Month: February 2026

Walsall – How to Launch Your Own Creative Career

We’re delighted to be running another creative producing programme this June, after the success of our past ‘Breaking In‘ sessions.

This three‑day programme will introduce you to the wide range of careers within the creative sector. We’ll explore what a creative job could look like for you, identify your ideas and ambitions, and learn how to bring those ambitions to life. You will also discover how the creative skills you already use can transfer into many other areas of life and work.

Open to anyone aged 14 and over, the course will be tailored to your abilities, prior knowledge, and interests. Whether you’re drawn to design, media, writing, performance, or production, we’ll support you to kickstart your dream career or uncover what it could be.

During the placement, you will work alongside other young people and have the chance to meet and quiz industry professionals. RicNic will guide you through a series of sessions designed to develop your career aspirations and give you insight into the skills needed in the creative industries, exploring topics such as creative pathways, budgeting, event planning, marketing, and fundraising.

By the end of the week, you will create your own project and pitch it to a panel.

Sessions take place 10am-2pm (with lunch break) at The Table, Lower Hall Lane, Walsall, WS1 1RR

Book your place now

Burton – Creative Careers Work Experience 2026

For anyone in the West Midlands in years 10-12

Dreaming of a Creative Career? Whether you’re curious about design, media, writing, performance, or production, we’re here to help you kickstart your dream career or discover what it could be. After the success of our 2025 programme, we’ll be delivering a week-long work experience programme this summer from Monday 6th July – Friday 10th July in partnership with the Brewhouse Arts Centre.

During this placement, young people will work alongside each other, meet and quiz industry professionals and shadow members of the Brewhouse team. We’ll lead those on placement through a series of sessions that aim to develop career ambitions, whilst providing an insight into skills needed for the creative industries. Sessions will cover topics such as creative pathways, budget management, planning an event, marketing, and fundraising. At the end of the week, participants will create their own project and pitch this to a panel.

Interested in getting involved? Apply for your place here

Introducing RicNic’s New Programmes

Established by school students in 2004 as a summer project, RicNic has grown into a charity where young people are at the heart of everything; from shaping creative projects to taking leadership roles across the organisation.

Our core programmes provide regular opportunities for children, teenagers and young adults to be creative and produce their own events, products and small businesses. We promote youth leadership with tangible results, helping young people to develop their financial literacy, communication and understanding of the world.

Our vision is clear:

A world where every young person has the confidence, tools, and platforms to shape their communities through creativity and leadership.

Our New Programme Strands

Our new strands create a clear pathway for children, teenagers, and young adults to explore creativity, build confidence, and step into leadership.

Foundry

Aimed at under 16s, Foundry provides spaces for children and their families to explore creative skills with an end goal of creating events or products for their local community. This includes after-school young-enterprise style projects, free holiday clubs, and one-off workshops with visiting artists such as West-End performers.

Recent Foundry projects have included:

FORGE – Skills, Mentoring & Creative Careers (16+)

Forge supports young adults as they explore creative industries and develop transferable skills for work and life. It includes:

FLOURISH – Workshops for Schools, Businesses & Communities

Flourish brings creativity into classrooms, workplaces, and community spaces. These workshops are adaptable, youth‑led, and designed to build independence, leadership, and social enterprise skills.

Workshops span all ages, including:

Flourish helps participants of all ages explore ideas, express themselves, and develop confidence in their own voice.

Why This Matters

RicNic’s impact goes far beyond creative output. Young people tell us that RicNic is:

We also offer paid roles, work experience, and trustee opportunities—because young people deserve real responsibility and real investment.

As one participant put it:

“Coming to RicNic just makes me feel happy!”

Find out more about what we do or Get In Touch

How RicNic’s Creative Careers Coaching Helps Young Creatives Get Unstuck

If you’ve ever felt lost, overwhelmed, or simply unsure about your next steps in the creative industries, you’re not alone, and you’re exactly who RicNic Chats is designed for.

Creative career paths rarely follow a straight line. They veer off course, go off on tangents, and next steps often aren’t obvious. That’s why we created RicNic Chats; affordable, friendly, one-to-one coaching sessions for 16–25-year-olds navigating their next steps. Whether you’re applying for drama school, considering roles in fashion, exploring a freelance career as a designer, looking to publish your first novel, or simply trying to figure out what jobs actually exist, our mentors are here to help you breathe, focus, and move forward across the creative industries.

After completing a mentoring session:

For a single, free 30–45 minute chat, that’s a huge impact, and exactly why we run this programme.

What Participants Found Most Valuable

Every participant brings a different challenge, and every session is tailored to the individual. Here’s what young creatives told us they valued most

Why It Works

Our Creative Careers Mentoring is built around three principles:

1. Personalised, real-world guidance

Every mentor works actively within the creative industries; from theatre and design to producing and technical roles. They bring lived experience, current knowledge, and practical advice, and contacts across the UK.

2. Time to reflect and plan

Sometimes, the hardest part is figuring out the first step. Your mentor helps you break big ambitions into manageable actions.

3. Follow-up resources

Every session includes links, contacts, suggestions, and next steps so you can keep moving after the chat ends.

Ready to Get Unstuck?

Whether you’re trying to break into the creative world, make sense of your options, or simply want someone to talk things through with, RicNic is here for you.

From 2026, sessions will cost £10 for a 30–45 minute chat, including follow-up resources and signposting. This helps us cover our costs, but we don’t want payment to be a barrier to access.

Sessions are free for:

Find out more and book your chat