Working together to develop the current and future skills of the sector.

Connecting for success

Creative and Digital West of England Local Sector

Skills Statement 2018

Local Sector Skills Statements provide up-to-date market

intelligence from industry sectors; celebrating the notable

achievements and expertise of businesses and education in the

region compared to regional and national policy and research.

They provide insights into: the skills challenges faced by

businesses in 2017, possible solutions, and potential partnerships

for stakeholders to collaborate in the region. The reports inform

key priorities for: investment in training, education, careers

advice and professional development in the West of England.

Produced and written by Business West

Business West is working in partnership with the West of England Combined Authority, West of England LEP and the region’s universities

and colleges through the Western Training Provider Network. The intelligence gathered feeds into the West of England skills strategy.

Creative and Digital Local Sector Skills Statement 2018

The creative and digital sector in the West of

England is renowned for its world class pioneering

work with global expertise across: animation, natural

history production, VR/AR, digital publishing and

software development.

Some of the UK’s most highly respected and award-

winning businesses started in the West including:

Aardman Animations, BBC Natural History Unit, the

Yogscast, IMDb, Icon Films, Future Publishing and

Nomensa. Bristol and Bath has also attracted many

major international and national companies locating

their head offices in the city, particularly where they

can get access to a digital talent base.

Research by Tech Nation 2018, the UK government-

backed organisation which helps to promote the

growth of the digital tech sector, reveals that the

average turnover per worker in Bristol and Bath

technology companies (£320,000) is greater than

both Reading (£234,000) and London (£201,000)

making it the most productive technology region

in the UK. It is estimated that there are over 19,000

jobs in the West of England, which is 11% over the

national average for this sector. (7)

Accessing the right talent is important, the recent

Creative Industries Federation Report stating that

creative occupations will grow by 5.3% over the

The creative and digital industry continues to put the West of England firmly on the map and it is widely recognised as having two of the nine creative centres outside of London (1). Nationally, this sector contributes £9.8bn(1) GVA with a key hub in Bristol & Bath.

% of Total Jobs in Industry Group (2017)

Source: (7) Data provided by Emsi - economic modelling 2018

5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0% 40.0% 40.0%0.0%

35.0%

2.7%

7.4%

7.2%

6.9%

5.2%

3.9%

3.9%

2.8%

16.9%

8.2%

Other (inc. Managers & Proprietors, Draughtspersons & Related Architectural Technicians, Production Managers...)

Business, Research and Administrative Professionals

Information Technology and Telecommunications Professionals

Sales, Marketing and Related Associate Professionals

Media Professionals

Functional Managers and Directors

Artistic, Literary and Media Occupations

Architects, Town Planners and Surveyors

Printing Trades

Design Occupations

Other Administrative Occupations

next six years, double the UK economy average.

This encouraging backdrop of growth is tempered

by challenges as wide ranging as: Brexit (30%

of the animation talent base are E.U. nationals),

wage inflation for hard to reach talent and rapidly

changing environments for subsectors as diverse as

High End Television, software and digital publishing.

In this swiftly changing environment, leaders will

need to ensure they are engaging talent at all levels

of the business and creating the environments that

will inspire creativity and collaboration to capitalise

on new opportunities and remain dynamic in the

global market. With low unemployment in the

region, businesses should look to identify and

develop their existing workforce in order to address

future skills challenges; our survey showed only 7.2%

of businesses know they can use apprenticeships for

upskilling of talent so there is still a way to go.

Skills West industry workshops have also repeatedly

demonstrated the need for businesses and

education to be better connected and the value of

industry placements for young people. There are

encouraging signs of this beginning to happen with

projects such as the Bristol VR lab, Immersive Lab,

Engine Shed on tour and at the Bottle Yard (now the

3rd largest production space outside London) but

more activity is required.

The Bottle Yard Studios continues to grow and

develop attracting high-profile projects. Crew

levels are a challenge, especially for 2018-19 with

a number of productions coming into the West.

Wales also continues to need to bolster crew levels

from Bristol crew base, having incentivised large

scale dramas to base there, so the skills challenge is

becoming a South West issue.

