Creative Workforce Development: Bridging the Gap between Traditional & Arts-centered Workforce Development
Introduction
U.S. workforce and economic development systems support individuals and communities in critical ways. Yet, many of the institutions, practices, and ways of working that make up those systems do not take into account the full complexity of human life—the needs and aspirations of individuals and communities, as well as their cultural practices—and thus, are limited in what they can accomplish. Fortunately, leaders who are firmly grounded in the day-to-day cultures and dynamics of their neighborhoods look to expand economic opportunities with and for their communities in myriad and creative ways. They are not limited by the often restrictive boundaries of federal or regional workforce and economic development systems, or the underlying values and habits that power them.
From 2020 to 2022, a cohort of leaders from place-based arts and community development organizations gathered to address these issues together. The individuals and organizations who form the Arts and Wealth Building Cohort—along with their peers in the field at large—take a holistic approach to economic, community, and workforce development. They seamlessly integrate culturally resonant and creative approaches that move beyond narrow definitions and metrics to address the whole person, and have developed measures that reflect that holistic engagement.
These organizations are blazing pathways for the long-term transformation of our economic systems by responding to what their communities need: from new career pathways to living wage jobs in creative industries to wraparound intake and service models that take a multi-decade view, and more. The creative, grounded approaches Cohort members are using try to holistically and sustainably address the longstanding ways that so many communities have been shut out of traditional pathways to economic success for generations or longer.