EMSI study analyzes creative occupation cluster

EMSI recently completed a study of the “creative” occupation cluster for the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), a non-profit organization that developed the “Creative Vitality Index” (CVI). The CVI was generated off the premise that strong regional creative economies are simulative for individual, societal, and economic progress. The index gives “municipalities and states a well-researched annual snapshot of the health of their arts-related creative economy,” according to WESTAF’s web site.

The study analyzed the 36 occupations identified by WESTAF and its associates to determine which occupations, if any, should be added or dropped from the CVI. The study used EMSI’s Career Pathways tool, which blends EMSI’s labor market data and the Employment and Training Administration’s O*NET database, to look at the competencies (knowledge, skills, and abilities) of each affected occupation to determine similarities and gaps.

The main competencies looked at for each occupation were fine arts knowledge, thinking creatively, and originality. EMSI determined two requirements for occupations to be considered creative: 1) that the occupation normally works within an arts-producing industry, and 2) that the occupation have a high score in the O*NET competencies of “thinking creatively” and “knowledge of fine arts.”

An excerpt from the study:

“In some cases, ‘creative economy’ is used to describe individuals who create, build, and produce art. But other definitions can encompass as much as 30 percent of a region’s workforce and include a vast quantity of occupations—not only artists but scientists, managers, lawyers, and sales people.  The creative occupations included in the Creative Vitality Index (CVI) falls into the first category of definitions because it focuses solely upon the ‘arts-related creative economy.’ “

To read the full report, which includes a list of CVI occupations: WESTAF Creative Occupation Cluster Audit