Live audience numbers are growing, production output has never been higher and the theatre, festivals, film, TV, VFX and games industries are enjoying continued growth and prosperity, year after year.

The creative industries as a whole are now worth £101.5 billion per year to the UK economy, and more than 3.17 million people across the country are employed in creative roles, an increase of 30% since 2011. The sector is growing twice as fast as the economy as a whole, and 87% of creative industries jobs are at low or no risk of automation in the future.

UK jobs in the creative industries are expected to grow by 5.3% and double the average rate of employment, which will increase by 2.5%. This means 119,495 new jobs for young people by 2024

A growing number of creative roles require specialist, practical, technical skills and experience – something that traditional higher education courses simply haven’t been able to deliver. 

The result is that today, employers are struggling to fill creative roles across the industry – citing a lack of ‘job-ready’ applicants with the right experience. 

Nearly a quarter (24%) of creative and cultural businesses struggle to recruit for particular roles, with more than a third saying that this is due to a lack of the right skills.

The industry consensus is that there is a real need for more occupational pathways into the industry, as employers begin to recognise the value of practical training and apprenticeships.

The National College Creative Industries has been founded by a wide range of the UK's leading creative businesses and is here to fulfil that need – providing students and apprentices with the relevant skills, knowledge and experience they need to take advantage of industry opportunities, now and in the future.

Our curriculum has been designed in collaboration with our founding employers to provide the specialist hands-on training in the technical skills they need. On successful completion of your course, you'll be ready to work with leading industry employers.