Industry Awareness
4.3 Sustaining a Career in the Creative Industry From our research, we’ve been able to establish a number of factors which are likely to help graduates in building and sustaining their careers. Some of these are related to
A Substantial and Structured Support System
the development of specific skills, while others relate to practical support or new knowledge and understanding. Whilst this list is largely based on student and alumni feedback, it is worth noting that many of them expressed doubts whether LAMDA is the right place to learn these skills. Even those that believed in the value of them had a preference for spending their limited time at LAMDA on their artistic development.
Sources of information, advice and guidance
Most alumni reflected that much of the required knowledge is inevitably
Access tresources such as physical space, PCs and printers
learnt best in real life, hence the interest in work placements and
A broad network
practical projects. Some remembered an accountant session on tax
Opportunities to stay connected with the sector, the School and classmates
given to them whilst they were at the School, but the feedback was very mixed; some welcomed it and had found it useful, but the same number said they found it incomprehensible and overwhelming. One alumnus said that the tax class came a day before graduation which wasn’t ideal,
Access to Funding
so perhaps the timing needs to be looked at. An approach which allows students to put these things into practice seems more likely to succeed. Despite this, there were a short number of specific subjects mentioned by alumni as areas where they would have welcomed workshops or similar whilst at LAMDA. These include fundraising, writing a case for support, building a budget, self-promotion (including social media), setting up a company (e.g. a production company) and basic accounting. These are all included in the list (opposite), which should serve as a solid starting point for internal academic and professional discussions on a new framework for employability: 15
Hardship bursaries Specific project funding (e.g. a competitive award for a new venture) Writing funding or grant applications Understanding of arts funding policy and opportunities Bid writing Business case writing Understanding of crowdfunding
