Sector Qualifications Strategy - Creative & Cultural Skills
Continued...
There are 74,6401 employers and approximately 676,706 people working in the sector which includes around 140,000 freelancers and sole traders working across the commercial, not-for-profit, subsidised and charity sectors. There are a wide range of specialist and general roles within the creative and cultural sector including many traditional craft and artistic roles (often niche), transferable roles (such as venue management or producer) which apply to some or all sub-sectors, as well as more general functions in common with other sectors like management and Information Technology (IT).
A key industry feature is the high number of micro-businesses, with 87% employing 10 people or less, while the freelance and self-employed combined number 281,330. Of those working in the creative and cultural industries in the UK 88% work in England and 24% are based in London. The distribution of employment opportunities is therefore unevenly spread across the UK.
Creative & Cultural Skills was licensed in 2005 and only published the Creative Blueprint, its Sector Skills Agreement (SSA) in July 2008. It has, therefore, been developing its Sector Qualifications Strategy (SQS) alongside the process of completing its SSA.