Are we all singing from the same hymn sheet?

New research on the music education workforce amplifies calls to bridge the gap between the supply and demand of skills.

What is the future for music educators and their employers? How are careers and professional relationships forged and sustained? What are the gaps in perception between practitioners and policy-leaders?

In a report which probed into the working lives and interconnectedness of Music Leaders and Employers/Commissioners in the North East, Arts Inform has uncovered issues which may have wider relevance across the UK. While the basis of the research, ‘Supporting the Music Education Workforce in the North East’, which we carried out between October and January, was to look at training and Continuing Professional Development (CPD), in fact it ranged more widely over issues of provision, access, funding, regional infrastructure and partnerships.

A key aspect was looking at the issues from both sides – both the Music Leaders who carry out the huge range of musical activities in the region, and those who employ and commission their work. This dynamic was stipulated by the Steering Group, led by Regional Co-ordinator Gwyneth Lamb. It made it possible to eavesdrop on both sides of the door: to hear Music Leaders saying ‘if only people commissioning projects would do this’, or employers saying ‘if only Music Leaders could supply that’. We were also able to do some ‘future-gazing’ – trying to predict areas of growth and what threats and barriers might arise.

Arts Inform used its ‘Dynamic Flow Consultation’ methodology, through which a series of research actions is carried out in sequence, with each influencing the next stage. These included bringing together Music Leader and Employer Working Groups; running two parallel online surveys; and meeting key people individually, including some young Music Leaders. We’re enormously grateful to all those who took part, and we’re happy to say that the project has clearly borne fruit. We presented our findings to a group of music organisations in Gateshead on 8th February, and the feedback was strong. Clearly the report is already influencing future plans.

What we found

Music Leaders are perceived as excellent but not necessarily effective – they would benefit from enhancing their business skills. Organising as small businesses, either individually or with partners, and creating a brand and a profile for their work, represents an investment in themselves which not only improves other people’s perceptions but also changes their own mind-set. This can have an impact on attitudes to professional development and on the way Music Leaders operate in the music education marketplace.
Music Leaders and Employers value core skills differently, with Music Leaders placing musical and communication skills and personal attributes highly, and Employers looking for complementary professional skills such as evaluation, monitoring and assessment. This gap in understanding between the two groups was one of the most significant findings of the study.
Employers do not always find qualifications and training to be a reliable indicator of a Music Leader’s quality. They rely predominantly on word-of-mouth and recommendation to find Music Leaders rather than more formal recruitment methods. Music Leaders find this frustrating, and younger or emerging professionals are particularly concerned that their access to paid work is being impeded by this mindset.
Music Leaders tend to undertake training which develops their creative practice, rather than backing up their work with professional disciplines such as marketing, project management, evaluation or business skills.

What does the future hold?

Clearly, everyone is worried about funding levels, but for many it’s as much about the need for continued commitment and fairness in distributing resources. The majority of our respondents were optimistic about the continuing demand for music activities. One urgent question emerging from this work is how these are going to be accessed and paid for.

There is potential for new training formats – including online support and practice-sharing – and for providers to work together to share training and CPD opportunities. These findings are already affecting planning and thinking in the North East, and are likely to be relevant farther afield.

A wider relevance

We at Arts Inform have no doubt that any Music Leader or Employer/Commissioner reading the report – not just those in the North East – will find resonances concerning their own professional practice. We hope it will raise questions about the nature and quality of training and CPD – which may be particularly relevant given the Henley Report’s recommendation that a new Music Educator Qualification should be developed.

Questions for Music Leaders to ask themselves might include:

Am I investing in myself enough, and how do I find the right professional development?
Am I visible enough to employers, and if not, what can I do about it?
Where are future opportunities going to arise – and should I be finding collaborators to help me in my search?

For Employers and Commissioners, questions could include:

Do I know enough about the music education workforce in my region – am I always finding the best person for the job?
Am I making it clear what I require from Music Leaders, to enable them to supply a better service?
Where are the potential partnerships and collaborations which could enhance practice and make resources go further?

Want to find out more?

A copy of the full report will be made available on the Youth Music Network very soon! Stay tuned.

About the author

Arts Inform is a consultancy specialising in the development of work-related learning initiatives in the arts. Find out more at www.artsinform.com.