This document gives a snapshot of the West of England’s

latest creative and digital talent pool, challenges

to be overcome and activity which is happening to

build a sustainable workforce for the future.

The profile of the region as a key UK centre for

creative production is growing, underpinned by a

strong cultural sector. The differentiating factor is

the combination of Creative and Technology as

“CreaTech”, and the concentration of companies

and entities in the city centres of Bristol and

Bath, plus the development of cluster in North

Somerset at Weston. The sector is dominated

by microbusinesses, so the development of new

pathways to employment starting in Secondary

School remains an issue, but is being addressed

both locally and nationally, with the Creative

Industries Sector Deal defining a Creative Careers

Campaign that will be developed by the Creative

Industries Federation, outreach programmes

being developed by the local universities, and the

continuing development of the SWIFT campus

at Weston College. Both the West of England

Combined Authority and Marvin Rees, Mayor of

Bristol are working directly with the sector on new

initiatives including the BAME 100 and the “Our

City” film competition. And the West of England

Combined Authority’s new digital ambition for the

region will be core to the local industrial strategy,

with the ambition to become the leading smart

region in the UK.

Key Facts A summary of key facts both locally and nationally in this sector

57% of businesses filling out the Business West Skills and Training Survey 2017 currently export their products or services internationally, which is higher than the national average.(6)

Skills West brokered 595 creative and digital employment pledges including careers talks, panels and internships, which illustrates the willingness of the sector to engage with the right mechanism for assessing and delivering apprentices into the workplace, and the recognition that small companies are learning entities in their own right.

The 5 most important skills needed by businesses are: communication; problem solving; numeracy; team working and customer service.(6)

There are 344,000 people employed in creative and digital industries in the South West making up 12.3% of all the creative jobs in the UK (2). They make up a GVA of almost £12bn in Creative, Digital Cultural and Telecoms sectors. (3)

66% of businesses offered training to their staff in 2017. Only 16% feel colleges and universities match their business needs, as employees are generally university-educated. There has been an increase in the amount of in-house training as more businesses cite cost/lack of budget as a reason to not commission external training. (6)

66% of businesses in the cluster employ less than 10 people and 91% have a salary bill of less than £3million so are exempt from the apprenticeship levy.

Figures for new Apprenticeship starts remains stagnant at just over 1% across the South West. (4)

High-level skills required; resilience, self-direction, team working and communication skills.

In 2017 44% of businesses advertised vacancies in the cluster, whilst in the next 12 months 94% expect to remain the same size or grow. 2.3% of businesses expect to get smaller this coming year.(6)

Creative and digital businesses in the West of England are predominantly SMEs (89% under 49 staff).

89%

Notable Achievements Local Sector Skills Achievements in 2017

Bath Digital Festival 2017 ran over six days with 85 events and over 2,500 attendees.

The Stable Creative Hub, the first co-working space for creatives opened up in Weston, North Somerset.

In February 2018 SETsquared (the partnership of the universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey), with bases in Bristol and Bath, was ranked as the top university business incubator in the world.

Skills West hosted a number of industry events in partnership with TechSPARK and at Oi Conference, covering topics such as: the Impact of Data in your Business and the Impact of AI on Talent.

Skills West held an industry roundtable breakfast, in partnership with Creative Bath and City of Bath College: ‘What skills do education providers need to be teaching in order to develop competent, work-ready students?’.

Digital Bristol Week - October 2017, Skills West hosted free events designed to help businesses face a competitive digital future. 200+ people signed up for the events, which included: Open Doors, Google Digital Garage and skills Advice Clinics

TechSPARK launched SHIFT, a programme working with under-represented talent to empower and amplify their voices. Through training, networking and events the participants are supported to speak at major conferences, act as mentors and become board members.

Social Media Week Bristol returned in Feb 2018 with 40 events and over 50 speakers for a week of exciting talks, workshops and panels across the city.

Bristol named a UNESCO City of Film. The bid included input from Watershed, Knowle West Media Centre, Calling The Shots, Aardman Animations, BBC Bristol, Encounters Festival, Bristol Festivals and many more.

