I spent some time this morning chatting to a group of teachers and course leaders who are busy putting the finishing touches to the new 14-19 Creative & Media Diploma.
A selection of bods from my agency talked about our roles and how we got into the industry. We quickly reached a consensus that the skills you really need in this industry (communication, creativity, passion, teamwork, sheer bloody mindedness) are currently much more likely to be gained from work experience and extra curricular activities than academic education.
But it sounds like this new diploma is actually going to blend the vocational and academic sides of things in an employer friendly way.
The only issue I have with it is a simple one – I didn’t have a blummin clue what industry I wanted to work in when I was 14. I just went down the ‘chose what you’re good at and enjoy’ route for my GCSE options. I was in no position to make career defining decisions about industry sector then. Then again, the account exec who was up before me today did a Performing Arts degree…