Insights Report: Business Leaders in the Artistic Fields Share Opinions on Skills Development Programs: 2025 Vision
The UK's Creative Industries Sector Plan, unveiled recently, aims to enhance employer engagement and address broader training pathway needs in the creative sectors. The plan, which focuses on sector-specific skills initiatives, industry-led initiatives, and flexible learning models, is expected to significantly improve the talent pipeline and support lifelong learning.
One of the key strategies for improving employer engagement involves sector-focused training initiatives such as apprenticeships, Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs), and T-Levels. Encouraging industry partners to lead in developing training pathways ensures that skills development aligns with sector needs, particularly in fields like film, theatre, and live events where technical skills are crucial.
Employers have called for more flexible, modular learning approaches that combine practical experience with theoretical knowledge. To address this, the plan promotes flexible learning models that cater to the needs of mid-career and senior professionals seeking to upskill or reskill.
To broaden training pathways, the plan aims to create a skills system that is inclusive and responsive to employer needs. This includes ensuring that training is accessible to freelancers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are significant contributors to the creative industries. Strengthening partnerships between education providers and industry is essential for developing clear professional development pathways that combine technical and soft skills.
Strengthening industry engagement involves establishing new forums and councils to drive skills development. The establishment of a Creative Sector Skills Forum will facilitate collaboration between industry partners and government to address sector-specific skills challenges. A Digital Skills Council will focus on digital skills development, ensuring that the creative industries remain competitive in a rapidly changing technological landscape.
The plan also leverages devolution in skills development, encouraging active participation from devolved governments to tailor skills initiatives to regional needs. By leveraging devolution, skills training can be more effectively targeted at regional growth areas, enhancing economic development and job creation in specific creative sectors.
Despite the potential benefits, creative industries employers recruit young people (under 25) and older people (50+) at a lower rate compared to other sectors. Only a minority of creative industries employers had recruited education leavers in the past 2-3 years. Most employers in the creative industries are unlikely to use apprenticeships in future, with creative industries firms less likely to offer employment after a placement compared with all sectors.
The Growth and Skills Levy offers policy makers a chance to explore how to better leverage employer investment in skills and ensure flexibility. The insights provided around challenges with apprenticeship provision can be used to more effectively customise the forthcoming Growth and Skills Levy. The policy brief, Creative Industries Employers' Perspectives on Skills Initiatives: 2025, provides valuable insights into creative employers' experiences of sector-focused and work-based skills initiatives.
The creative industries have experienced significant growth over the past decade amid rapid technological change and structural shifts like an ageing population. Recognition of core industry partners, including professional and trade bodies, can help strengthen employer engagement in the skills system.
Expanding vocational and technical pathways for learners is an important way to broaden access to job opportunities in the creative industries. Awareness of Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) is very low across the creative industries and wider economy. Improving coordination of publicly regulated training (like apprenticeships) and industry-regulated programmes (such as occupational licensing and accreditation schemes used in journalism) may enhance engagement.
The Government's new Industrial Strategy focuses on a long-term, sector-focused approach to skills, aiming to boost opportunity and support economic growth in the creative industries. Government-backed surveys can help policy makers understand where employers are on their engagement journey and target awareness-raising campaigns.
In conclusion, the Creative Industries Sector Plan offers a promising roadmap for improving the skills and training landscape in the UK's creative industries. By focusing on sector-specific initiatives, industry-led initiatives, flexible learning models, inclusivity, partnerships, and regional tailoring, the plan aims to create a high-quality, responsive, inclusive, and targeted skills system to meet the needs of sector employers.
- The UK's Creative Industries Sector Plan emphasizes sector-specific skills initiatives, such as apprenticeships, HTQs, and T-Levels, as a key strategy to improve employer engagement.
- To cater to the needs of mid-career and senior professionals in the creative sectors, the plan promotes flexible learning models that combine practical experience with theoretical knowledge.
- The plan strives to create an inclusive and responsive skills system, making training accessible to freelancers and SMEs, which are significant contributors to the creative industries.
- To drive skills development, there are plans to establish new forums like the Creative Sector Skills Forum and Digital Skills Council, fostering collaboration between industry partners and government.
- Devolution in skills development is being leveraged to tailor regional skills initiatives, enhancing economic development and job creation in specific creative sectors.
- Employers in the creative industries recruit fewer young people (under 25) and older people (50+) compared to other sectors, making it crucial to understand their perspectives on skills initiatives.
- The Government's Industrial Strategy focuses on a long-term, sector-focused approach to skills, aiming to boost opportunity and support economic growth in the creative industries.
- By focusing on sector-specific initiatives, industry-led initiatives, flexible learning models, inclusivity, partnerships, and regional tailoring, the Creative Industries Sector Plan seeks to create a high-quality, responsive, inclusive, and targeted skills system for the creative industries.