Creative Bath have launched the Creative Bath Awards which celebrates creativity in Bath and surrounding areas. Over 180 nominations were received from creatives in the region in 2017.

Bristol Royal Television Society held its annual Futures Fair at Watershed, with the support of 12 local independent production and post production companies providing one-to-one meetings, masterclasses and panels.  More than 140 students and young people signed up.  

The Bottle Yard Studios continues to grow and develop, attracting high-profile projects as well as more permanent tenants. Highlights since summer 2017 include; 2 feature films (The High Window, Hellboy 3), Poldark 4 and Sky Atlantic’s Fortitude.

The Sector Deal with the Creative Industries was published in March 2018 including a programme managed by AHRC for research into clusters. The Bristol Cluster bid led by Professor Jonathan Dovey of UWE.

Bristol VR lab opened, offering a shared workspace to research and develop Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality technology, applications and projects. Partners include: University of Bristol, University of the West of England, Watershed, Opposable Group, Bath Spa University and the BBC.

Skills West supported education providers at a series of events aimed at young people and careers advisers to inform of the sector challenges, needs and landscape. These included the Pathways to Professions advice events, Ambitions+ at SGS College, Bath College Careers Fair, sector-based talks to students at SGS College and dissemination of the local sector skills statements to all colleges in the region.

Bristol Media held the 6th very successful Vision Conference for the creative sector in November 2017 with over 300 delegates attending. They remain active on social media with 32,000 followers on Twitter.

The Bristol & Bath Cultural Destinations project received additional funding from Arts Council England, and is developing Media Bank as part of the project, funded through the West of England LEP.

Skills Priorities for 2018 Priority One

Issue

According to the 2018 Creative Industries Federation Report, by 2024 creative occupations will grow by 5.3%. That is double the projected job growth across the UK economy and an additional 119,495 creative jobs. Nesta’s analysis suggests that with proper investment, the UK could create as many as 1 million new creative jobs by 2030. UK labour market projections show that the rate of growth for both creative and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) occupations will be more than double the average job growth across the whole UK economy. This positive news, however, is not reflected in education. In 2017, entries for GCSEs in creative subjects fell by 47,000 and current entry rates to creative subjects at Key Stage 4 have fallen to the lowest in a decade. Nationally and locally there is need for both better sign posting of qualification routes and soft skills. The Business West Skills and Training Survey 2017 reiterates that building a network both in person and digitally is the most effective way to find a role. The top three recruitment methods are social media (54% of firms), the company’s own website (44%) and word of mouth (36%). This is compared with only 28% using recruitment agencies.

Objectives

Work with industry and the industry networks/bodies to provide current information on the labour market

and careers pathways into the sector that can be shared with schools and further and higher education,

using existing platforms such as Careers Pilot and Careers Near Here.

Encourage CPD and better quality work placements for all ages by working with industry led schemes

and assets in the region such as Bottle Yard and Engine Shed on tour through Skills West ‘Employability’

Programme.

Enable more access to industry specific careers fairs and pathway to professions like: RTS’ Futures Fair,

Social Media week and careers elements of Bristol Digital Week and Bath Digital Festival.

Continue to work with the National Careers Service contract holder and Careers Enterprise Network

Advisers to further develop and improve Labour Market Intelligence (LMI) and ensure that materials are

available to support on-the-ground careers advice and guidance for practitioners as well as careers

advisers.

Improve Careers Education Information Advice and Guidance (CEIAG)

• Reflecting on how the objectives in this section can address equality and diversity.

Skills Priorities for 2018 Priority Two

Issue

Businesses still report considerable challenges, with 43% in the Business West Skills and Training Survey 2017, stating they struggle to fill vacancies, with skilled technical roles (at 69%) being the most challenging. Businesses report the reasons for this being predominantly around a lack of applicants with the right qualifications, experience or motivation.

With reference to education provision, in the same survey only 16% of businesses feel courses meet their needs so clearly there is still work to be done to link education provision to the needs of businesses.  

Objectives

Education and Skills West to explore what specific technical skills are required by the creative and digital

sector that are critical to support growth.

