Precarious employment and unpaid labour are common features of the cultural and creative industries. While existing literature highlights the benefit of professional development in building careers, it focuses on self-driven rather than formalised activities. Social capital and social disadvantage are recognised as major factors limiting career success. Yet, it is unclear whether formalised professional development programs offer advantages to overcoming such barriers. This article examines a professional development scheme led by a government-funded cultural agency that provides cultural workers with opportunities to develop education-to-work ‘transition enhancers’. Using data from 45 participants in the Australia Council for the Arts’ Venice Biennale Professional Development Program, we find that the program enables access to three transition enhancers (professional experience, social connections and international experience). However, the program’s lack of structure ensures the benefits of participation are most effective for those who bring a proactive approach to engaging in events and building social relations.

不稳定的就业和无偿劳动是文化和创意产业的共同特征。现有文献虽然突出了职业发展在建筑事业中的好处，但侧重于自我驱动而非形式化的活动。社会资本和社会劣势被认为是限制职业成功的主要因素。但是，尚不清楚正规的专业发展计划是否可以克服这些障碍。本文考察了由政府资助的文化机构领导的职业发展计划，该计划为文化工作者提供了发展教育到工作的“过渡促进者”的机会。利用来自澳大利亚艺术理事会威尼斯双年展专业发展计划的45名参与者的数据，我们发现，该程序可以访问三个过渡增强器（专业经验，社交关系和国际经验）。但是，该计划缺乏结构，无法确保参与的利益对于那些积极主动地参与活动和建立社会关系的人们最有效。