Meet a Mentor’s Fran Plowright: optimism alone won’t open doors

Fran Plowright, Founder at Meet a Mentor

I’ve spent much of my working life supporting emerging creatives, and despite the challenges facing the next generation, I’m choosing to remain optimistic. The talent is absolutely out there.

But optimism alone won’t open doors, create opportunities or help people learn their craft. I suspect that over the next three years, starting a creative career will become more non-linear, demanding greater adaptability, tenacity and initiative. What concerns me is the increasingly fragile infrastructure around emerging talent: opportunities to get through the door, learn in real working environments, build genuine networks and be given the time and trust to develop.

Critical thinking, communication and collaboration are all skills people develop through doing: being around experienced colleagues, observing, asking questions, taking responsibility, making mistakes and reflecting on them. As AI reshapes junior roles and hybrid working changes how we learn, these experiences will become even more valuable. We need to give people responsibility, allow them to take risks and sometimes fail, without micromanaging them. And we need to invest in good managers and leaders who can encourage, challenge and develop their teams. That investment may also help build something increasingly elusive: loyalty.

For emerging talent, my advice remains: keep knocking on doors, but learn your craft. Go deep with your research. Be curious, adaptable, open-minded and prepared to put in the graft. Technology offers extraordinary possibilities, but it can’t replace process, reflection, emotional intelligence or the value of staying in the room long enough to learn. Unsurprisingly, I also believe strongly in mentoring and in the power of having someone in your corner who isn’t your line manager, someone who can challenge you, champion you and hold you accountable. That learning travels both ways. Senior people need to listen too.

Through my work with Meet a Mentor, I’ve seen first-hand what practical training, mentoring and genuine industry access can make possible. There’s already brilliant work happening across the sector. I hope we’ll become better still at joining the dots, sharing knowledge, networks and resources, and creating opportunities that help people get through the door and find their feet. As technology reshapes our working lives, I predict we’ll place even greater value on community, human connection and shared experiences. I’m a great believer in the ‘Each One Teach One’ maxim. We have a collective responsibility to invest in the next generation, because ultimately they are our future.