University News Last updated 15 January 2015
The UK needs to work hard to keep up its status as a global leader in the creative industries, were claims made by John Mathers, CEO of the Design Council, today in Birmingham.
“We’re creating more jobs than ever before but graduates need to work hard to ensure we keep up the momentum of the UK being the first port of call for new creative talent”, said John as he received an honorary degree at a Birmingham City University graduation ceremony this morning (Thursday 15 January).
New figures published earlier this week by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) revealed that the UK’s creative industries were worth a record £76.9bn to the UK economy in 2013, accounting for 1.71 million jobs.
“The job descriptions for roles in the creative industries are changing on a daily basis and we need to keep in touch with that. We’re seeing the creative sector leap ahead of all the other industries in the UK, growing faster than any other, with it now being as big as the financial services sector.
“Graduates are going into the sector at a really exciting time and this year looks set to be a bumper year. We have to make sure that our education institutions have the very best teachers, who know what’s going on in the real world and recognise that universities are a great place to foster and develop our fast-growing reputation as an ideas nation.”
With over thirty years’ experience in the brand and design industry, John has successfully led a number of marketing, brand and design consultancies in the UK and internationally. John joined the Design Council in 2012 following an International CEO role at the Holmes & Marchant group.