The CEA has offered its full support for a cross-cutting report to Government on what more should be done to meet the skills needs of the UK creative industries.

The report, produced by the Creative Industries Council Skillset Skills Group, sets out an ambitious agenda for both Government and the creative industry sectors themselves, including proposals that:

  • the Sector Skills Councils and trade organisations should create an online learning network for employers and individuals to allow small firms to coordinate shared training needs and enable a ‘skills swaps’ market place;
  • the ICT syllabus in schools should be reformed to ensure computer programming and other creative subjects are properly embedded in the classroom, and computer science, arts and/or a creative subject (music, film, media, and photography) are included in the National Curriculum as core subjects and as options within the English Baccalaureate;
  • a group apprenticeship approach should be developed for creative media as well as fashion and textile industries;
  • the Skillset Tick, a kite mark scheme, should be extended across the sector;
  • the impact on the creative industries of all proposed regulatory changes in education and skills should be considered.

The report was submitted for consideration last week to the Creative Industries Council (CIC), established by the Government to help steer policy affecting a range of creative sectors including not just the film industry but also others such as music, computer games, fashion, design, TV and publishing.

At a meeting of the CIC attended by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Business Secretary Vince Cable as well as Films Minister Ed Vaizey, the proposals of the Group were unanimously endorsed.

Commenting on the report, CEA Chief Executive Phil Clapp, who represented the film industry on the Group, said:

“The Skills Group’s report sets out an ambitious but – to my mind – realistic strategy for skills which will help ensure the continued growth and prosperity not just of the creative industries, but also by extension of UK plc.

The importance of these sectors to the UK economy should not be under-estimated. Figures released at the end of 2011 showed that collectively the creative industries directly supported over 1.5 million jobs – that’s over 5 per cent of the UK workforce – and accounted for almost 11 per cent of UK exports. And all of those numbers are increasing.

We can only sustain that growth by nurturing a skilled and engaged workforce. What the report shows us is that these industries are ready to rise to that challenge.”

The final report of the Group – which was chaired by Skillset CEO Dinah Caine – can be downloaded from the Creative Industries Council Skillset Skills Group website.

Further details on the Creative Industries Council can be found at the Gov.UK website.