Bernard Hay, Creative PEC’s Policy Director, explores the new ‘priority pathways’ from the Department for Education and Department for Work and Pensions.
The Department for Education and Department for Work and Pensions recently published a new measure of ‘priority pathways’, supporting plans set out in the UK Government’s Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper. Its purpose is to monitor how the Government is performing in driving increasing starts on courses that have been mapped to priority growth sectors.
This is part of a wider ambition to address skills challenges (as well as current and future labour market demand) in industries prioritised in the UK’s Industrial Strategy, and to help provide people with clear routes into good work. The DFE have established a baseline of 33% of course starters from the 2023/2024 cohort going into these pathways.
Of those identified at Higher Education (Levels 6 and above), Architecture is the only creative subject included within this measure. This is surprising, given the importance creative undergraduate degrees play in supporting the creative industries talent pipeline, coupled with the acute skills challenges faced by the sector.
Here I set out some of the issues and limitations with the approach, drawing on Creative PEC and wider research.
Background
In June 2026, Skills England published its latest Sector Skills Needs Assessments, which include a list of 150 priority occupations which have been identified as of critical importance to Industrial Strategy growth sectors, as well as Health and Social Care and Construction. This list includes 30 priority occupations for the creative industries, which were identified using a range of data sources, including the Creative Industries Skills Audits produced by the Creative PEC and Work Advance. The list is well aligned to what we have found in our own work and includes roles such as Managers & Directors in the Creative Industries; Graphic and Multimedia Designers and Artists.
The same analysis by Skills England also sets out important skills and training routes into those occupations. These include several HE subjects, including: Media, Journalism and Communications, Creative Arts and Design, English, Business and Management, as well as Architecture, Building and Planning
Following this, DFE and DWP published a list of ‘priority pathways’ mapped to these 150 priority occupations with a focus on the Post-16 Skills System in England. This includes Level 4 and above courses at HE and FE level, full Level 2 and Level 3 FE courses, apprenticeships, T-Levels and Bootcamps.
Priority pathways – meaning subject areas in the case of higher education – were identified based on the share of those starting courses who progress into a priority occupation. For a subject to be deemed a ‘priority pathway’ in the analysis, 60% or more of all starters must have progressed into a job in a priority occupation within one year of graduating.
Some Issues and Limitations
The approach used has several limitations, which are of particular relevance to the creative industries.
First, as DFE and DWP’s note acknowledges, the datasets used for this modelling mean that progression into self-employment is not factored in. However, the self-employed make-up 28% of the creative industries workforce, compared to 14% of the wider economy. They also account for the majority of workers in several creative occupations which Skills England have identified as priority occupations. For instance, Census 2021 data covering England and Wales, shows that 86% of artists, 83% of musicians, 68% of authors, writers and translators are self-employed. Because of this, the analysis will underestimate progression from creative undergraduate degrees into priority occupations, particularly creative occupations.
Second, the requirement for priority courses to achieve progression into a priority occupation within one year of graduation means that graduates who take longer to enter a priority occupation are not counted. Careers in the creative industries often rely on graduates having time to develop a creative portfolio. They are often non-linear and can be further compounded by structural challenges that make it hard for graduates – particularly those from working class backgrounds – to transition into entry-level roles.
Third, by taking a supply-side perspective only, the model is not sufficiently sensitive to the importance particular courses hold for individual priority occupations. For example, analysis by The Sutton Trust found that 83% of graphic designers hold a creative undergraduate degree and 57% of Photographers, AV and broadcasting equipment operators.
Fourth, the measure is potentially too inflexible to adapt to changing labour market needs. It is well recognised that labour market forecasts – particularly over longer time-horizons – are highly uncertain. The importance of particular occupations may well change year on year.
Why does this matter?
The DFE and DWP’s ambition to increase the proportion of course starts on priority pathways is not linked to a single target, and it is important to note that this measure is intended as only one lens to assess progress in achieving the broader policy goals set out in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper.
However, what we measure often shapes what gets done. For instance, a recent press release from the DFE noted that the new list of priority pathways “provide a crucial first step in helping us to identify which subjects will be eligible” as part of the UK Government’s new targeted maintenance grant offer, which aims to support those from lower income backgrounds into HE. And just this week, we also saw the DFE issue guidance to the Office for Students to remove Strategic Priorities Grant Funding to Creative Arts and Design Subjects.
Against this backdrop, it is hard to overstate the important role that HE – including creative HE – plays in the creative industries talent pipeline. Three quarters of those working in the creative industries are graduates, and previous research has estimated that as many of 46% of graduates in the sector hold a creative undergraduate degree.
The Creative Industries Skills Audits similarly found that those jobs creative employers anticipate being in growing demand in the next 3-5 year period are predominantly highly skilled roles. This includes roles such as designers, broadcasting and entertainment producers, and advertising executives, as well as architects and software developers.
In short, creative higher education remains the main talent pathway into the Creative Industries, both now and for the future. At a time when many creative courses at HE-level are facing cuts and risk of closure, it has never been more important to have the right metrics to inform skills policy decisions for the creative industries.
