NAEA Position Statement on the Impact of Visual Arts Workforce Development 

NAEA believes visual arts, design, and media arts education is an essential part of every student’s educational foundation. In preparation for future careers, creativity has been identified as a critical attribute of employees when hiring. Learners are the innovators, problem solvers, and creative leaders who will shape tomorrow’s world. Ensuring every student has sustained, sequential access to high-quality visual arts, design, and media arts education from preK through Grade 12 is essential to preparing a future-ready workforce and cultivating a more vibrant, equitable society.

Visual arts, design, and media arts education develops skills of deeper understanding and divergent thinking. It plays a vital role in cultivating key competencies desired by employers. These skills include collaboration, communication, critical thinking, inquiry, innovation, perseverance, and problem solving. Visual arts education also develops emotional intelligence, as well as the ability to handle interpersonal relationships. 

Learning in the visual arts, design, and media arts benefits all areas of business, industry, research, and service sectors. In addition, gainful careers in a variety of art, design, and digital-related fields are abundant and comprise a multibillion-dollar global creative economy. Visual arts, design, and media arts education for all individuals is forward thinking, preparing them for successful employment now and in the future.

Resources

Adecco. (2023, January 16). Impact of the American skills gap.
https://www.adeccousa.com/employers/resources/skills-gap-in-the-american-workforce
See how U.S. executives see the skills gap impacting the American workforce (references communication, creativity, critical thinking, collaboration).

Data Working Group. (2024). Arts education data and reporting initiatives 2024. Arts Education Partnership. https://www.aep-arts.org/wp-content/uploads/Arts-Education-Data-and-Reporting-Initiatives-2024.pdf
This article links to many different data sets.

Horita, M. (with Hurst, K.). (2017, October 12). Arts education helps train tomorrow’s workforce: A strong arts education helps prep kids for the future. Americans for the Arts Blog. https://www.americansforthearts.org/2019/05/15/arts-education-helps-train-tomorrow%E2%80%99s-workforce-a-strong-arts-education-helps-prep-kids-for-the

National Art Education Association. (2016, June). Using arts education to build a stronger workforce.

Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP): Tracking the Lives and Careers of Arts Graduates
https://snaaparts.org

Wolff, K., & Fulton, M. (2017, September 7). The importance of the arts in workforce preparation. Arts Education Partnership Blog. https://www.ecs.org/the-importance-of-arts-education-in-workforce-preparation
Many other resources are linked within this blog post.

Wright, M., Woock, C., & Lichtenberg, J. (2008, October 10). Ready to innovate: Are educators and executives aligned on the creative readiness of the U.S. workforce? Conference Board.

Americans for the Arts Data:
https://www.americansforthearts.org/research

A list of James Catterall’s research, including Doing Well and Doing Good by Doing Art: A 12-Year Longitudinal Study of Arts Education—Effects on the Achievements and Values of Young Adults (I-Group Books. 2009).
http://www.croc-lab.org/archive.html