The Culture and Related Industries IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast identifies four top priority skills for the industry, including:
- Health and safety
- Customer service, teamwork and communication
- Self-promotion and marketing
- Critical and creative problem solving
According to the Culture and Related Industries IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast the top key generic skills in Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Design are:
- Communication/Collaboration including virtual collaboration/Social intelligence
- Design mindset/Thinking critically/System thinking/Solving problems
- Entrepreneurial
- Learning agility/Information literacy/Intellectual autonomy and self-management (adaptability)
- Customer service/Marketing
- Technology use and application
According to job vacancies data, the top occupations in demand for this industry include Actor, Camera Operator (Film, Television or Video) and Singer.
The Culture and Related Industries IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast identified three key opportunities and challenges for employers and learners in the sector. These include creative skills for all sectors, keeping pace with the changing nature of work in the sector and keeping up with technological advances which are changing how creative workers produce art and services.
Although changes and advancements in technology are having widespread impacts across all industries, it’s anticipated that the demand for creative skills in all sectors will continue to grow as these types of skills are generally resistant to changing technologies. The ability to present information creatively, think critically and solve problems in new and novel ways is expected to be in high demand across sectors. This presents an opportunity for the CUA Training Package to expand and develop core creative skills in a way that they can be used and accessed by VET learners from different industries.
The rise of the gig economy is expected to further impact an industry that has already high levels of sole trader or portfolio-based professions. Ensuring workers can keep pace with this changing nature of work in the sector could be addressed through changes to the CUA Training Package. These changes could include preparing learners with the skills required to make the most of the opportunities presented in this sector, such as accessing crowd funding and participating in emerging and established digital-only platforms for art and creativity.
An additional factor affecting the industry is the availability of income which can be both a challenge and opportunity, as artists and workers often rely on multiple sources of income. Income for creative workers also tends to reflect current economic conditions, with more available income during strong economic times. Figures from 2016 indicate that applications for financial assistance were made by 55% of artists (with 37% receiving funding as a result of their applications). Due to the uncertain nature of government funding, it’s becoming increasingly important for creative workers to engage philanthropy and corporate sponsorship, requiring a new set of entrepreneurial skills. Concerns have been raised about the impact this will have to the socioeconomic diversity of the industry, therefore government policies have been developed in order to expand employment opportunities and ensure socioeconomic diversity within the industry.
According to the report Performing Arts by FutureNow, Industry see potential to reach new audiences through evolving technologies such as virtual reality, which will allow remote audiences to be more fully immersed in live performances. Australian Jobs 2021 found that new ways of working, such as online video conferencing, live streaming or video on demand could create long term changes to the way organisations in this industry operate.
The Culture and Related Industries IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast concurs with this, reporting that technology is changing how creative workers produce art and services through advancements like 3D printing, augmented reality and virtual reality. These advancements present artists with new ways to create art, however, technical skills are needed in order to keep pace with these opportunities. As a result, there are opportunities for the CUA Training Package to adapt and expose learners to new technologies and prepare them with the associated skills.
The AFTRS industry skills survey identifies training skills gaps in the areas of: social media and digital marketing, production management, business planning, leadership skills and brand development, and marketing. Further skills gaps are identified in the areas of project financing, script/project development and assessment, business planning, legal/contracting/rights negotiation, and emerging technologies. The survey also identifies the industry’s desire to use short courses to up-skill.
In FutureNow’s snapshot Visual Arts, authors note that digital transformation is underpinning the need for visual arts workers to be flexible and adaptable with a growing range of digital production methods for artists to master, for instance in 3D printing or augmented reality. The report acknowledges that units addressing these skills have been built into relevant vocational qualifications in recent years, however many existing workers will not have had access to this training and may benefit from upskilling via an affordable skill set.
The Creative Skills for the Future Economy by the Department of Communication and Arts also outlines that as the trend towards automation of goods and services continues, the demand for creative skills will increase, particularly as the associated roles and occupations are harder to automate. Creative skills expand beyond the traditional ‘creative’ fields, with it estimated that close to 10% of the Australian workforce in 2016 held a ‘creative’ qualification as their highest level of qualification.
In addition, a report by the South Australian Training and Skills Commission supports findings that the industry is being shaped and impacted by changing and emerging technology, but also highlights concerns surrounding the current training system’s ability to keep pace with these new skill requirements. The findings of this report outline the need for training in rapidly emerging technologies such as augmented reality and 3D printing will be needed in the coming years.
Theatre Network Australia’s report Australia's Creative and Cultural Industries and Institutions outlines some opportunities for the industry, including improved measurement and reporting of the economic and employment impacts of the cultural and creative industries through the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS); supporting the development of a National Indigenous Arts and Cultural Authority; a National Arts and Culture Plan driven and implemented by the Australia Council for the Arts; and investing in a Young People and Culture Plan.
FutureNow’s snapshot Performing Arts reports the performing arts sector’s upskilling priorities have centred around participant safety in recent years, including a focus on the safety of children in learning environments, the safety of patrons, venue and event workers, and performers, and a response to the Me Too cultural movement. Covid-19 has added to these concerns, driving a need for sector-specific infection control training, and social distancing-related operational upskilling.
