibility for their success or failure, and our research will delve into various aspects of self-employment, particularly focusing on freelancers of all definitions.
