Apprenticeships in the Creative Sector report
Securing a future for technical and professional apprenticeships and skills in the creative sector
The UK’s creative industries are a vital driver of economic growth, contributing over £124 billion to the economy and employing 2.4 million people. This rapid demand for skills has led to reported skills shortages across multiple areas.
The lack of available and relevant apprenticeships which can deliver the technical and professional skills demanded by the creative sector through apprenticeship training pathways are very limited at present.
In understanding how the Labour Government might approach and take forward apprenticeships and the broader skills agenda for the creative sector, as well implementing the proposed changes to the ‘Apprenticeship Levy’ to a broader ‘Growth and Skills Levy’, Birmingham City University (BCU) and the University of the Arts London (UAL) came together in the Autumn of 2024, and hosted a number of roundtable workshops focused on exploring solutions to drive apprenticeship (and skills) growth in this key UK economic sector.
Aims
This report aims to:
- Investigate how apprenticeships contribute to widening participation in creative education.
- To assess how apprenticeships support progression routes into and through the creative industries.
- To identify the benefits and challenges of apprenticeships for apprentices and employers.
- To examine how apprenticeships can address skills gaps and labour market needs.
- To provide recommendations for strengthening apprenticeship provision.
Findings:
Key findings:
- The creative sector needs to undergo a culture change and be better supported to embrace apprenticeships and skills programmes.
- An Apprenticeship and skills first approach could drive activity and starts on a number of types of programme.
- Drive investment in the right apprenticeships, but this must be done alongside far more flexible high-quality skills solutions at higher levels.
- Demand needs to be aggregated (regional and sub-sector).
Recommendations:
This report offers the following six recommendations to drive greater innovation and investment:
- Develop a Creative Skills Observatory via Skills England to better understand, inform and act on skills demands and provision in the sector.
- Harness creative industry clusters and corridors to drive coordinated approaches to supporting the coordination, development and delivering of skills programmes.
- Design and develop technical and professional apprenticeship and skills provision responsive to sub sector, regional and future skills demand
- Focus on supporting high quality provision to deliver technical and professional level creative apprenticeships and broader skills products
- Go further with flexible funding by enabling the Growth and Skills Levy to sustain apprenticeship and other skills provision
- Enable employers (including freelancers) to adopt an ‘Apprenticeship and Skills First’ approach
This report is authored by:
Professor David Mba, Vice Chancellor, Birmingham City University
Professor Zey Suka Bill Dean of Screen, London College of Communication, University of the Arts London
Dr Caroline Sudworth Director, STEM Explored Ltd