The Future Job-Fund

The Future Job Fund was set up in 2009, as a response to the increasing number of young people facing long-term unemployment. The idea was to create work and training opportunities in a broad range of sectors, and in such a way that the recipient has a real chance to progress in that field, or improve an existing skill-set.
Among the many areas in which access to the fund was offered was the creative sector, with a view to increasing participants’ knowledge of the arts and providing the means to continue down a creative path. Collage Arts became involved with the project for exactly this reason; to supply experience and valuable income for young people, and to help them establish themselves as creative entities in their own right. Jason, who was involved in dance, performing arts, and arts administration described working with us as “eye-opening, I got to learn interesting new skills and work with a lot of wonderful people.”
Through the scheme we have guided participants from joblessness into, for example; teaching, broadcasting, performance, and small business management. Marie is a recent recipient who, having completed her placement, decided to stay at Collage Arts as a tutor, and set up her own media and events company. She said, “Being on the Future Job Fund gave me the time and space to progress creatively, without the stress of searching for work” and working here gave me access to the facilities and equipment I needed to take on my own projects. Another participant, Alex, progressed into organising and promoting events, a job he says is “the first I’ve had that I was really interested in, and one that I wouldn’t have otherwise”
Some participants have used the opportunity to develop their ideas from gestation into actual production in the form of animation, live-action film, and recorded music, contributing to Collage Arts’ reputation, and broadening our ability to deliver as, an arts development organisation. Others have expanded existing portfolios, taking advantage of the resources available to improve their profiles in their chosen field.