Who We Are
Creative Alliance is the leading independent training provider within the creative and cultural sector. Our core team works with an extended network of experienced artists and creative professionals working collaboratively to develop, support and train creative talent. We are specialists in providing:
- Career advice and guidance about the creative and cultural sector.
- Creative Apprenticeships: we are the largest provider in the region.
- Professional development programmes that make a real difference to peoples’ careers.
We work with:
- Every type of creative and cultural organisation: From large museums to independent TV companies; from theatres to digital media agencies.
- Freelance artists and creatives.
- Schools, colleges and universities.
Our Position
We are an important and strategically based networking advocate for regional high-quality arts and culture activity
Our work links to these national strategies:
- Department for Business Innovation and Skills: ‘Skills for Sustainable Growth’
- Department for Culture Media and Sport / Arts Council England: ‘Great Art for Everyone: Development of a diverse and highly skilled workforce.’
Our partners include:
What we do:
We enable creative talent to get into and get on in the creative and cultural sector.
We develop the knowledge, skills and understanding of people working in, or wanting to work in, the creative and cultural sector.
We do this by providing training courses, professional development programmes and advice and guidance for creative talent at all levels of their professional careers.
This results in people enabled to make creative work, find employment opportunities and make money from their creative talent.
What we have achieved:
We have been around since 2004. In the last 18 months, we’ve done the following:
Careers Advice and Guidance
- Produced Creative Journeys: A creative careers event attended by over 300 young people, teachers and parents.
- Created a set of resources and services for young people, parents and teachers about working in the arts and media.
- Launched Jobplot – an online service connecting creative talent with new opportunities.
Creative Apprenticeships
- 75 young people, working with 48 different employers across the region, have achieved or are working towards a level 2 or 3 apprenticeship. This makes us the most effective provider of creative apprenticeships in the West Midlands.
- We’ve reviewed the 55 young people who completed their apprenticeship by August 2011.
85% of these young people were unemployed before they started with us.
52% of those who have completed their apprenticeship are now working.
23% are in full time education.
The remaining 25% are in part-time / casual work, part-time training or still unemployed.
64% of these young people are from culturally diverse backgrounds.
- We provide a broad range of apprenticeships that can much pretty much any employers’ needs: business administration, creative and digital media, community arts, cultural venue operation, design, live events and promotions.
Professional Development for Artists and Creatives
- Delivered 10 different programmes of seminars and workshops, attended by over 400 artists and creative professionals.
- These have been on topics as varied as:
Managing, Making & Living with Decisions with senior leaders from business, journalism, medicine and the police.
Emotional Intelligence with a stand up comedienne
Navigating the Corridors of Power with a prospective Birmingham Mayor and former cabinet minister.
- Delivered the Preparing to Teach in Life Long Learning Settings qualification to artists and creatives who work with children and young people. We are currently planning to provide the Certificate level qualification.
- With support from Black Country Creative Partnerships, delivered a series of seminars and workshops for artists and creatives who work with children and young people. These have been attended by over 50 people and have created a new network of freelancers which we support: ACME.
See http://creativealliance.org.uk/case-studies/ for examples of the professional development programmes we have provided.
