Lack of creative careers awareness

A third of young adults want to work in the creative industries but only one in four are told about careers in the sector at school, a study has found.

Research by Ravensbourne University London found that a lack of knowledge about roles available as well as a perception that the industry is hard to get into are deterring young adults from a creative career.

The university said the findings highlight a "lack of clear direction from secondary education as to the opportunities available".

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The research, which comes two months after the publication of the government's Creative Industries Sector Vision, found 17% of the 1,000 young people questioned are employed in the creative industries, with a further 26% actively seeking employment in the sector and 33% expressing an interest in working in it.

However less than 25% of respondents said they been recommend this career path by school, or been given any guidance from school, college or university on how to get into the sector.

Meanwhile 42% said they wouldn’t consider a creative career due to the perception that it’s too hard to join the industry, and 37% said they are worried there won’t be many creative jobs in the future, due to AI.

'Clear disconnect'

Andy Cook, Vice Chancellor at Ravensbourne, said: “The government's Creative Sector Vision sets out a 2030 objective for stronger skills and careers pathways, but our creative industries need talent now.

"It's important to let school leavers know that there are opportunities available in these sectors and to work with creative business to harness their talent.”

“We see a large number of people enter the industry wanting to become film directors or fashion designers but they are unaware of the huge number of creative roles available within and beyond the creative industries.”

Cook said there is a "clear disconnect" between education, information and the needs of the industry that "needs to be resolved"aro.

"It’s time that we changed the old narrative about Mickey Mouse degrees, to champion the skills needed for one of the fasted growing sectors of our economy," he added.

Through the Creative Industries Sector Vision the government wants to grow the economic value of the sector by £50bn by 2030 and create a million new jobs.

The majority of the investment attached to the plans will go to supporting the next wave of the Creative Industries Clusters programme, which aims to drive innovation and create products and experiences such as immersive tech and AI that can be marketed around the world.