Manifesto: Creative Skills & Education

One year ago, Creative UK launched a Manifesto for change. ‘Our Creative Future’ was published just months before the UK General Election that would bring about a new Labour Government. 

So much has happened in that time, but one thing has remained constant: Creative UK has been using its voice to shout loudly about the issues we laid out as priority – and those which matter to our members, our partners, the businesses we work with and invest in, and the sector.  

So what, if anything has moved on in the last year? In this blog series, we’ll be posting about each priority area from our Manifesto in turn, taking a deep dive into what we said, why it matters, and what has happened so far. 

First up, we’re focusing on Skills and Education.  

We said: “Grow the workforce of tomorrow by prioritising creative skills and education”. 

With the right support, it’s estimated that the Cultural and Creative Industries could create an additional one million new jobs across the UK by 2030. To meet this target, we need to invest in the workforce of tomorrow and strengthen creative representation in schools, further education and higher education.  

This means reviewing the curriculum, reprioritising creative subjects and increasing funding to schools for creative programmes. It means changing accountability frameworks, and including creative and cognitive skills as a metric by which educational excellence and outcomes are measured. And it means increasing the number of approved industry-led training courses such as apprenticeships and Skills Bootcamps, and ensuring the Apprenticeship Levy’s accessible, affordable qualifications work well for industry, education, employees and freelancers alike.  

It’s vital that, in addition to being skilled, the workforce of tomorrow is diverse. We need to collectively support access for people from all backgrounds so that social mobility accelerates.  

All school pupils should be provided with subsidised cultural experiences – such as visits to museums, theatres, heritage sites, galleries, concerts and performances – at least once a year, and have regular access to libraries.  

We need a long-term, public-facing campaign to change attitudes and perceptions about creativity, and creative careers. Everyone is creative. 

Key developments: 

Labour launched an independent review of curriculum and assessment in schools within weeks of taking office, chaired by Becky Francis. Its interim report (March 2025) acknowledged that the English Baccalaureate performance measure may be ‘constraining’ students choices and limiting access to arts and vocational subjects. Final recommendations due in Autumn.  

In March 2025, the government announced plans to launch a ‘one stop shop’ to boost creative education. The National Centre for Arts and Music Education is set to launch in 2026. It will promote arts opportunities (via careers guidance and a national network of Music Hubs), support teacher training with new online CPD resources and foster school partnerships with cultural organisations.   

Skills England has begun to consult on the Growth and Skills Levy – the aim of which is to give businesses the flexibility they need to train their workforce and deliver growth. The new initiative will allow businesses to fund apprenticeships and training programmes to develop their workforce. 

Meanwhile, £3 million has been earmarked to expand the Creative Careers Programme in schools as a means of broadening and diversifying the talent pipeline to the creative industries. 

Creative UK is proud to partner on Discover! Creative Careers. Last autumn, we delivered a rich campaign across our social channels, highlighting the value of creative pathways. 

So how do creatives feel? 

We asked our members, The Advertising Association. They said: 

“Apprenticeships are widely recognised within the advertising industry as a unique and valuable tool for increasing the diversity of talent—addressing socio-economic barriers and breaking down existing barriers for those trying to both start and advance their careers. 

“Employment outside of London has increased from 54% of advertising industry employees in 2017 to 60% of employees in 2024, and we’ve developed major regional hubs in the North-West and Yorkshire and Humber (12% and 8% of national employees, respectively), driving growth across the UK’s regions. 

“Employers in those regional clusters are leveraging apprenticeships to support regional talent development, which then leads to regional employment. This focus on apprenticeships in the regions is part of our industry’s success story, with major industry employers, like ITV in Manchester and Channel 4 in Leeds, utilising flagship apprenticeship programmes. 

“The Creative Industries Minister has quoted that ‘talent is everywhere’, but opportunity is not. We see regional apprenticeship programmes as bridging that gap and playing a large part in making sure that people can both learn and work in any region of the UK. Not only are apprenticeships an effective means of developing regional talent, but they can have dramatic effects on retention, with 80% of employers reporting improved retention rates due to apprenticeship schemes. 

“Fundamentally, we need to make sure that our people are looked after in the long run and that they can develop a career in the region they choose. Apprenticeships and upskilling programmes are key to letting employees know that they are truly valued. The new Government’s promise of reforming the apprentice levy into a Growth and Skills Levy was warmly welcomed, and engagement with Skills England has been positive.  

“However, we’re urging policymakers to be ambitious and help us take on more apprentices so that we can continue our regional growth. Most importantly, the Growth and Skills Levy should give employers greater flexibility in how they spend levy funds, specifically by allowing funds to go towards the cost of taking on or supporting an apprentice. 

“It is worth remembering that advertising supports over 4 million jobs across the UK economy—11% of all UK employment—and that 4% of our industry are apprentices. Ambitious levy reform, unlocking the freedom for employers to deploy their levy effectively, will be vital to growing this number further.”