Creative industries
The UK Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) has defined the creative industries as “those industries which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property.” It has grouped the creative industries into the following sub-sectors:
- advertising and marketing.
- architecture.
- crafts.
- design and designer fashion.
- film, TV, radio and photography.
- museums, galleries and libraries.
- music, performing and visual arts.
- publishing.
- IT, software and computer services (includes video games).
in 2023, in terms of gross value added the creative industries contributed around £124 billion to the economy, around 5% of total UK economic output, with IT, software and computing services contributing 40% of creative industries output.
In January 2025 the government announced a £60 million boost for the creative industries “to turbocharge growth”. In May 2025 the Skills England Sector skills needs assessment was published following analysis and engagement with sectors on growth and skills offers for 10 priority sectors, which included the creative industries. They note that employing 2.4 million people in 2023, creative industries are major economic and cultural force, growing faster than the national economy.
The report also notes however that the UK creative industries face critical skills shortages, with 33% of vacancies caused by skills gaps, in soft, technical, and advanced IT skills, especially in professional roles. A sector where informal hiring and project-based work may be obscuring its true demand. The sector is prone to evolving as technology develops making "fusion" skills which blend creativity and tech increasingly important.
Barriers to entry to the sector include underused apprenticeships, and reliance on higher education which limit workforce diversity. Other challenges include poor job security, gender imbalance, and low training investment. Stakeholders have been calling for better upskilling in digital and green tech, lifelong learning, flexible training models, and stronger education-industry links to support sustainable talent development.
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