How to get ahead in the humanities

The value of an arts degree to job seekers will be discussed at a forum at Triskel Arts Centre this weekend, writes Colette Sheridan

THE value of an arts degree will be examined at the launch of Art/Works, a Creative Arts and Industries Platform (CAIP), organised by UCC in collaboration with Corcadorca Theatre Company and Plugd Records at the Triskel Arts Centre on Friday.

The free event will bring together a panel of guest speakers representing a range of professions that require arts degree skills. It’s aimed at past, present and future arts students, employers, industry practitioners and academics. The platform will focus on theatre, drama and music; visual arts, museums and curatorship; film, screen and radio and fiction and non-fiction publishing.

Panel speakers include James Hackett from EMI Records in London; Pat Kiernan, artistic director of Corcadorca Theatre Company; Gemma Tipton, freelance curator and writer; Emilie Fitzgibbon, artistic director of Graffiti Theatre Company; and Joe McNamee, Irish Examiner food writer.

One of the organisers, Dr Rachel MagShamhráin, who lectures in the German department at UCC, says the arts degree often gets bad press. “We want to highlight to people the importance of the skills that are required on an arts degree programme and the applicability of those skills in a whole range of professional fields.”

While a degree in translation studies or engineering may lead to a clear professional path, Dr MagShamhráin says the CAIP will flag the myriad opportunities that arise from a good arts degree. “It forms the basis for many other professional attainments. Arts degrees give flexibility to a workforce that increasingly doesn’t remain in one profession for life but reinvents itself at various junctures.

“As well as flexibility, it gives students good analytical skills, written skills and a cultural, historical and philosophical knowledge that can be applied fruitfully throughout a life time in many different areas.”

Dr MagShamhráin says that academics feel they have to constantly apologise for arts education, when in fact it’s one of the most important educations that can be given to the young population.

Before taking up her post in academe, Dr MagShamhráin worked in the private sector where she was the manager of a translation company. “I was employing people with arts degree skills. That wasn’t simply because language lies within the arts. It was also because graduates had research skills and analytical skills.”

Gaining a post graduate qualification is a good idea in the current climate. “If there’s nothing happening on the employment front, why not get involved in something that has an intrinsic value in terms of knowledge and can also enhance career prospects? There are grants available for post graduate students.”

Traditionally, arts graduates gravitated towards teaching. “There are still people who are open to going into teaching who are taking arts degrees. But the profile of the teaching profession has changed and its attractiveness as a possible career has been affected by cutbacks and changes in working conditions.”

IT skills are important and in recognition of this, UCC offers a masters degree in digital arts and the humanities. “This has been pioneered by people including Orla Murphy from the department of English. It’s a kind of hybrid where IT skills and cultural knowledge are combined.”

Another one of the organisers of the CAIP is Dr Ed Krcma from the Department of Art History at UCC. “He wants to highlight that art history is not just about knowing the history of paintings and being able to analyse art. Art history offers career opportunities including museum curatorship and writing about art for the newspapers,” says Dr MagShamhráin.

Questions that will be explored at the CAIP include the nature of the working day of the various professions, the kind of skills they find valuable and what they are looking for from graduates. A general discussion will follow, exploring how education can respond to a rapidly changing working world.

The launch will be followed with a series of workshops and master classes on applying arts and humanities skills in the creative industries.

The most popular arts degree at UCC is the BA Joint Honours Degree. In 2011, 25% of graduates of this degree were in employment, some 62% were in further study or training, 6% were seeking employment and 7% were not available for employment.