Creativity & Innovation Toolkit

Introduction

Creative, innovative graduates are in demand! Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life (2002) and The Flight of the Creative Class: The New Global Competition for Talent (forthcoming) said, during a public lecture hosted by Griffith University on 24 February, 2005, that in Australia at the present time, "between three and four million out of nine million in the workforce are in the creative sector of the economy." He described the creative sector as "the new growth force of our economy."

The world is changing so rapidly that graduates must be creative, innovative, and able to adapt to new situations:

"When we think critically, we are evaluating the outcomes of our thought processes."

"...people need to be able to adjust to change that is both rapid and sweeping, both for their own well-being and for that of the societies in which they live. This means that education will need to foster flexibility, openness, ability to produce novelty, ability to tolerate uncertainty and similar properties - in other words, creativity."

Cropley, A.J. (2001). Creativity in Education and Learning: A Guide for Teachers and Educators. London: Kogan Page, p. 158.

'Creativity and flair' were the two graduate abilities most often found lacking by a sample of Australian employers who participated in the AC Nielsen research study, Employer Satisfaction with Graduate Skills (2000).

AC Neilsen Research Services. (2000). Employer Satisfaction with Graduate Skills.
Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 23 October, 2006.
http://www.dest.gov.au/archive/highered/eippubs/eip99-7/eip99_7pdf.pdf

 

"The various facets of 'initiative and enterprise that contribute to innovative outcomes' were identified in Employability Skills for the Future (2002) as:

• Adapting to new situations;
• Developing a strategic, creative, long-term vision;
• Being creative;
• Identifying opportunities not obvious to others;
• Translating ideas into action;
• Generating a range of options; and
• Initiating innovative solutions.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and The Business Council of Australia. (2002). Employability Skills for the Future. Canberra: AGPS, p. 9.