Encourage more employers from the sector to become involved in the co-design of qualifications and

training provision through Skills West programmes and engaging with education directly.

Work with Skills West, Western Training Provider Network and cluster organisations to bring together

industry and education to better inform of the sector challenges, needs and landscape.

Education to raise the awareness of apprenticeship reforms and the support available to businesses

financially to encourage greater take up of local provision. Maintain a close relationship with Creative

Industries Federation on the development of the Creative Careers Campaign for school pupils pre-GCSE.

Improve the quality and responsiveness of local education and training

provision.

Issue

Apprenticeship starts both locally and nationally remain low despite the introduction of new standards, an increase in the types of training and the introduction of the apprenticeship levy in May 2017.

Although almost 40% of businesses offered apprenticeship roles in the last 12 months the Business West Skills and Training Survey 2017 showed only 16% of businesses feel the courses on offer from education providers meet their needs. Last year, across the South West, there were 4,770 apprenticeship starts which is a 1% increase on the previous year, indicating the challenge of growing apprenticeships in the cluster and again raises the question is the current Apprenticeship model the right one for the sector. (4)

Objectives

Consider different models of apprenticeship delivery and funding (for example through the sharing

of larger firm’s apprenticeship levy funds) to increase take up. This matches a commitment from UK

Government in the Creative Industries Sector Deal to “monitor the impact of the Apprenticeship Levy”.

Increase partnerships with: industry, networks, further and higher education to ensure high quality and

relevant apprenticeships and higher apprenticeships suitable for business needs.

Provide clear, accessible apprenticeship advice and guidance to individuals and employers with clear

pathways and entry points.

Education providers to work in partnership with businesses to raise the awareness of apprenticeship

reforms and the financial support available for new starts and upskilling existing staff.

Work with cluster groups and industry networks to raise the profile of apprenticeships to a wider and

more diverse selection of people. For example, through engagement with Babbasa programmes and

High Tech Bristol & Bath’s code clubs with the Somali community.

Skills Priorities for 2018 Priority Three

Increase apprenticeship starts and availability of higher apprenticeships

• Reflecting on how the objectives in this section can address diversity and equality.

Issue

Creative and digital businesses in the West of England are predominantly SMEs (89% under 49 staff) with many being founded by either technical or artistic people building a company around their expertise. In the Business West Skills and Training Survey 2017, 53% of these businesses cited increased leadership skills as a top five required skill for them to grow.

Many of these SMEs prioritise retaining and upskilling their talent with over 62% of businesses offering training to their staff in the last 12 months. However, their size is an often-cited challenge with the top barriers where it wasn’t available, being the cost of training or lack of/reduced budget. In addition, lack of knowledge of available options is a challenge with 73% of businesses saying they have no knowledge of using apprenticeships to upskill staff.

Objectives

Education and Business to work in partnership to provide flexible and cost-effective training for SMEs to

develop staff into roles; to develop leadership, management and IP skills.

Support SMEs in exploring the best use of new apprenticeship standards for both recruitment and

upskilling existing staff, and provide the opportunity for businesses to influence future skills and training

provision. Providing more information on: changes around the apprenticeship levy, age restrictions, new

standards and funding.

Business West through the Skills West programme to provide SMEs with the opportunity to identify skills

requirements to enable growth.

Develop partnerships with: industry, Further and Higher Education, training providers and sector skills

councils to develop and provide higher level apprenticeships for the sector particularly from Level 4

which is key to upskilling existing staff who may already have higher qualifications.

Future Bright, Skills West and other local business engagement programmes to ensure businesses are

aware of the support for in-work training and apprenticeships to upskill their existing workforce and

support in-work progression for all employees. Ensuring best practice and learning is shared between

businesses.

Skills Priorities for 2018 Priority Four

Engage SMEs in the active retention of staff through programmes of skills

development and training to ensure increased productivity and sustainable growth.

• Encouraging SMEs to consider best practice in staff welfare.

Support SMEs to be inclusive and effective in staff recruitment

• Reflecting on how the objectives in this section can address equality and diversity.

• How to build the talent pipeline in the region.

