Claire Costello of Co-op outlines a plan to raise funds and repurpose unspent apprenticeship levy to support 200 arts apprenticeships across Greater Manchester over three years.

Key obstacles include classism, lack of funding, the need to work for free, reliance on parental wealth, and limited influential connections for working-class entrants.

The recommendations call for recognizing working-class backgrounds as a protected characteristic, publishing socio-economic data, and increasing pay transparency and equality impact assessments.

The report proposes 21 recommendations, including targeted equality questions on class and specific actions to measure policy effects on working-class communities.

Manchester should lead national reform by treating class as a protected characteristic and adopting bold, transparent measures to address pay and socio-economic data, building an inclusive, fairly paid arts ecosystem.

Co-chaired by Nazir Afzal, the review urges Manchester to pioneer a national approach by recognizing class as a protected characteristic and pushing for transparency in pay and socio-economic data.

A 2024 UK-wide study cited in the report shows escalating elitism in the creative industries, with private schooling common among top performers and only a small share of working-class backgrounds reaching senior roles.

Campaigns led by the Co-op aim to boost apprenticeships for working-class people, including plans to fund 200 new arts apprenticeships in Greater Manchester through reallocated apprenticeship levy funds.

The Greater Manchester report Class Ceiling highlights barriers for working-class people entering and advancing in the arts, contributing to a sector dominated by the middle class and London.

National data accompanying the report indicates growing class-based barriers in the arts, underscoring the shift toward elite networks and SES gaps at the top.

The report notes a shrinking ladder for regional talents from Greater Manchester, contrasting with past success stories like Oasis and other regionally rooted figures.

Afzal argues the region should pioneer national efforts to ensure talent from all backgrounds is discovered, nurtured, paid fairly, and given a path to rise.