Creative industry careers come to life during Virtual Experience Week

A cartoonist/illustrator, a filmmaker, a creative agency director and a social media expert are just some of the many industry professionals taking part in Walsall College’s Virtual Work Experience Week for creative arts students.

Sessions were hosted by freelance artists as well as representatives from arts organisations and agencies.  The aim of the week was to share world of work insights and help to inspire and inform everyone about their next steps in art and design, photography, fashion, creative media and performing arts (acting, dance and music).

Employers taking part included:

• Cartoonist, iIlustrator and storyteller Andy Baker from Andy Doodles Baker who showed students how to doodle their way to success
• Broadcaster, Nikki Tapper from Tapper Talks, who shared tips on how to present with confidence
• Photographer, Carol Bailey, who offered an overview of life as a freelance photographer
• Social media strategist, Samantha Wiltshire, who gave insights on digital content strategy and social media management for small businesses and freelancers

In addition to hearing from employers, all students completed a creative arts subject-specific task on the theme of sustainability.

Carolyn Smith and Louise Taylor of TPSquared delivered a session around Life at a Creative Agency.

Carolyn said: “We are super passionate about supporting the next generation of creatives and promoting opportunities and building a creative ecosystem in our region.

“Some great questions came from the students and so we were happy to be involved.”

Commenting on the success of the work, Jackie Bradnick, Work Experience Coordinator at the college added: “This is the second year we have hosted a Virtual Work Experience Week for the creative industries, with 475 students taking part, compared to 363 in 2021.

“96% of the students reported a positive impact on their understanding of what it takes to succeed as a creative professional, which is testament to all the employers and industry experts who made the week so aspirational, interesting and varied for everyone.”

She added: “Our deepest thanks go to them for supporting the next generation of creative talent across the Black Country area.”