Writing recently in the Times, the chairman of the Office for Students – which regulates higher education in England – suggested that there was a need to protect students from “poor courses which offer few real benefits.”
Lord Wharton was reflecting his organisation’s proposal to limit the fees that universities can charge for courses that fail to meet their graduate employment targets.
Whilst not naming university creative degrees as the target of this campaign, it is clear that it is these courses that, excuse the pun, are firmly in the spotlight when it comes to this dangerous new policy of having politicians choose which degrees students should take.
However, you have to wonder about whether those criticising these courses have ever considered the fact that the creative industries is one of the UK’s fastest growing sectors, generating over £116bn for the economy and employing 2.1 million people.
They must also have little knowledge regarding the success of Apple, currently the most valuable company in the world at £260bn, which is a result of the way it has combined technology with art with British designer Sir Jonathan Ive arguably being as critical to the company’s success as its founder Steve Jobs.
Such a sentiment by the Office for Students and others may also be going against both parents and employers who seem to have a very different view of the importance of creative industries.
For example, a new survey undertaken by Universities UK shows that nearly two thirds (65%) of parents agree that creative courses at university benefit the UK economy, while more than two thirds (69%) say that students gain vital creative skills at university which are essential to powering the UK’s creative industries.
In addition, a report by Kingston University which interviewed a panel consisting of the top 2,000 businesses in the UK examined the 20 critical skills that industry considered as important in protecting the UK’s global competitiveness.
It found that the same skills were ranked highly by respondents regardless of sector or geography including problem-solving (77%), communication (66%), critical thinking (64%), digital skills (64%) and analytical skills (63%) i.e. all of the skills that one normally associates with creative or entrepreneurial behaviour.
Even within specialised industries such as finance, problem-solving skills were ranked higher than financial literacy by employers.
Indeed, the Kingston study suggests that instead of disparaging the creative courses that have entrepreneurial and innovative skills at their heart, that government should instead be investing in those very skills that businesses want.
But it is also important that the higher education sector itself wakes up to the fact that it is fighting a real battle for the future funding of these courses.
Whilst the “Creative Sparks” campaign to celebrate UK Universities’ contribution to creative excellence is a step in the right direction, universities also need to do a better job in highlighting the value of these degrees in providing the skills that students need for their future careers and that employers say are critical to their future success.
They must also ensure that creative, entrepreneurial and innovation skills are taught in other subjects to strengthen and support the provision of excellent professional and technical education.
Employers must also step up if, as the Kingston survey suggests, they are demanding those skills that can make a real difference to their competitiveness.
If businesses are serious about attracting the right type of graduate, then rather than continuously moaning that today’s students don’t have the skills ready for business, they must ensure that their recruitment and reward strategies reflects the need for such skills so that the higher education sector can respond appropriately to ensure that their courses develop the future workforce with the skills that will shape the economy of the future.
Therefore, there is a real challenge for universities, employers and policymakers to come together and ensure that graduates develop the skills that not only the needs of businesses but the needs of today’s student population who are increasingly challenging the traditional workforce model and will inevitably undertake portfolio careers where they will move seamlessly from working for someone else to working for themselves and back again.
Certainly, if we don’t then we will be overtaken by those economies which are embracing this approach in their educational systems and which will be best placed in the future to take full advantage of the opportunities that will arise from the changes to everyday life that will inevitably be driven by innovation.
