£950k creative careers scheme for under-represented young people launched

A new Creative Careers Programme has been launched by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) aimed at giving opportunities in creative industries to young people from under-represented backgrounds.

Led by ScreenSkills, the programme will target 53 priority areas across the UK, including Slough, Swindon, Dagnham, Barking, Wolverhampton and Rotherham. 

Theatres will be part of the scheme, with the delivery partners including Get Into Theatre, One Dance UK, UK Music, UK Theatre and the Society of London Theatre.

Young people will be offered career advice from advisers and a dedicated careers website to help them break into the creative industries. 

Seetha Kumar, ScreenSkills chief executive, said: ‘It is difficult to contemplate a career you don’t even know about, which is why we are delighted to be working with so many innovative partners to ensure we can secure a strong and inclusive workforce that meets the demands of our brilliant, fast-paced sectors.’

DCMS has also announced a fund of £17.5 million to go to selected creative business outside of London in a new programme coined the Creative Growth Programme. 

Creative industries minister Julia Lopez said: ‘From product design and video games to music and film, the creative industries are a stellar UK success story.

‘Today’s plans will help get more creative businesses off the ground so they can spread jobs and wealth and help more people, including those from under-represented backgrounds, break into these world-class sectors.’

Greater Manchester, the West of England, Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Kent, Essex, East and West Sussex and the North East of England will each receive grant funds of £1.27 million, and businesses in each area can apply for an additional £7 million.