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The creative industries continue to operate a “closed” recruitment culture, where jobs are often secured through friends or contacts, according to a new report.
Bectu said its study showed that three out of four jobs found by workers in the sector over the past 18 months came through a friend or contact.
The union said the findings of the survey of 5,500 creative industry workers in non-performing roles from theater to film and TV to fashion have raised fresh fears about the lack of open recruitment practices in the creative industries.
Jobs are going to those who are well-connected, Bectu said, with many workers marginalized from the industry.
Head of Bectu Philippa Childs said: “These findings make it clear that the creative industries are operating a closed recruitment culture that is leaving many talented workers out in the cold, often driven by last-minute decision-making by studios that encourages people to hire people they already know.
“This is an important sector of the economy, but these outdated recruitment practices mean it is impossible for many talented professionals to build a career in this sector because they lack the right connections, wasting their talent and dashing their hopes for creative careers.
“The situation is much worse for people from marginalized backgrounds.
“Creative talent is not the preserve of white middle-class people with social capital, but if nothing changes we will find that these are the only people who are able to advance in this field.”