Disconnected – Social Mobility and the Creative Industries – Ryan Shorthouse (2010)
Author: Ryan Shorthouse
Organisation/Affiliation/Publisher: Social Market Foundation
Date: 2010
The creative industries are a key driver of Britain’s economic growth. But currently the creative workforce suffers from poor social representation. A range of experts – Alan Milburn, Sir Win Bischoff, Stephen Overell, David Johnston and Paul Collard – offer their thoughts on why social mobility is so low in the creative industries, and how policymakers and the industry can improve it. Particular focus is given to the role of unpaid internships. Through polling, this report illustrates that policymakers should focus less on trying to phase out the unpaid nature of internships and more on ensuring that those opportunities are extended beyond the better off, to the widest possible range of young people.