For young people starting to think about the working world and where they fit into it, 2025 can look pretty daunting. The future looks uncertain no matter who you are, but it can be even worse for those who have fallen out of mainstream education.
In the music and media industries, a lot of people without higher education or formal training rely on being self-taught, but that can only get you so far. Keen to level the playing field and give the next gen the tools and skills to get on top of things is In Music In Media, who have been offering courses geared towards marginalised young people: in digital creative music and media, courses that can give them educational routes outside of the traditional options.
Back in May, with funding from Youth Music, In Music In Media hosted the Musically Unorthodox Conference in Northampton. They brought together a range of stakeholders, including educators, policymakers, industry leaders and creatives, to work on actual solutions that could give young people new skills and opportunities, and stem the flow of young people into long-term unemployment and crime.
The five central points they identified were qualification barriers, lack of experience, the ‘self-taught struggle’ that shut them off from professional networks, the network vacuum that stopped them meeting others in the industry, and the information gap that locked them out of new opportunities. A lot of that was addressed on the idea with experts from the MOBO Awards, PRS Foundation, Youth Employment UK, Northamptonshire Serious Violence Prevention Partnership, as well as musicians and youth mentors like Maxwell D and Dreadz on-hand to give practical advice and open up an otherwise locked off music industry.
It’s an ongoing conversation, though, and they’re looking for new stakeholders, allies and potential partners to join them. They’re inviting community leaders, educators, industry professionals, young people, anyone wanting to get involved to reach out via email here.