The panel, brought together through a partnership between The Design Council and Creative & Cultural Skills, believes that a system of individual and corporate professional accreditation is essential if the British design industry is to maintain its reputation as the most dynamic and innovative in the world.
Published as part of a comprehensive government review of skills and education, the report makes a number of recommendations for improving the design industry, to ensure that it both maintains and extends its position as world leader.
It raises concerns that unless the UK develops a more professional and joined-up industry it will be replaced by fast growing economies such as China, India and Korea which are already turning their attention to the creative industries and producing tens of thousands of highly skilled design graduates a year.
The panel, made up of luminaries from across the design industry, is now asking the UK’s design community to take part in a nationwide consultation before the recommendations are actioned. Tackling both the design industry and design education, the proposals will be presented to government early in 2007 before being implemented in a series of pilot projects. For or against, designers across the country are being urged to have their say before the final proposals are made.
Launching the Keep British Design Alive campaign, Creative & Cultural Skills, Chair of the Design Skills Advisory Panel and CEO of Priestman Goode design consultancy said: ‘This is a critical time for the British design industry. We have the most creative and innovative design profession in the world right now but we must acknowledge the global threats from emerging markets if it is to remain world leading in the years ahead.
‘Our proposals are at the vanguard of the government’s review of skills in industry. They are the building blocks for a new, more professional and cohesive design industry that will allow us to compete on a global level. But they are not the solution to every issue in every area. The purpose of the consultation is to build on them, to address unresolved issues and to make sure that we get it right.
He added: ‘This is the design industry's chance to help shape the future of the profession. Quite simply, we're looking for a collective response that will help us achieve our vision that by 2020 the UK design industry will be viewed by design buyers and consumers around the world as the global epicentre of high-value creative skills and design-led innovation'.
Other recommendations include:
- Enhanced partnerships between design educators and industry, linked to professional accreditation for graduates to ensure that the content of courses remains relevant.
- Course content aligned to the first stage of a professional accreditation scheme, including structured placements and an emphasis on strategic design skills.
- Shared information on courses and career pathways for prospective students giving them objective information on all the courses available.
- A more relevant, up to date curriculum for design in schools.
- Increased involvement of practising designers in schools.
- Enhanced professional development of design teachers.
Designers can respond to the recommendations online at www.keepbritishdesignalive.com
Following the consultation period the Design Skills Advisory Panel will review the feedback and refine their proposals. A final Design Skills Plan will be published in early 2007 for government review before being implemented in a pilot scheme by The Design Council, Creative & Cultural Skills and a range of other stakeholders.
For more information contact Saskia Sissons at the Design Council on 020 7420 5248 or email saskia.sissons@designcouncil.org.uk
The Design Council is the UK’s national strategic body for design. It aims to strengthen and support the economy and society by demonstrating and promoting the vital role of design in making businesses more competitive and public services more effective.
Its work includes a Design for Business Programme, a national programme of design support for managers, a ten-year public design promotion in UK regions and projects generating new thinking on how design can be used to tackle key economic and social challenges.
The data in the Value of Design Factfinder is taken from the Design Council’s 2005 National Survey of Firms. The survey involved two stages: a national survey of 1,500 businesses with more than 10 employees across all sectors of UK business; and a supplementary survey of 250 businesses which had observed an impact from design on a range of business performance measures was conducted.