Scotland prides itself on the fact that people from all walks of life enjoy and take part in the artistic life of its communities and cities. But that wide breadth of audiences and artists cannot be sustained if young people struggle to find affordable pathways to meaningful progress in the arts.

Access is vitally important. All young people should have arts as an integral element of their education. But it’s equally important that the chance to progress in the performing arts is affordable. The tensions of accessibility and affordability couldn’t come at a more precarious time. As a world, we’re embarking on our fourth industrial revolution, and who knows what processes AI will be able to do quicker and better than humans do? To counteract this, we must harness our creativity, empathy and understanding of multicultural societies.

It’s through sustained learning and teaching in performing arts that our children will gain the skills they will need to not only survive in the future but also to shape it. Constrained finances and competing priorities at local authority level mean that not enough focus is given to what’s critical in the long term.

We, as arts organisations, need to stand up and be part of the solution. If every conservatoire, specialist school and community arts organisation gives thought and attention to helping a local authority achieve access, diversification and progression in the arts, we could do some amazing things together.

Professor Jeffrey Sharkey is the principal of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland