Yorkshire students 'can turn dreams of working with Harry Styles and Taylor Swift into reality'

The Academy of Live Technology, formerly known as Backstage Academy, is the higher education institute in Production Park, teaching students the skills they need to be the next generation of live experience professionals.

New research on behalf of the Academy has found just 12 per cent of young people see a job in the creative industries as a high-value career choice.

When asked their biggest concerns about working in the creative industries, nearly half of the hundreds of young people surveyed thought it would be “poorly paid,” not stable, and “too competitive.”

Lee Brooks, co-founder of the Academy of Live Technology, said: “Behind every creative success story, there’s a team of people who make it all happen. If you look at mega gigs from the likes of Taylor Swift and Harry Styles, there’s a host of specialist skilled technical and creative roles that deserve the spotlight too.

"Most of the jobs that keep our industry going are not part of common knowledge at all, so the gap between awareness and opportunity is only growing. We need to ask, how can we make these careers not only more visible, but seen as achievable?

“Our campus is based on Production Park in Wakefield, where Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Netflix, Cirque du Soleil and the Arctic Monkeys have all produced shows.

"Working with some of the biggest names might seem a pipe dream to many young people, but here, we train our students to bring them a step closer to turning the dream into a reality.”

Rachel Nicholson, Head of Institution at the Academy of Live Technology, added: “The output of the creative industries in the UK is world renowned, yet our research reveals that the opportunities are still often ignored and misunderstood.

“The increasing demand for specialist skills, both in traditional production and evolving technologies such as virtual production and createch, means our graduates are often walking into highly paid and highly valued employment.

"The demand is there and as an institution, we’re doing what we can to address that demand, but there needs to be more recognition and support in showing young people the range of opportunities that happen behind the scenes.”