Issue

Diversity and inclusivity continue to be an issue in the creative and digital cluster across areas as wide ranging as ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age, disability and socio-economic background. In the South West women make up only 17% of the talent in the digital cluster. (5) With this higher at 37% across the UK (7) this can still be improved, supported by significant demand for skills and increased activity from groups such as Women’s Tech Hub and Bath Girl Geeks.

According to the Business West Skills and Training Survey 2017, this lack of diversity is seen also in representation in BAME talent with 77% of respondents not employing anyone from a BAME background and just over half having an equality and diversity policy. Organisations such as the Pervasive Media Studio and Babbasa have started to make in-roads in this area but much more work is required.

Objectives

Engage with ‘women in tech and games’ programmes as a priority and consider recruitment practice,

potential workforce and flexible working models. Engage with programmes such as Women’s Tech Hub

returner programme to support engagement from industry.

To champion the creation of entry level roles within the sector through targeted liaison with skills

providers and creative employers for all ages.

Utilise existing networks to develop a ‘bank’ of industry mentors to provide role models to young people

and offer ongoing support to sustain a career. Support programmes such as SHIFT and Stepping up in

their work of providing role models.

Grow and support existing partnerships to develop pathways, workshops and training (linking to national

programmes and funding) for diverse audiences and identify funding to support development and

bursaries for training e.g. DigiMakers, Engine Shed on tour, Babbasa, Rising Arts Agency, JUMP at KWMC,

Digi-local, Grrrl Games Bristol, Women’s Tech Hub and Girl Geeks.

Business West through Skills West programme to encourage Creative and Digital companies to seek

best practice to explore their company culture and the nature of their ‘talent pipeline’ to open recruitment

possibilities for women and under-represented groups.

Skills Priorities for 2018 Priority Five

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Version 2

Reference Documents1) Global Trade Report 2018, Creative Industries Federation https://www.creativeindustriesfederation.com/publications/global-trade-report2) DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates 2017: Employment and Trade https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/ attachment_data/file/640628/DCMS_Sectors_Economic_Estimates_2017_Employment_and_Trade.pdf3) DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates 2016: Regional Gross Value Added (GVA) https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/ uploads/attachment_data/file/689557/DCMS_Sectors_Economic_Estimates_2016_Regional_GVA_report.pdf4) FE data library: apprenticeships, March 2018 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships#apprenticeship-participation5) The Tech Talent Charter (TTC) 2017, Techtalentcharter.co.uk6) Business West Skills and Training Survey 20177) Emsi - economic modelling 2018 courtesy of Prospects Services

Regional Centres of Excellence and ResearchBath Centre for Digital Entertainment

Bath Innovation Centre

Bristol & Bath by Design

Pervasive Media

SETsquared–Engine Shed

Centre for the Analysis of Motion, Entertainment Research and Applications (CAMERA)

Bristol VR lab

Pervasive Media Studio

Key Training ProvidersBath Spa University

University of Bath

University of Bristol

University of the West of England

Bath College

Cirencester College

City of Bristol

SGS College

Weston College

Boomsatsuma

Calling the Shots

Develop Me

KWMC

Mayden

QA Training

Professional Networks and OrganisationsArts Council England–South West

BECTU

BRIStech

Bristol Games Hub

Bristol Media

Business West

Co-working Hub – The Guild

Creative Bath

Creative & Cultural Skills

Creative Skillset

Cultural Forum for the Bath Area

DMA / IDM West

Skills West – Business West

Institute of Directors

Tech Partnership UK

TechSPARK

Theatre Bristol

West of England Design Forum

Western Training Provider Network

Supporting Research Documentsa) Tech Nation Report 2017/18b) 2018 Creative Industries Federation Reportc) West of England Combined Authority Business Plan, 2018/19d) West of England Combined Authority Operating Framework 2018/19e) Industrial Strategy: building a Britain fit for the future, November 2017f) The Grand Challenges, Policy paper, May 2018 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-strategy-the-grand-challenges/industrial-strategy-the-grand-challengesg) Careers strategy: making the most of everyone’s skills and talents, December 2017

h) Careers guidance: for further education colleges and sixth-form colleges, February 2018