Creative Further Education in the four UK nations

A Creative PEC State of the Nations Report

The Creative Industries are a UK success story. Between 2011 – 2019, the sector grew at double the rate of the UK economy, and since 2015 has created 400,000 additional jobs. This success relies on a workforce of talented and motivated creative people, who have the right skills for the right roles.
However, the creative economy is at risk of falling into a looming skills shortage.

This report – the fourth in our State of the Nations series – looks at student participation in creative further education (FE) across all four UK nations and shows that there is a severe drop in participation.
As demand for skills grows, it is not being met by increased participation in creative learning. This indicates that there is a pipeline shortage for the UK’s growing creative economy.
The report brings together 31 data sets to provide the most comprehensive picture yet of the state of creative further education.
It was prepared by education specialists Work Advance for the AHRC-funded Creative PEC.

Key findings from the research:

Creative FE enrolments are declining in all parts of the UK, and at a faster rate than average across all subject disciplines.
A 57% drop in creative subject FE enrolment in England between 2014/15 and 2022/23 (aged 19+) – compared with a 31% drop across all subjects.
A 68% drop in creative learning at FE institutions in Wales between 2012/13 to 2022/23.
A 20% decline in college students studying Creative FE in Scotland (full time equivalent) over the same decade.
A 28% fall in enrolments on creative subjects at FE institutions in Northern Ireland from 2017 to 2022

The report indicates that there is a misalignment between the economic growth of the sector over the last decade and dramatic falls in student participation. This risks intensifying already chronic skills shortages in the creative industries.

Policy makers have an opportunity to accelerate the one of the UK’s highest-growth sectors – the creative industries – through a renewed approach to Creative Further Education. To do so, the sector needs longer term creative skills strategies to boost access and provision, and to raise the bar on learner outcomes and diversity.

The research is being launched at an event at RSA House in London and online at 3pm BST Wed 17 July

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