Culture minister Frazer promises a million more creative jobs
Everyone can stop worrying about AI taking all those jobs away, UK culture secretary Lucy Frazer (below) is promising a million more jobs in creative industries – worth £50m annually to the economy – by 2030. So she’d better get her skates on.
The UK government, which has been getting stick from all sides for its lack of a so-called “industrial strategy” says these jobs will focus on expanding “clusters” of specialist companies in different parts of the country in sectors including gaming and film.
Frazer will tell the Deloitte and Enders media and telecoms conference this morning that the government “can do more tangible things to support our creatives.” As ever, though, there’s a warning about increased global competition: “We cannot afford to be complacent.”
She will also promise that the government will support skills, ranging from music and extracurricular activities for primary school children to boot camps and apprenticeships for those seeking jobs or returning to the workforce (lots of people haven’t after covid.)
The creative industries, are, indeed, a pillar of the economy with advertising exports of £15m (and £12m of imports.) The obvious way to help is backing for start-ups and scale-ups but this is a fraught area. Tax breaks for people and companies investing in these might be better although they always attract more than their fair share of rogues and scoundrels (often abetted by the City of London’s finest.)