GVT: Act MP denigrates New Zealand's highly valuable creative industries
Ministerial Announcements
22 November 2001
Media Statement
Act MP denigrates New Zealand's highly valuable creative industries
Act MP Muriel Newman's 19th Century view of what real work is must ring
hollow with the young, talented and able New Zealanders who have spent
thousands of hours and thousands of dollars getting training and education
in creative areas, says Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister
Judith Tizard.
This month, Judith Tizard and Social Services and Employment Minister Steve
Maharey launched the new Work and Income initiative PACE - Pathways to Arts
and Cultural Employment. PACE enables those seeking careers in the creative
industries to register "art" as their first career choice, and receive
career-specific assistance from Work and Income New Zealand case managers.
"Worldwide, the creative sector is one of the fastest growth industries. A
mapping exercise currently being undertaken by NZIER for Industry New
Zealand will give us the first comprehensive picture of the value of the
sector to our economy.
"In the meantime we know that around 50,000 New Zealanders are employed in
cultural occupations - not including the 70,000-odd non-cultural workers
such as accountants and drivers who benefit from job creation in the
cultural industries.
"We also know that cultural industries, a subset of the whole sector being
surveyed by NZIER, contribute 2.8% to our GDP. Tourism, by way of contrast,
contributes only slightly more at 4.9% of GDP. Muriel Newman is suggesting
that young people who are unemployed should not aspire to careers in this
highly valuable sector," says Judith Tizard.
"It astounds me that somebody who calls herself an 'employment spokesman'
cannot see the tangible benefits of giving Work and Income New Zealand the
resources to support emerging creative talent. The arts community can take
from Muriel Newman's reaction that she is certainly not a supporter of New
Zealand's creative industries.
"She is also denigrating the hard work of Work and Income case managers by
wilfully misunderstanding how PACE is administered."
PACE is focused on getting people into jobs. There are clear criteria for
Case Managers to use to determine whether PACE is appropriate for clients
and to assess their likely future job and self-managed career prospects in
the cultural sector. The criteria are attached below.
"Muriel Newman is obsessed with the question 'what is art?' Thankfully for
the sake of job seekers, PACE focuses on the cultural worker's ability to
progress their career, rather than attempting to assess the quality of the
practitioner's work.
"So instead of rushing case managers through art history degrees, Work and
Income is working hard to build up relationships with arts organisations in
the regions to improve communication about professional development courses
and job opportunities."
Judith Tizard says several such successful regional relationships provided
the basis and inspiration for PACE. These initiatives in Dunedin, Nelson,
Auckland and Christchurch have focused on forming close relationships with
local arts organisations. Work and Income Southern Region recently signed a
formal contract for services with the Higher Trust, a Dunedin arts advocacy
organisation.
As is usual with all new programmes, PACE will be evaluated in three
months, and again at six months. Stable employment outcomes will be an
important factor considered in the evaluation.
"It will take a lot longer than three months for Muriel Newman to emerge
from her 19th Century thinking on what constitutes real work," says Judith
Tizard.
When registering a client Case Managers should consider whether the client:
· has a level of training
· has a history of practice related to their chosen career
· has certification from an NZQA approved course or tertiary institution
related to their chosen arts and cultural career (not essential)
· is able to present a portfolio of work
· can produce a CV that details a verifiable history of work experience
The client should also be able to demonstrate their commitment to pursuing
a job choice in the arts/cultural industry by:
· communicating a clear vision of their work and their creative future
· actively seeking work and income opportunities related to their
creative skills
· considering and pursuing job referrals appropriate to their chosen job
choice
· actively seeking opportunities to present the results of their work
for external and public display
· actively seeking and undertaking training to advance their personal
and professional development
The aim of a needs assessment is to identify likely career and employment
opportunities for arts and cultural job seekers and the development of the
arts/cultural job seekers' capacity for professional work. Arts and
cultural job seekers include all sectors of creative work from music to
design, visual arts to literature, dance and theatre.
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