Dan Howson Appointed as Skills Ambassador For The Creative & Cultural Industries

Stepladder Worldwide are delighted to announce that Dan Howson, the Founder of Stepladder, has been appointed Skills Ambassador for The National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural Skills.

The National Skills Academy is a growing network of employers and training providers committed to the provision of high quality, industry-relevant creative education and training, apprenticeships and careers advice. Creative & Cultural Skills specialises in supporting creative organisations, businesses and practitioners and, with support from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, Creative & Cultural Skills have launched a Skills Ambassadors programme to help reach the many small businesses & individuals working in the creative sector.

Dan Howson, Business Development Director of sevens7, which he founded in 2005, created the youth development initiative Stepladder Worldwide in 2008 – an initiative fostered by sevens7 who are passionate about employing the very best new talent but also helping others gain industry knowledge and develop core skills.

Designed to encourage the industry to open its doors to ALL young people, Stepladder Worldwide works closely with a number of partners to help produce and provide opportunities for young people in the community. In his new position, Mr. Howson will be looking to support skills development on a local level, in line with The National Skills Academy’s goal ‘‘to support the creative and cultural industries to meet their economic potential through the right skills and training’ By engaging employers within the theatre, music, live events, cultural heritage, design  and jewellery sectors with skills development opportunities and the skills agenda, Skills Ambassadors, such as Mr. Howson, intend to increase the number of industry members in The Skills Academy network, thus providing further opportunities for young people.

Mr. Howson’s story involves a slow, haphazard and unstructured path to where he is today. The reason for this was a lack of information or support from education or the industry itself on opportunities, training and jobs available in an industry he was passionate about.

Determined that talent should not be wasted by a lack of formal access, training or understanding of certain industries, Mr. Howson is pleased to note that progress is now being made through initiatives like Stepladder Worldwide and The National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural Skills and its members.

Mr. Howson, who is thrilled to be a key part of these developments, commented “Young people will have a better chance of success and enjoying what they do with access to training, opportunities and practicing industry professionals. Sprinkle on top some passion, enthusiasm, hard work, a willingness to learn and above all, responsibility for oneself and who knows what they can achieve”

Tags: Dan Howson, The Creative & Cultural Industries

Category: General Event Industry News