19 August 2024
Here at the SC Arts Alliance, we like to keep an eye on the latest trends in the Palmetto State and how they interplay with the Creative Sector. As part of our advocacy work, we’re big believers that the arts can help reach a number of shared goals and maximize our public investment. This “big picture” approach positions the arts as an integral — and indispensable — part of our State’s continued growth and prosperity.
In this blog post we’re exploring connections to the arts and arts education in the recently released Unified State Plan for Education and Workforce Development from the SC Department of Employment and Workforce. The plan has been several years in the making, and involved the input of a variety of state agency, industry, and key sector partners through work on a Coordinating Council for Workforce Development. Before diving deeper, we recommend you check out some background information here.
Priority Occupations
The Council used a multi-stage process to filter through over 800 federally designated occupations and identified 168 “priority occupations,” in which the current and future job market outweighs available workers in a particular field. Two specific artistic professions were identified as priority occupations: Photographer and Graphic Designer. The report also identified a third occupation that might include creative professionals — Entertainers, Performers, Sports and Related Workers, All Other — but it’s a broad description.
It’s worth noting that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is currently is currently working on updating their occupational classification system, and several arts groups are making recommendations on how the system reports artist classifications, so this may have an impact on future revisions of the State Plan.
So What Does This Mean for the Arts?
As we mentioned before, the arts continue to be a valuable tool in tackling a number of shared goals — and workforce development is a great example. Remember, the Creative Economy is a $14.1 billion industry in South Carolina, accounting for over 123,000 jobs, so workforce issues are arts issues. The USF outlines three goals to strengthen the workforce, with accompanying strategies for each. Let’s take a look at how the arts and arts education can contribute to each of them.
Awareness
To address the general lack of awareness of the opportunities available to to South Carolinians looking to enter (or re-enter the workforce), the first goal focuses on increasing understanding about top industries and the services available to future employees and employers. Two strategies stand out as potential areas of alignment for the creative sector.
Strategy 1: Increase the understanding of top industries in South Carolina and career pathways for diverse occupations available to all students and their guardians, as well as individuals not in the labor force or underemployed.
The BLS designates 26 unique occupational codes for artists, but has significant gaps in reporting because of the nature of how artists work, and how many artists classify themselves (main occupation vs. secondary occupation, professional vs. non-professional, etc). United States Artists recently commissioned some really interesting research on this topic if you’re interested in digging deeper. “Artist occupations” also leave out the incredible large group of Creative Sector workers who may work “in the arts” (for an arts organization, for example) without actually being a professional artist. On the other hand, many artistic occupations are found in non-arts industries — like graphic designers or photographers.
The opportunities aren’t endless, but there sure are a lot of them.
We’ve also been working with the South Carolina Arts Commission on a resource that would help students, parents, teachers, guidance counselors, and other interested parties learn more about the wealth of creative careers available to them, and what it takes to pursue those careers (more on that soon).
Strategy 2: Increase South Carolina employers’ understanding of workforce development services available to assist them in hiring and retaining employees.
South Carolina is home to a number of organizations who employ artists, but also who employ support staff and administrators that require a wide range of non-arts skills. These job opportunities often don’t make it outside of local or creative circles, so we hope creative sector employers will take advantage of existing and upcoming State resources to ensure they have access to the best possible pool of potential hires.
Skills
The next goal aims to “Increase skills and experiences of South Carolinians of all ages to ensure they can progress through the career pathway of their choice.” The report also notes that “Some jobseekers lack commitment and soft skills (e.g., being a team player, following directions, showing up on time, etc.)” and “Education does not always teach the necessary soft and hard skills.”
This is where arts education really shines.
Arts educators will be the first to tell you that their primary goal is not to fill the world with professional artists, but instead to help produce creative, well-rounded individuals with the all necessary life skills for success after graduation. Being a team player, following directions, and showing up on time are just a few examples on a long list of soft skills that students develop through participation in the arts. Outside of the arts classroom, many South Carolina schools promote arts integration across the curriculum to maximize the potential impact on student learning and development. To bring it home, Americans for the Arts reported that low income students engaged in the arts are more likely to find gainful employment and volunteer in their community.
This is not to discount the value of fostering creativity in our youth. The same AFTA report found that 97% of business leaders say creativity is increasingly important in the workplace and 72% of business leaders say creativity is the #1 skill they look for when hiring. We have long touted the role that the arts play in ensuring that South Carolina students are College and Career Ready, and arts education aligns with quite a few of attributes outlined by State leaders.
Since we know that experiences in school can significantly impact a student’s career path, there is still work to be done to ensure that arts education offers opportunities that align with the 21st century workforce. According to the Arts Ed Data Project, approximately 200 out of 595 South Carolina Middle and High Schools offer Media Arts courses, with 31 offering Dual Enrollment opportunities with local colleges or universities. We hope these offerings will continue to expand as interest in these careers continues to grow.
Obstacles
The third and final goal addresses obstacles to education and work, such as affordability of childcare and access to transportation. Although neither of these are directly related to the arts, the creative sector still has a role to play in tackling one of the plan’s strategies.
Increase the number of eligible workers living within a close proximity drive or bus/bike ride of the largest employment center in each county.
We know that the availability of arts and culture experiences contributes to the livability of communities, and also play a part in where people choose to live (and choose to stay). According to a report by the Knight Foundation, “people who say their neighborhood has easy access to quality arts and cultural activities tend to be more satisfied, identify more with local lifestyle and culture, and invest more of their time and resources in their communities.” Likewise, communities that are rich in arts culture are an incentive for businesses (and jobs) to move to where people already are.
Final Thoughts
You stuck with us as we went deep into the weeds, so we wanted to wrap things up a little closer to home. Members of the creative sector know that the arts serve as a universal language that promote conversation and collaboration and can be a powerful vehicle for civic engagement and community advocacy. This means that in areas where the arts may not be able to provide a direct solution, they can still play a part in activating citizens around these shared goals and more. Americans for the Arts has put together a really exciting tool to explore how the arts are put to work in this way, across the country, every day. As South Carolina continues it’s work to strengthen our workforce, we know that the arts will be able to provide creative solutions.
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References:
Arts Ed Data Project. Arts Grow SC. (2024, July 16). https://artsgrowsc.org/arts-ed-data-project/
Facts & figures. Americans for the Arts. (2022, October 31). https://www.americansforthearts.org/by-program/networks-and-councils/arts-education-network/tools-resources/arts-ed-navigator/facts-figures
Scott, M., et. al. (2020). Community ties: understanding what attaches people to the place where they live. Knight Foundation/Urban Institute.
https://knightfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Community-Ties-Final-pg.pdf
South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Coordinating Council for Workforce Development | SC Department of Employment and Workforce. (n.d.). https://dew.sc.gov/ccwd
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2024, August 2). U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/
United States Artists. (n.d.). Improving how the US counts artists. https://www.unitedstatesartists.org/perspectives/improving-how-the-us-counts-artists
