institute for employment studies

Creative Graduates Creative Futures

Creative Graduates Creative Futures

This is the largest-ever study of the career patterns of graduates from UK courses in art, design, craft and media. The study explores graduates’ experiences of higher education, their activities since graduating, the work they are currently engaged in, and their plans for the future.

Report now published

The Creative Graduates Creative Futures report provides a comprehensive exploration of the experiences, activities and contribution of creative graduates and their plans for the future. It sets the findings in context, providing expert commentaries from writers and researchers within the sector, and compares the position of creative graduates today with that of ten years ago, as evidenced by the Destinations and Reflections report of 1999.

The report contents include: executive summary, introduction, project development and methodology, sample profile, the creative curriculum and work experience, skills development and preparation for work, early career patterns, creative work and portfolio careers, further study and learning, career aspirations and motivations, and creative careers in the 21st century.

To accompany the report, a large body of supporting tables provide more detailed information about the survey sample and a breakdown of responses to the survey.

• key findings
• purchase the new report
• partner organisations can download the report free of charge
• 2-page promotional flyer about the study with headline findings, for use by partners and for conferences or events

Launch event

The new report was launched at the SouthBank Centre on 20 January 2010. Will Hutton, Executive Vice Chair of the Work Foundation, provided the keynote address and the report authors – Linda Ball, Nick Stanley and Emma Pollard – gave insights into the value and experience of a creative education and of creative careers in the 21st Century.

• slide presentation from launch event: session one
• slide presentation from launch event: session two
• key points and questions raised on the day
• photos (courtesy of rolfmarriott.co.uk)

Next steps

The second stage of the research is now under way. In autumn and winter 2009, one year on from the main survey, creative graduates were contacted again to provide further insights and more detailed personal responses about the complexities of career transition and progression, how they have supported themselves since leaving their courses and how they are faring in the current economic climate. Over 400 graduates kindly shared with us their stories.

And over the next few months we hope to talk to a small number of graduates to gain an even richer picture of how careers develop and how experiences in higher education are used and built upon after graduating. If you would like to be involved in this stage of the study, please contact the research team.

A report presenting qualitative findings from this second stage of the research will be available in May 2010.

Further details

• background to the project and the project timetable
• graduates’ page and links to useful websites
• results
• career stories
• short career profiles of our prize winners
• January 2010 press release
• partner higher education institutions