Humans becoming obsolete in the workplace has been at the centre of numerous debates in recent months with driverless cars and self-serve retail dominating the headlines.

I must drive an average of 300 miles a week and I for one would welcome the time back….and would gladly wave goodbye to middle lane drivers.

More importantly – if robots are taking care of the ‘mundane’, we gain more time for creativity, right? Surely that’s something to celebrate!??

What’s more, as a nation we’re natural born creative thinkers, full of ingenuity, known for our craftsmanship & inventiveness. In my mind this gives us a real advantage. I predict the value placed on creative thinking will quadruple (ok maybe this is creative thinking) but I do believe the opportunity for our young people is to become the most inspiring creative thinkers in the world.

So, why is it the national curriculum places very little if any emphasis on the pursuit of creative brilliance choosing to focus on the more ‘academic’ subjects, many of which could realistically be programmed into a robot? I’m not dismissing traditional academic subjects, not at all, in fact creative ideas and insights often result from interrogating or challenging perceptions & rely on an understanding of multi disciplines.

What prompted this blog, was my shocking discovery at a recent event run by MMU: gradually creativity in schools is being side lined… it’s not surprising then to discover the significant decline in the uptake of creative studies in further education. You could argue a lack of interest, but it would seem to me it’s a lack of choice / opportunity. I was also disheartened to discover this is the first generation of young people set to achieve less than their parents. Not particularly motivating!

But if culture & creativity are among our greatest national assets, which have undoubtedly enriched our economy and wellbeing for centuries then we should do something about the systematic removal of craft-related subjects and influence the future lives of our offspring with an education system that not only encourages creativity, but values & celebrates its achievements.