New research into early arts administration careers in the North of England

Following on from our 2024 research collaboration with the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, we are thrilled to follow up with further research into young people building careers in arts administration in the North of England.

Tonic, the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and Leeds Playhouse have been collaborating on a piece of research seeking to understand the needs and concerns of young people entering the arts today, especially in view of the challenges of recent years. 

We know that today’s cohort of young adults have experienced a particularly complex set of challenges and disruption to their learning, social experiences and opportunities to develop work experience. The purpose of our research is to understand the impact of this in young adults in greater detail and appreciate what this means for them as they take their preliminary steps into the world of work.

We hosted an event on 10th June 2025 at Leeds Playhouse to present our key insights and practical recommendations for employers. Our initial research and recommendations have also been released in a snapshot report for employers and policy makers, which can be found here.