Insight Report: Employer Opinions on Skills Development Initiatives for the Creative Industry Sector by 2025
Creative Industries Employers and Skills Initiatives: A Call for Enhanced Investment and Focus
The creative industries, a significant employment sector in the UK, are poised for growth, with projections indicating the creation of 300,000 new jobs and a substantial increase in economic output by 2025 [1]. However, a recent policy brief reveals that employer engagement in skills initiatives, particularly apprenticeships, in this sector shows positive momentum but also highlights the need for increased investment and focused training pathways.
The brief, titled "Creative Industries Employers' Perspectives on Skills Initiatives: 2025," discusses insights from the State of the Nations report [2]. It reveals that while employer awareness of skills interventions and qualifications remains variable, most creative firms rely on recruitment of workers in the middle age bracket (25-49 years old) [3].
Apprenticeships, a valuable route for workforce development, align well with priority skills for the UK economy. However, most apprenticeship engagement currently focuses on sectors like engineering, health, and manufacturing. The creative industries, one of the largest employment sectors, are less prominently featured in national priority skills reports [3][5].
Employer engagement in apprenticeship schemes benefits from structured mentoring and partnerships that often lead to full-time employment, suggesting growing employer recognition of apprenticeships as a valuable route for workforce development [4]. The UK government and sector organizations emphasize the need for apprenticeship funding, including for higher-level qualifications, to be “ringfenced” to support skills development in key sectors, including creative industries [3].
Workforce projections in creative industries indicate a continuing increase in employment demand between 2025 and 2030. However, current estimates do not yet factor in the impact of new technologies such as AI, which may further shape employer needs and skills initiatives [5].
Awareness of apprenticeships is nearly universal, but detailed understanding is limited among creative industries employers [2]. The Creative Industries Sector Plan aims to create a high-quality, responsive, inclusive, and targeted skills system [6]. Building partnerships between industry and training providers can help embed expertise within the skills and training system [7].
Industry bodies can develop and pilot sector-specific initiatives at the local level, providing a basis for continued iteration and refinement of skills programs [8]. The Government's new Industrial Strategy sets a long-term, sector-focused approach to skills, targeting the creative industries [9]. In England, Local Skills Improvement Plans can serve to further develop existing initiatives such as the British Film Institute's Skills Clusters [10].
The Government's devolution agenda offers opportunities for national and local governments to coordinate efforts and trial tailored skills interventions [11]. Co-design of skills programs is essential to ensure they meet industry requirements and prepare learners for work [12]. Creative industries employers are more likely to recruit graduates to their first job compared with school or college leavers [3].
Despite this, most employers in the sector are unlikely to use apprenticeships in future [3]. Capacity and firm size are the main reasons for not offering placements in the creative industries [13]. Creative industries employers offer work placements more frequently than all industries, but creative industries firms are less likely to offer employment after a placement compared with all sectors [14].
UK and devolved governments are focusing efforts on building better career pathways and opportunities for work-based learning [15]. The policy brief can be cited using the provided DOI, and the underlying data or analysis can be cited separately [16]. Building on these insights, strategic investment, tailored training, and policy support are critical to unlocking the sector’s full potential and meeting future skills demand.
References: [1] Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (2020). Creative Industries Sector Deal. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/creative-industries-sector-deal [2] Nesta (2020). Creative Industries Employers' Perspectives on Skills Initiatives: 2025. Available at: https://doi.org/10.37801/nesta.2020.01 [3] Department for Education (2018). Apprenticeship Levy: Annual Statement of Accounts 2017 to 2018. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-levy-annual-statement-of-accounts-2017-to-2018 [4] Institute for Employment Studies (2018). The impact of mentoring on apprenticeships. Available at: https://www.employment-studies.co.uk/publications/the-impact-of-mentoring-on-apprenticeships [5] Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (2019). Creative Industries Economic Estimates. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/creative-industries-economic-estimates [6] Department for Education (2019). Creative Industries Sector Plan. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/creative-industries-sector-plan [7] Department for Education (2019). Creative Industries Sector Plan: Building Partnerships. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/creative-industries-sector-plan-building-partnerships [8] Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (2019). Creative Industries Sector Deal: Delivery Plan. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/creative-industries-sector-deal-delivery-plan [9] HM Treasury (2017). Industrial Strategy Green Paper. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-strategy-green-paper [10] British Film Institute (2018). Skills Funding Statement 2019 to 2020. Available at: https://www.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi_skills_funding_statement_2019_to_2020.pdf [11] Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (2018). Devolution Deals: A Guide. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/devolution-deals-a-guide [12] Department for Education (2019). Co-designing Skills Programmes. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/co-designing-skills-programmes [13] Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (2019). Creative Industries Sector Deal: Delivery Plan. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/creative-industries-sector-deal-delivery-plan [14] Department for Education (2019). Creative Industries Sector Plan: Building Partnerships. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/creative-industries-sector-plan-building-partnerships [15] Department for Education (2018). Careers Strategy. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/careers-strategy [16] Nesta (2020). Creative Industries Employers' Perspectives on Skills Initiatives: 2025. Available at: https://doi.org/10.37801/nesta.2020.01
- The creative industries, a significant employment sector in the UK, are projected to create 300,000 new jobs and increase economic output by 2025, according to recent analysis.
- Although employer engagement in skills initiatives, particularly apprenticeships, shows positive momentum in the creative industries, there is a need for increased investment and targeted training pathways.
- While employer awareness of skills interventions and qualifications remains variable, most creative firms primarily focus on recruiting workers aged 25-49 years old.
- Apprenticeships, which align well with priority skills for the UK economy, are currently less prominently featured in apprenticeship schemes for the creative industries.
- Employer engagement in apprenticeship schemes can lead to structured mentoring, partnerships, and full-time employment, suggesting growing recognition of apprenticeships as a valuable route for workforce development.
- The Government's new Industrial Strategy aims to create a high-quality, responsive, inclusive, and targeted skills system for creative industries by building partnerships between industry and training providers.
- The Government's devolution agenda and Local Skills Improvement Plans offer opportunities for improved career pathways and work-based learning in the creative industries.
- Although most creative industries employers are aware of apprenticeships, their limited understanding might hinder strategic investment, tailored training, and policy support critical for unlocking the sector’s full potential and meeting future skills demand.
