(Above) Baroness Sharp of Guildford / Tom Bewick, Chief Executive, Creative and Cultural Skills / Rosy Greenlees, Executive Director, Crafts Council
An action plan to tackle the growing skills crisis in the heritage and contemporary craft sector, the Craft Blueprint, has been launched.
The blueprint follows the first ever skills audit of the craft sector, which found that the majority of craft employers agreed on a series of actions to address skills issues.
According to research carried out by the government-licensed organisation, Creative and Cultural Skills, craft is now the fourth-biggest sector in the UK, generating more than £3billion for the economy each year.
"The Crafts Council is committed to making the UK the best place to make, see and collect contemporary craft," said Crafts Council Executive Director Rosy Greenlees. "We believe that the continual development of skills is vital to enable the sector to thrive.
"The recommendations are already informing the shape of our own skills development programmes, providing further powerful evidence of the value of craft and demonstrating the importance of craft education at school and higher education level."
The Craft Blueprint is the result of wide consultation with employers in the craft sector across the UK, overseen by the Craft Skills Advisory Panel. The craft sector has one of the highest employment growth rates (11 percent) in the creative and cultural industries, and demand for craft skills is at an all-time high.
"Craft has evolved significantly in the past decade, but analyses of the sector's skill needs have been difficult to undertake, and the sector suffers from a lack of understanding and support as a consequence," said Tom Bewick, Chief Executive of Creative and Cultural Skills.
"We'd like to see more people given the opportunity to develop their skill in craft as well as an increased awareness of the various career opportunities. That should include the development of apprenticeships."
For more information visit the Creative and Cultural Skills website or the Crafts Council website.
