Exploring artistic creativity for future employment success
Meaningful arts education is how we change the world.
Ensuring that there is a pathway for engaging in creativity at all stages of our learning journeys is vital for shaping a society that can utilise imagination and communication to navigate uncertain times.
According to ‘AMPLIFY’ – the new national draft arts and culture strategy, “Building creative skills for confident and sustainable careers starts with an education system that exposes all New Zealand students to a wide range of arts, culture, heritage and creativity, inspires them to pursue their own creativity, and gives them a head start towards creative and cultural work.”
But currently, this isn’t always the case.
At Creative Waikato, we have a real interest in having accessible and meaningful arts experiences for our tamariki in primary school, and to support our teachers to feel more creative and support creative experiences for learners. We also believe that tertiary students would benefit from having creative opportunities in their higher learning journey.
According to the Tertiary Education Commission, “New Zealand’s vocational education system is ready for a fast-changing future of skills, learning and work.”
This means that it should:
- Meet the unique needs of all learners, including those who have been traditionally underserved, such as Māori, Pacific people and disabled learners
- Be relevant to the changing needs of employers
- Be collaborative, innovative and sustainable for all regions of Aotearoa New Zealand
- Uphold and enhance Māori–Crown partnerships.
But with all the changes going on in society, the disruptions of AI and other tech, global pandemics, mental health issues, and lack of social cohesion, it seems that there is a growing need for innovative artistic creativity-led solutions to emerging challenges.
More national and international sector leaders are expressing their desire for creative thinkers, effective communicators, and engaging storytellers as part of national and international recruitment focusses. Aotearoa has an opportunity to shape the way we understand tertiary education as having an innovative foundation connected directly to artistic creativity.
There is research demonstrating the value of creativity in the workplace, the connection between creative activity and happiness, the productivity benefits from happier people, the cost saving benefits from preventative support for mental health, and how we need to be preparing for a future we can’t yet imagine.
The evidence is clear, but the system is too siloed.
All too often artistic creativity is value-engineered out of our educational systems. People want more imaginative thinkers, but don’t support the creation of the accessible systems that need to be in place to build those pathways.
To share some of the plethora of research, one study from the University of Auckland showed that arts participation improves skills such as team-work, flexibility and communication, increasing employability–all necessary skill sets in the modern workplace. All these things can be developed and refined through artistic activity.
Another report from the Pew Research Centre in the US suggests that “as robots, automation and artificial intelligence perform more tasks… tough-to-teach intangible skills, capabilities and attributes …will be most highly valued…” They say that the “skills needed to succeed in today’s world and the future are curiosity, creativity, taking initiative, multi-disciplinary thinking and empathy.”
Arts education is not just for people who want to be a professional artist.
Though, that is certainly an important thing–we want to have people in our society who can help us to express things and share experiences through creative means. We also want those artists who can help everyone to navigate through the creativity that resonates and connects with them.
But also, arts and creative education can be an important part of the learning process for everyone. If we want to be a region and a country that is innovative, caring, connected, thriving and productive, perhaps we could utilise this unique human superpower, and engage in some creative ways to shape the tertiary and vocational education system.
A thought experiment:
If creativity, communication, imagination and storytelling are key skills for the future, what would a foundational arts course look like? How could we draw from the artistic process to guide everyone through a journey of discovery? Learning new ways to think and embracing uncertainty as an area of exploration. Gaining confidence in using our voice and our posture to communicate effectively and connect more with the people around us.
From various studies and small-scale trials, the evidence of the impact of these types of initiatives is clear. But it requires us to think differently and to understand the system in a new way. To embrace innovative change and try something that may seem counterintuitive to some.
But from this perspective, it seems clear that we should be drawing from a range of artistic practice to support everyone engaging in the creative process. As a tool for skill development, confidence building, and empathy. What would NZ be like if we had 5-10 years where everyone had a grounding in creativity?
This seems like an exciting opportunity. One that would create pathways, build audiences, meet strategic goals, and support the development of stronger and more connected communities. No matter what your level of engagement or political leaning, it seems like these things would make a significant contribution to our communities – if given the opportunity to work.
Where to from here?
- Engage in creativity in your local community
- Explore creativity in your workplace
- Speak out to the value of creative education in your schools and tertiary providers
- Tell our political leaders that we want to see a system that embraces the significance of artistic creativity in all our systems – health, rehabilitation, community development and education.