PURSUITS 2011! - Business Education Council of Niagara

Does your plan for the future include being
Creative
By TRUDY PARSONS Executive Director Niagara Workforce Planning Board
I recently read an article that talked about the incredible rate at which new “apps” are being developed for devices
like the iPhone and Blackberry. They number in the thousands! Then I heard about the Kinect for the Xbox 360 -
it will no longer use hand held controls, but instead uses a camera to capture your body motion!
How do these products come to exist Did you ever wonder about how an idea turns into something where you can
walk into a retail outlet and purchase From concept (or idea) right through to the finished product, imagine all
the materials, assembly lines, transportation channels, warehousing facilities and people that are involved in
bringing a product to the marketplace.
Imagine all the people involved in the many stages of developing an idea or product, and then imagine all the
jobs that they fill. Some of these jobs require basic entry level skills, while others require more advanced technical
skills and knowledge. In this scenario, jobs will range from the product developer, to the person who connects
all the components, to the person who ships it to the retail outlets and so on. Along the way, there are marketing
people who come up with the creative ideas to get your attention, sales people who help you to purchase
the product, and service people who help to fix ‘it’ should it break. Then think about the person who removes
the packaging that ends up in your recycling bins….and on and on it goes! Did you ever imagine the number
of people, the types of jobs and the wide range of skills and knowledge that revolve around a single product
Let’s explore these jobs – but we will do so based on a unique system that looks at jobs from a “creative class”
perspective. The “creative class” is the brain child of Richard Florida, a well known economist, social scientist,
published author, world renowned speaker, professor and head of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the
Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Florida places emphasis on a person’s ability to be
creative. Basically the more creative you are the greater potential for financial and economic success you will have.
The old adage that “knowledge is power” is very true in the case of Florida’s creative class model!
Below are some definitions and examples from Florida’s creative class model:
Creative Class: includes scientists and engineers, university professors, poets and novelists, artists, entertainers,
actors, designers and architects, as well as the thought leadership of modern society: non-fiction writers,
editors, cultural figures, think-tank researchers, analysts and other opinion-makers.
Super Creative Class: considered innovative, creating commercial products and consumer goods.
Working Class: made up of people in production operations, transportation and materials moving, repair and
maintenance and construction work.
Service Class: contains low-end, typically low-wage and low autonomy occupations in the so-called
“service sector” of the economy: food service workers, janitors, and groundskeepers, personal care attendants,
secretaries and clerical workers, and security and other service occupations.
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