Discover Creative Careers Sheffield 2025: The Start of Something Bigger

photo credit: Becky Payne

Opening Young Eyes to Creative Careers

“Today was really amazing,” reflects Khadija, a home-schooled student in Sheffield. “I learned how there’s just so many different roles you can actually have within theatre… you see the actors acting, but in reality, there are so many things behind the scenes that really contribute to it all — the costume designer, finance director, the playwright — they’re roles that are equally as important.”

This captures the essence of Discover Creative Careers Sheffield 2025, a series of events curated by Create Sheffield and delivered collaboratively by organisations and artists across the city. Held over three days in November, as part of national Discover! Creative Careers month, the aim of the series was to inform and inspire young people about careers in the creative industries and showcase the full range of roles that exist.

A Three-Day Programme (12th–14th November)

The first event, College and University Routes into Creative Careers, was hosted by Sheffield Hallam University at the Sheffield Creative Industries Institute. Young people learned about creative career pathways via Further and Higher Education, hearing directly from staff and alumni from Sheffield Hallam, Water Bear College of Music, Chesterfield College and Longley Park Sixth Form. Participants gained a clear sense of the rich variety of subjects — from fine art to games design to songwriting — that can lead to a career in the creative industries in expected or unexpected ways.

The following day was the Creative Organisations Showcase + Behind the Scenes Experience at Sheffield Theatres. Staff pulled out all the stops: both pre-booked school groups and young people dropping in on their own could sign up for hands-on workshops including playwriting, public speaking and technical theatre. Participants tried on costumes, asked burning questions at a Q&A (including ‘what’s the best birthday present you’ve ever had?’), entered a raffle and explored the careers fayre. They had the chance to speak one-to-one with staff from nearly every department at Sheffield Theatres, as well as with other key organisations across the city including Site Gallery, the National Videogame Museum and English Touring Opera.

The final day was the Creative Industries Freelancer and Professional Showcase, hosted by Sheffield Futures. This event focused on working freelance or for smaller organisations in the creative sector, recognising that this kind of work forms a huge part of the creative industries and requires a special set of skills. Young people took part in speed-networking and discussion sessions with a diverse range of professionals including Claire Thornley (Eleven Design), Lisa Franklin (Artist and Creative Producer), Dana Cole (Makeup Artist), Harvey Ryan (Press Photographer), Sarah Carroll (Concerteenies) and Frazer Scott (Gut Level). The event was amplified by Create Sheffield ambassador Grace Walker, who brilliantly promoted the showcase on social media and helped reach a wider audience. Participants gained insight into the joys and challenges of freelance working, the skills required to succeed and the surprising variety of creative opportunities that exist beyond traditional employment routes.

Engaging Young People Across the City

Over 350 young people attended the Discover Creative Careers Sheffield event series in person, supported by 79 creative professionals who generously gave their time to inspire the next generation. The impact was clear: a strong majority of participants reported learning a lot from the events, and over half said they now feel even more interested in studying a creative subject in the future. More than half also reported having a much clearer understanding of the skills employers are looking for with another third saying they know a bit more.

The excitement and energy in the room were tangible, and feedback from young people reflected this too. Participants described the experience as “brilliant”, “very fun”, “interactive and informative” and “relaxed and welcoming.”

Finally, one young person melted our hearts when they scanned one of our QR codes for feedback and inadvertently filled out the form for professionals. When prompted to say what support they could offer young people, they responded: “a hug.”

What Teachers and Professionals Said

Teachers were overwhelmingly positive about the series and keen for it to continue. One said:

“Please keep this showcase going! So many students are funnelled into STEM or Professional Services careers, so it’s refreshing to see a creative showcase we can bring students to. If more students knew the kinds of career paths these subjects can lead to, uptake in Literature, Music, Art and Textiles would increase.”

Professionals were equally enthusiastic about taking part and seeing young people engage with the work:

“It was great fun and a joy to share a bit of what we do with young people. In the future, we might start seeing references to this day when looking at CVs.”

These reflections, alongside numerous conversations with colleagues and collaborators, demonstrate both the demand for this kind of programme and the appetite among schools and creative professionals to work together on an inspirational, experience-based offer for children and young people interested in creative careers. Teachers and practitioners alike recognised the potential for a more joined-up, city-wide effort in future, reaching even more young people and giving them access to the full range of opportunities in Sheffield’s creative sector.

The Start of Something Bigger?

Discover Creative Careers Sheffield 2025 highlighted the talent, curiosity and ambition of young creative people in Sheffield, and the importance of city-wide collaboration to tackle inequalities in access to creative careers. With decreasing diversity in our sector, this work is now more important than ever.

Next year, along with our network of brilliant partners, Create Sheffield hopes to secure funding that will help us plan further in advance, promote to a wider audience, reach more schools, more young people and support more professionals to attend. Together, we can build stronger creative opportunities that uplift young people and connect them with the full range of artists and professionals who make Sheffield’s cultural sector possible.

These events were supported by Sheffield City Council, funded by the UK Government via the shared prosperity fund.

Photography - Becky Payne and Create Sheffield.

Create Sheffield connects Sheffield’s education, cultural, arts and youth sectors as the city’s Local Cultural Education Partnership (LCEP). Our sole aim is to make access to creative expression for children and young people more equitable by building relationships and networks across the city. Follow our work by signing up to our newsletter or following us on LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook.