Around 800,00 undergraduates finished their degree during the first national lockdown due to the rise in COVID-19 cases. Throwing the next generation of highly qualified young professionals into a terrifying landscape of uncertainty. The story goes… Go to university, get a degree in something you are interested in, graduate, find a better job in that field and be happy you worked up a huge student debt because it was all worth it.
For the 800,000 especially, this is the dream and not necessarily reality. It should really be… Go to university, get a degree in something you are interested in, don’t get a graduation ceremony, be forced into Universal Credit, if you’re lucky you will find a job that is not in your field and live in the fear that you have wasted 3 or more years studying something that you will never do. Recent graduates are now faced with an incredibly oversaturated job market. Employers might appreciate the work it takes to successfully earn a degree, but ultimately, they are looking for experience. Experience that these young people don’t have because they dedicated themselves at university.
On the 8th July 2021, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, announced the Kickstart scheme as a part of Plan for Jobs. The £2 billion fund creates hundreds of thousands of high quality 6-month job placements for people aged 16-24. Along with the funding to cover the wage, the government offer bursaries to develop the skills for the employees and aid them finding a secure job after the placement. Our first two employees were found through the kickstart scheme, and it has been nothing short of a success story.
Just before the end of their placement here at the Lawyers Arts Club we sat down with them and asked a couple of questions. Obviously, we spoke about these things frequently over the 6 months, but with the end nearing, we wanted to see their perspective of before, their experience during and plans. And if anything had changed since their first interview.
What did you do at university and what was that like?
George: I studied Illustration at the University of Gloucestershire. It was an incredibly useful course as I learnt a lot of techniques. The combination of working alongside other fantastic creatives and having access to a range of specialist equipment has helped me home in on my style.
Harri: I went to Birmingham City University, where I studied Visual Communication Illustrator. I learnt new illustration techniques as I tackled a variety of project briefs given to me in every module from beginning to end, expanding my area of practice as I went along. It was great experience in the course at university. Upon graduating, I spent another year as Artist in Residence developing my printmaking skills in the print room at the University's Parkside Building. I really enjoyed being there.
What were you doing before scheme?
George: I was unemployed and actively trying to make money through my own artwork, which initially was a difficult task. Now, after having the opportunity to put my work in a gallery and getting my name out there a bit more it is becoming much easier to be successful.
Harri: Before the scheme, I was unemployed constantly looking for jobs with the job centre and kept doing drawings and painting in my spare time to keep my creative juices flowing. It was thanks to the job centre that I became resident artist at Lawyers Arts Club, where I was able to keep my creative juices flowing on the job and have great experience from the opportunity.
How has the scheme benefited you?
George: It’s provided opportunities that I would never have had before. I have never worked on live briefs before and that’s really what a lot of employers want to see.
Harri: I benefited from the scheme when I had to learn new skills which I never used before, and I had to learn whilst I was on the job. One of the new skills learnt was Adobe Illustrator, which I used for my Legal Cartoons.
How has this placement helped your future for work?
George: Since I now have experience in curating, mounting, and talking to people in the public about my artwork, I feel like I have enough confidence to go and work at galleries whilst continuing to put my name out there.
Harri: The placement has helped my build my confidence and develop my social skills as well as new Illustration skills to go forward in future for work. It's been an incredible journey that I am going to carry and build beyond my time at Lawyers Arts Club.
These young professionals learn crucial skills of being in the working environment and making connections to help further their lives indefinitely. At the Lawyers Arts Club we don’t look for the “minimum 2-year experience” that so many job roles require. We look at the individual, what they have already achieved, how we can help them prosper and kickstart careers into their chosen fields.
As an arts organisation we believe it is vital to engage young people into the arts and with the addition of the Kickstart members to our team, we have been able to provide legal discussion and creative projects to the public.
Lawyers Arts Club would like to thank Harri and George for their commitment and attitude as well as for creating an incredible collection of artworks. Despite the fact they are going their own way, they will always be members of the LAC team. Our exhibition was just the beginning for these young artists, and we wish them the very best on their journey. We expected talent in the art and what we received was excellence in every aspect of the role.
Article by Ben Reade.