Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Growing Demand for Creative Graduates
Recent research shows that creative jobs are central to the UK economy.
The creative sector
According to The British Academy, in their 2020 report ‘Qualified for the Future’, over 900,000 new jobs will be generated in the creative industries between 2013 and 2030. Considering that 58% of the UK workforce holds an undergraduate degree, this increase is great news for creative graduates.
These new jobs will add to the £115.9bn that was contributed to the UK economy by creative industries in 2021, greater than the automotive, aerospace, life sciences and oil and gas industries combined. This massive economic contribution and job growth is a result of the fact that the size of this sector grew at five times the rate of the wider economy in 2021.
The UK Economy and demand for creative jobs
The above figures are just part of the wider trend which is seeing an increase in the number of creative jobs across the UK economy. Creative roles now make up a significant proportion of the government’s Shortage Occupation List, with the demand for creative skills being significant across all industries. In fact, one in three creative jobs are now in sectors outside of the creative industries.
Why creative graduates?
Two of the significant qualities consistently identified as desirable by graduate employers across the UK are problem solving and critical thinking skills – two things which are at the heart of all creative degrees.
“Designers spend their lives solving problems. That’s what the job is all about. Through their education and training they learn creative, critical and practical skills.”
- Renowned designer and UK Business Ambassador, Sir John Sorrel
Combine this with an ability to apply these skills in creating and communicating new and innovative ideas, it is easy to understand why Creative Arts & Design is one of the top 10 degree subjects when it comes to UK wage growth.
Leeds School of Arts
It is crucial that current students have the opportunity to take advantage of this growth within the creative sector and demand for creative graduates. This is why Leeds School of Arts places careers and employability training at the core of all of our courses – offering advice, workshops, work placements and more, in conjunction with the Beckett Careers Team. When talking about the importance of networking and experience opportunities across the school, Professor Lisa Stansbie, Dean of Leeds School of Arts said, “We have Leeds based, national and international partnerships to enable students learning to be enriched by industry collaboration”.
"My course was focused on preparing us for what the industry is like and there were lots of networking opportunities through trips or guest speakers that gave us direct connections to people working in the industry."
- Harry Lock, BA (Hons) Filmmaking - 2019
Conclusion
Creative graduates are entering an economy that is seeing increasing demand for their skills in both the UK's world-leading creative industries and businesses across every sector. Leeds School of Arts is focussed on allowing our students and graduates to take full advantage of this.
