Unveiling the Skills Crisis in the U.K's Creative Sectors
Discrepancies Between Required and Possessed Skills in the Creative Sector of the UK
The boom in the U.K's creative industries has landed them a spot in the government's Industrial Strategy as a top priority sector. However, education and skills systems have lagged, causing a widening skill gap between the workforce and what employers demand. This is the primary finding of the new report 'Skills Deficits in the U.K's Creative Industries,' published today by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (Creative PEC) as part of their flagship 'State of the Nations' series.
The report offers new insights from official labour market information (LMI) sources, examining employers' perspectives on the state and patterns of skill mismatches within the sector. It sets the stage for a more in-depth 'skills audit' launching later this month, focusing on the skills the creative industries need to harness their future growth potential. The report aims to provide actionable insights to guide Skills England's upcoming skills assessment for the creative industries and help shape investment and provision for the sector as part of developing the Creative Industries Sector Plan aligned to the government's new Industrial Strategy, Invest 2035.
Heather Carey, Co-Director of Work Advance, who produced the report for the Creative PEC, comments:
"Inadequate skill sets are stifling innovation in the U.K's creative industries. As AI, technological advancements, and other global megatrends drive continuous change in the knowledge, skills, and competencies required in the workplace, our skills system must become more agile and adaptive to industry needs. This must be accompanied by sufficient investment from creative employers and workers in upskilling and reskilling to ensure workforce skills remain relevant, now and in the future."
Key report findings include:
- 65% of 'hard-to-fill' vacancies in the creative industries are due to skill shortages—twice as many as those across all sectors.
- Creative industries employers are more likely to report experiencing skills shortages for higher-skilled roles, with 78% facing such deficiencies in the three highest occupations, compared to 31% across all industries.
- Creative industries employers are more prone to delaying the development of new products or services due to the skills shortages they face.
- Skills gaps among the existing creative industries workforce are on the rise, with nearly 60,000 workers not fully competent in their roles in 2022—an increase of 15,000 workers since 2017.
- Skills gaps caused by technological advancements and the introduction of new technology (including but not limited to AI) are a particular challenge for creative businesses.
Professor Hasan Bakhshi, Director, Creative PEC adds:
"The creative industries, a priority sector for the government, are experiencing skill mismatches like other sectors, mirroring broader challenges in U.K education and skills. However, we need more than just a system change in U.K schools, technical education, universities, continuous professional development, and career pathways to allow the creative economy to reach its growth potential."
The report is the latest in the Creative PEC's State of the Nations series, which aims to provide solid data and evidence to inform policies supporting the creative industries. The series covers the entire United Kingdom, with regular reports published biannually over the five years of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funding. The themes, along with their corresponding Research Consortium Partners, are:
- R&D, Innovation, and Clusters (University of Sussex)
- Internationalization (Newcastle University)
- Arts, Culture, and Heritage (University of Sheffield)
- Education, Skills, and Talents (Work Advance)
The report was authored by our consortium partners at Work Advance:
- Heather Carey, Director of Work Advance
- Lesley Giles, Director of Work Advance
- Professor Dave O'Brien, Professor of Cultural and Creative Industries at The School of Arts, Languages, and Cultures, University of Manchester
Citation: If the information in this report is used in any subsequent research and/or publications, please cite as follows: Giles, L., Carey, H. and O'Brien, D. (2025) 'Skills Deficits in the U.K's Creative Industries'. Creative PEC State of the Nations Research Series. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.14733687. ISBN: 978-0-7017-0283-0.
The report was designed by Mike Green at Green Doe Ltd.
Authors
- Heather Carey, Director of Work Advance View All Posts
- Lesley Giles, Director of Work Advance View All Posts
- Professor Dave O'Brien, Professor of Cultural and Creative Industries at The School of Arts, Languages, and Cultures at The University of Manchester View All Posts
The creative industries face a crippling skills deficiency, which threatens their potential for growth. Addressing these challenges through targeted investment in education, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and policy support could unlock the sector's full potential, benefiting both the economy and the workforce.
- The government has prioritized the creative industries in its Industrial Strategy, yet education and skills systems have not kept pace, leading to a persistent skill deficit.
- The new report 'Skills Deficits in the U.K's Creative Industries' reveals that 65% of hard-to-fill vacancies in the creative sectors are due to skill shortages, twice as many as across all sectors.
- Creative industries employers are more likely to report skills gaps in higher-skilled roles, with 78% facing deficiencies in the top three occupations compared to 31% across all industries.
- Due to skills shortages, creative industries employers are slowing down the development of new products or services.
- Skills gaps among the existing creative industries workforce are increasing, with nearly 60,000 workers struggling with competency in 2022—an increase of 15,000 workers since 2017.
- Technological advancements and the adoption of new technology, including AI, are causing significant skills challenges for creative businesses.
- Heather Carey, Director of Work Advance, emphasizes the need for a more agile and adaptive skills system to match the changing demands of the workplace brought about by technology and global trends.
- The Creative PEC's State of the Nations series aims to provide solid data and evidence to inform policies supporting the creative industries, covering the entire United Kingdom across five years of Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funding.
- The report was authored by consortium partners at Work Advance, with contributions from Heather Carey, Lesley Giles, and Professor Dave O'Brien.
- The creative industries' growth potential could be greatly enhanced through targeted investment in education, diversity initiatives, and policy support, benefiting both the economy and the workforce.
