The creative industries in UK plc: the third sector, education and training

It is good to read that the government is providing for 5,000 new apprenticeships in film, fashion, music and design as part of a new strategy for the creative industries.

I’ve been doing some work with third sector organisations recently – many of which are well placed to assist this push on education and training for the creative industries. I have learned a lot about how creative industries are a key element in the British economy.

Research by the think tank Demos has found that the creative industries employ 1.8 million people in the UK. The creative industries are definitely not a passenger in UK plc – they are a driver. Sadly this is not widely understood. (I once had to explain how the creative industries were as much "wealth generating" as manufacturing industry to a documentary maker who asked me how this could be!)