Homegrown Scottish talent: Thriving ecosystem, or victim of the brain drain?

As another year of the Fringe comes to a close, Edinburgh has well and truly felt the presence of talent. Creatives coming from far and wide, as well as a whole crop of Scottish talent looking to get their big break. And as we leave August behind and roll into September, thus comes the latest cohort of future academics. Bright-eyed, bushy-tailed freshers rolling into the city, returning students ready to embark on their latest academic year, all keen to show that they’re ready to take on the working world. But following the end of their studies, many of Scotland’s best and brightest follow a similar route. They say those fabled words, “I’m going to London.” 

For those unaware, the brain drain is the process of educated individuals emigrating from their home country in search of better opportunities. For Scottish creatives, the most common destination is London. The Big Smoke. The place where “all the jobs are”. But this is Scotland. The home of The Monarch of the Glen, Paolo Nutini and a small handful of Doctor Who stars. Edinburgh is the home of the largest creative arts festival in the world! Who are we if not the producers of creative brilliance?

Scotland is a proud nation, and we like to remind ourselves of it, frantically screaming when we see someone Scottish on the telly, to say, “Look, they’re Scottish!” We like our success stories. Yet so often we see educated people move away due to their perception of no opportunities here in Scotland, or see those celebrities pitching up to live in the US once they’ve hit the big time. We’re so desperate to succeed as individuals that we forget we can succeed as a nation too.

So, it begs the question. Is there more to be done to help usher through the next generation of homegrown talent? What can we do to make them stay, and encourage them to see the brilliance in their own work and the Scottish creative community? Furthermore, is this a young people problem, or a Scottish problem? 

Author

Archie Bogle

Caledonian Antisyzygy

It’s a longstanding understanding that Scotland is a divided nation. It’s been over 100 years since the term “Caledonian Antisyzygy” was coined, describing Scotland's suggested split personality, swinging back and forth between extreme realism and wild fantasy. Scotland birthed Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, a whole series of split personality novels. We see it in our politics and our sports teams; an unwavering loyalty and an ever-present scepticism. The Scottish approach of saying “We’re the best in the world, no one can touch us”, then subsequently saying, “We’re the lowest of the low, scum of the earth”. Is this the message we want to be feeding to the next generation of talent? Or can we do more to fly our flag proudly and tell the next crop of aspiring creatives that it’s not all doom and gloom? Let’s show the world that good work is being done and opportunities are there for those willing to look for them.

An ode to the internship

Enter: The Union’s Junior Creative Team. Archie and Ruaridh, officially homegrown and (unofficially) talented. Coming off the back of finishing our studies, we have certainly felt the pressure to seek out industry experience in Scotland, hearing many, many times that it’s “hard finding anything right now”. We started at The Union thanks to The Marketing Society Scotland’s “Aspiring Creative Star” award, a brief which anyone from across the country could enter, a great chance for any opportunistic creatives to show what they can do - a clear contradiction to simply saying that there’s “nothing out there”. The prize was an internship at The Union, and since then we have been crafting concepts, pitching ideas, and learning how we can grow in the early days of our careers.

Hard work, luck, or both?

Whilst I am sure winning the internship had some luck involved, luck without preparation is nothing. Everyone knows the job market is tough, but that doesn’t mean there’s not one out there. There’s certainly not a lack of creativity. A bit of boots-on -the-ground journalism will show you that creativity lives and breathes in classrooms all across the country. Perhaps the key to success is making your own luck, and having a grounded belief in your craft that goes beyond saying “I’m the best in the business” and then loathing yourself when it doesn’t go entirely to plan.

Make your own luck

Over the course of the year, many of our coursemates from university made their own luck. Custom-made football cards with employees’ faces on them sent into agencies, dropping off briefcases with printed out portfolios onto Creative Directors’ desks, and submissions into the D&AD New Blood and DMA Breakthrough Awards that went all the way. Attempts might not always be fruitful, but as I’m sure anyone in this business will tell you, that is something to get used to. But at the very least, you continue to learn. When the goal is experience, you can never fail. Scottish people generally struggle to give themselves plaudits, but it’s something that needs to be done if you’re committed to your craft.

Ruaridh and I have been lucky enough to have been at The Union since June, and we have been incredibly thankful to the whole team who have been willing to share their wisdom with us and show us that creativity is alive and well. But the importance of this internship wasn’t the length of it, it was doing it. We would’ve taken any length of time if it meant the chance to grow and improve our work. We get to witness first-hand that the creativity in Scotland is alive and well.

They. Want. You. 

What I’d like to impress upon the folks reading this is that for all the homegrown talent out there, you could be the bit of luck they need. A ten-minute chat, a book crit, an introduction to another industry professional – any little nuggets you can share are gold dust to someone just starting out. 

Be proud

We need to be proud of the work we do. Embrace that whilst Scotland may be smaller in scale, that doesn’t mean the work doesn’t pack a punch. Big ideas are here to stay, and homegrown talent is bringing them to the forefront. And trust us, as people who are just coming into the industry, we can tell you - the work we’re all doing is pretty damn cool.