Thousands of schools and colleges are to be sent a new guide to careers in the creative industries launched today by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Arts Council of England (ACE) and the Design Council.

The guide - Your Creative Future - outlines the career options in boom industries like digital media, design, film and TV and the performing arts, interspersing them with the personal experiences of some of today’s creative practitioners.

It will be distributed through more than 5,000 secondary schools, higher and further education colleges and organisations such as the Royal Society for Arts and the Crafts Council.

With estimated revenues of £60 billion and a workforce numbering around 1.4 million, the creative industries are fast becoming a cornerstone of the UK economy, as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Chris Smith points out in the guide’s foreword:

‘The creative industries offer some of the best, most interesting and rewarding careers around. And opportunities in these areas are set to increase over the coming years as the UK’s creative industries go from strength to strength. Growing twice as fast as the economy as a whole, they are generating wealth and creating new jobs for the future.’

ACE Chief Executive Peter Hewitt said today: ‘We need to identify, showcase and support new talent in order to ensure that the UK makes the most of the enormous latent creativity in young people. This publication will help to stimulate creativity and innovation in young people throughout the schools system.’

Andrew Summers, Chief Executive of the Design Council, said: ‘All the evidence shows that creative industries like design are continuing to expand at an extraordinary rate. This guide will help tomorrow’s employees make the most of the opportunities being created.’

Your Creative Future was launched at the Design Council today by the Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting Janet Anderson.

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notes to editors

1. The Design Council is the UK’s national authority on design, working with partners in business, education and government to promote its effective use. For more details on all Design Council activities, including Millennium Products, visit http://www.designcouncil.org.uk
   

   For media enquiries,contact Luke Blair 020 7420 5239/0976 557880

2. The ACE is the national funding body for the arts in England. It is responsible for developing, sustaining and promoting the arts through the distribution of public money from central government and revenue generated by the National Lottery. For further information visit http://www.www.artscouncil.org.uk
   

   For media enquiries,contact Caroline Leech 020 7973 6459/6565

3. A separate press notice has been issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
   

   For media enquiries,contact Eleanor McFadden 020 7211 6269