At Due North Creatives, we’re passionate about helping our local area grow and thrive. We know that a strong local economy needs more than great places and ambitious businesses, it needs the skills, talent and career opportunities to support its future.

Every great career that starts somewhere, it might be a spark of inspiration, a moment of creativity, or planting a seed in a young person’s mind that makes them think, “I could see myself doing this.”

That’s why we were proud to take part in the Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Tay Cities Hospitality Trail, an event designed to help local young people learn more about roles in the hospitality, heritage and tourism sector. Pupils from schools in Dundee, Angus, Perth and Kinross visited the Apex Hotel, took on a trail walk of some of Dundee’s most important landmarks, and met the DNC team at the V&A Dundee for a look into how marketing can draw people to the city’s fabulous sights.

We challenged the pupils, who ranged from S1 to S5, to think about key audiences for the V&A Dundee, challenge audience perceptions and film and edit a 90 second reel designed to draw a young audience into the museum’s exhibits. It wasn’t just a challenge of the pupils’ skills – there was a brilliant prize on offer as the team at the V&A kindly promised that the winning reel will be featured on their social media feed.

What seems like a simple challenge on the surface actually builds the young peoples’ skills in a number of areas:

• Teamwork
• Communication
• Timekeeping
• Organisation
• Strategic thinking
• Creativity
• Presenting
• Filming & Editing

We were amazed by what the pupils created in just 45 minutes, and we loved watching how each group tackled the challenge in such different ways. With a quick introduction to marketing and a short brief, the pupils pulled together images, videos, music, voiceovers, text and effects to create reels that shone a light on what young people love at the V&A. 

We’ve been supporting the DYW for a number of years, and took the DYW pledge because we believe creative careers should be accessible and achievable for the next generation. Events like this one give future designers, marketers, and creatives a clearer view of what a career in the industry can look like and how they can get there. We’re proud to share our experience and help to build a stronger future workforce for Scotland’s creative industries.

Days like the Heritage Trail create lasting memories for pupils, and give them valuable learning experiences outside of the classroom. We’re proud to have played a part in delivering this event, and want to extend our appreciation to the teams at DYW Tay Cities and the V&A Dundee for organising it.