What emerging creatives should know about 2026, and why it’s not all bleak

From disappearing entry-level roles to less linear creative careers, Alex Bec has seen a lot change since co-founding Creative Lives in Progress over eight years ago. As youth unemployment rises to its highest level since 2021, he looks ahead to 2026 and makes the case for staying in the game – and backing emerging talent before the pipeline breaks.

CLIP co-founder Alex Bec

If I’m honest, the thing that feels most stark to me as we head towards 2026 is this: there are just fewer opportunities for emerging talent.

I don’t have the perfect dataset for that, but I do have the last seven years of running Creative Lives in Progress, and the shift post-Covid has been dramatic. In 2020 and even into 2021, there was goodwill. There was government backing via Kickstart. There were paid internships popping up everywhere. Then, slowly, over the years post-covid, it all evaporated.

And what’s left is a generation trying to get into an industry where the traditional “ladder” simply doesn’t exist anymore. Businesses have been (understandably) spooked for three years straight and have been trying to survive, not build pathways for emerging talent.

I don’t think we fully understand the impact yet, but you can feel it. There’s less optimism (and I’m an optimist!) There’s more trepidation. Not because this generation lacks creativity or drive - if anything, they’re operating faster than the industry can keep up with. But the randomness of whether they “get in” or not is brutal. For too many people, it comes down to luck: whether the one opportunity that fits them even exists.

And so we’re seeing more people take on jobs just to make ends meet, treating work as something to get through, and creativity as something they’ll do around the edges if they can. I'm actually convinced we’ll see far more independent, scrappy, inventive ways of earning a living emerge from this - but let’s not pretend it’s happening out of choice.

It’s easy to get sucked into talking about AI as the main disruptor - and sure, it will reshape things. But honestly, the economic challenges worry me more than the technology does. Here’s the thing. You can’t run a functioning society with 10% unemployment among young people. Capitalism literally doesn’t work like that.

This recent Creative Lives in Progress insight piece is fascinating and really well-researched, adding context to the scarcity of junior roles right now. And though I don’t think we’ll reach that 10%, if you extrapolate current trends, you can absolutely see how we get close.

Recent Insight piece from CLIP

An impending social problem is being built in front of our eyes.

There’s a myth that supporting emerging talent is a “nice to have” - something you bring back when the numbers look better. I think that attitude is going to age terribly.

Supporting creatives at the very start of their career is how companies stay relevant, how they respond to change, and how they communicate with real humans. If you stop investing in it - even in small ways - the rot compounds. Maybe not this quarter. But over a few years? You lose the next wave of thinking entirely. I’ve seen this inside teams: when you don’t bring new people in, you end up with overstretched staff trying to pivot to brand-new ways of working they never signed up for.

It’s miserable for them. And it’s bad business. If you’re not bringing in the people who are native to whatever the next shift is - whether it’s AI, or platforms, or something none of us see coming - you will feel that loss in ways you can’t yet predict.

I wish I could say otherwise, but the pipeline problem isn’t just about economics. It’s about class, geography, wealth, the cost of living, unpaid work, and London-centric networks. And there is no single solution. These issues need sustained, dedicated attention.

The real fear I have is that too many brilliant initiatives die because they don’t get the support to stay alive long enough to make systemic change. This work takes years. Decades, even. And when everyone is just trying to “keep the lights on,” the first things to go tend to be the things that matter most in the long run.

So let’s bring some optimism back – what can we actually do in 2026?

It doesn’t have to be big, complicated, or costly. I’m not asking you to drop everything else you’re doing to support emerging talent in the creative industry. What I’m suggesting is simple.

Everyone can do one thing.

Not ten things. Not a six-month mentorship programme. Not some huge DEI initiative that never gets off the ground.

Just one thing.

Say yes to one LinkedIn message. Give someone feedback at one of our portfolio reviews. Offer one paid opportunity. Take one emerging creative for a coffee.

Or partner with us at Creative Lives in Progress so we can match you with talent who otherwise won’t get seen. It doesn’t have to be a big commitment.

Maybe you can’t help everyone, but you can absolutely help one person. And someone else can help another. And another. That’s how the needle moves - slowly and consistently.

And to the emerging creatives reading this…

If you feel like you’re not “the right sort of person” for the creative industries, hear me clearly:

You’re wrong.

What this moment needs more than anything is new perspectives. New points of view. Fresh ways of looking at problems. The industry is not going brilliantly in certain areas - which means your way of seeing things is more valuable, not less.

One of the reasons we built Creative Lives in Progress was to show you that you do belong here (take a look at some of our Creative Lives interviews). Even if your route looks nothing like the routes that existed before.

Recent Creative Lives interviewees

So here’s my rallying cry for 2026...

To those working in the creative industry, whether you’re still in the early stages of a career or are an established leader.

Do one thing. Show you still care. Stay in the game. If everyone does something small, the compound effect is enormous.

To emerging talent: Keep going. You are needed more than you know.

The creative industry we end up with in five years won’t be accidental. It’ll be the result of what we choose to do - or not do - right now.

What’s your ‘one thing’ and how can Creative Live in Progress support you with it? Feel free to reach out to me and the team at [email protected].