The UK needs a creative economy and fresh young minds, one minister has said.
Launching the next burst of Creative Apprenticeship pilots due to start in January 2008, skills minister David Lammy remarked that employers should sign up to the scheme.
"We need a creative economy. We need fresh young people coming into this sector and helping us adjust our minds and for those young people to step into those jobs," he said.
Chief executive of Creative and Cultural Skills Tom Bewick commented that the initiative has high ambitions.
"Our ambition is up to 1,000 apprentices per annum once the scheme is fully up and running so long as we can secure appropriate government and industry support," he stated.
According to research carried out by the sector skills council, 33 per cent of businesses said job candidates in the creative and cultural industries lack relevant experience and 56 per cent of companies added that applicants do not have the right skills to perform the job they have applied for.
Mr Lammy yesterday welcomed the announcement by the Institute of the Motor Industry to increase the number of apprenticeships in the automotive retail sector.
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