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Workforce development is a complex but highly significant priority for South Australia. Be that direct opportunities for the state’s creative workforce or contribution to new high-value jobs and career paths for our current and future workforce. This is a strategic goal straddles the majority of South Australian Government departments, with the Department for Industry, Innovation and Science (DIIS) having overarching responsibility for supporting industries and business to succeed, including workforce strategies and projects.
Specifically, DIIS recognises that in order to develop the workforce of the future, growing the talent pool requires action across many sectors such as schools, tertiary institutions, government, industry and the community, all working towards a common goal. DIIS works to facilitate collaboration across these various sectors by implementing coordinated action to develop a workforce with strong skills in STEM, as well as the creativity and entrepreneurship skills.
Arts South Australia, a business unit within the Department of Premier and Cabinet, is responsible for promoting the growth and development of the arts sector through government policy and strategies, providing targeted financial support to artists, arts organisations and events and supporting a number of organisations and Statutory Authorities who deliver diverse arts and cultural capabilities and activities across the state.
Tertiary and vocational education available in South Australia that support festivals workforce development include:
The Government’s South Australian Economic Statement focuses on workforce development and states that it will continue to invest in education at every level – from early childhood to vocational education and universities – to ensure our workforce can deliver.
Festivals and events provide social and economic benefits that contribute to growing South Australia’s talent pool. They play a key role in supporting South Australia’s creative workforce. Local artists contribute to open access festivals as well as curated events, through commissions or specialised programs. The festivals also employ management, artistic and technical production staff — many of whom reside in Adelaide — helping to use and retain South Australia’s creatively skilled workforce. In 2018 it is estimated that Adelaide’s festivals had a contribution of 1,025 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs.
Taking part in open access festivals can also encourage artists to be more entrepreneurial in their creative ventures, by requiring them to self-produce and self-promote in order to compete with other events. Supporting the development of entrepreneurialism and business acumen among emerging artists may help to prepare them to operate in a highly competitive market. In a survey of artists participating in the Fringe, Caust observes that many artists report developing their business skills, by learning how to stage and sell their shows in a more independent manner.
By creating additional access points to the national and international arts marketplace, Adelaide’s festivals can act as a ‘trade show’ for South Australia’s creative workforce. Artists participating in the festivals may capture the attention of other producers or promoters, potentially leading to pathways to additional work and employment after the festival. Some may even be exposed to international promoters, creating an opportunity to export South Australian content through tours or sales globally. Taking work interstate or overseas can be a valuable opportunity for artists; exposure to new markets can generate new income sources, but also provide the opportunity to learn and develop new creative content through collaborating with a more diverse range of artists. South Australian artists who take their work out of the state represent a valuable export and serve to grow the state’s global cultural reputation.
Growth in the popularity of festivals in Australia and overseas has brought about an increase in the size of the professional festival management industry in recent years. In Adelaide, the festival management workforce includes technicians with a range of skills required for the logistical organisation and operation of festivals, across areas such as lighting, sound, catering, crowd management, and security. A range of senior professionals are also required in event management, as well as arts administration and festival direction more generally.
Hosting regular festivals may have allowed for the development of a uniquely skilled and highly competitive festival workforce in Adelaide.
