Universities UK highlights education’s place in creative industries

Universities UK has published a report highlighting the importance of education in supporting the creative industries and the UK economy as a whole.

The report – Creating Prosperity: The role of higher education in driving the UK’s creative economy – says economic recovery can be aided by the creative industries, which has been highlighted as one of four sectors with the greatest potential to offer support.

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are said to be ‘inextricably linked’ with creativity according to the report, which states that ‘successful knowledge economies need strength in both’.

The creative industries employs over 1 million people in the UK, with a further 800,000 employed in creative businesses outside the creative sector.

It is worth £60bn to the economy and seven per cent of the UK GDP is accounted for by the sector which has shown consistent above average growth for a decade, the report states.   

Sustained contribution with continued investment – through education – ‘will become increasingly important to the economic recovery’ it finds.

The suggestion is made that higher education has a key role to play in setting an agenda for delivering highly skilled workers who can grow the creative economy by challenging current practise, developing new solutions and opportunities and working across disciplines.

The report points out that a number of universities operate as regional hubs for innovation and engage in supporting activity to encourage more graduate start-ups.

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