The creative industries are of vital importance to the UK economy, accounting for £115.9 billion in 2019. It’s estimated that film and high-end television production alone – one of the UK’s fastest growing industries – will require between 15,130 and 20,770 additional full-time equivalent employees by 2025.
But there are major issues which need to be addressed if the screen industries are to continue to prosper. These include not only the loss of skills as older workers, women and carers leave the sector, but the over-abundance of screen sector workers from upper-middle class backgrounds.
A new report from charity the Sutton Trust has found that young people aged 35 and under in the creative industries are around four times less likely to be from a working class than a middle-class background.
