A precarious double whammy? What does C-19 expose about the vulnerability of hybrid creative workers/creative HE practitioners

Written by Dr Tamsyn Dent, King's College London

​Covid-19 has exposed the unsustainability (in the light of a global pandemic) of the creative and cultural workforce. Immediately following the lockdown came a series of surveys from different creative/cultural organisations illuminating the fragility and vulnerability of those employed across their respective sectors. But what has C-19 exposed about a similar culture of short-term and insecure working patterns that operates across Higher Education (HE)? And what is the position for the casual worker who operates within both the creative sector and HE?​

This pandemic has enlarged the financial hole in British HE (potentially more so for Creative HE) and exposed its over-reliance on International students, both in terms of the fees they pay but also their economic contribution to the wider surrounding community. Given the indications that applications from International students will be significantly lower in 2020/2021 who will bear the responsibility of plugging the financial burden? The immediate victims, it seems, are the casualised HE workers, those employed on fixed term, or hourly-paid contracts who sit outside both the furlough scheme and, potentially, self-employed support (many may be ‘employed’, even part-time and not registered as ‘self-employed’ with HMRC, or claiming their full salary as a self-employed worker) they will be left jobless without much prospect of employment in the near future and limited access to financial support. The University College Union (UCU) conducted a survey in 2019 that exposed the extent of casualisation within HE and newspaper reports have revealed the level of redundancies and job-losses that have already taken place within certain institutions as an immediate reaction to C-19.

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We don’t know how many creative HE practitioners are employed on casual contracts within HE or indeed if this is proportionately higher than other subjects, however, anecdotally we know that there are many creative workers who supplement their practice through HE provision. Pre C-19, this hybridity would be encouraged. Creative practitioners bring their knowledge and contacts directly into the education setting, providing added value for students. However, as casual staff are cut from departments, who or what will plug the gap in the teaching provision they provide?
The pandemic will pass, and generations will still require some form of further education. The various modelling of student enrolments suggests that there could be a slight increase in UK-domiciled students, alongside a significant increase in the number of 18 year olds from 2022 (there was a 5000+ increase in UK live births between 2002-2004 with the birthrate increasing up the latest peak in 2012). Enrolments in creative subjects have been on an increase since 2003, bringing practitioners in directly from the sector has been a direct response to increased demand. It is important to note their value to the pedagogical system of creative education and ensure that they can be supported so those skills and knowledge are retained.