Creative Industries Leadership Group: Working Group Reports and Ministerial Response – March 2022

Annex A - Further Detail of Responses to CILG Working Group Reports

This Annex sets out the work that the Scottish Government and its public sector agencies are already undertaking in respect of each of the recommendations of the two working groups. It also provides some further information on the policy background and thinking behind the Scottish Government’s response.

Response to the report of the Working Group 1 - How can we train a creative workforce for the future of the industry?

Recommendation 1: Advocacy

The Scottish Government recognises that CILG members are individual representatives with their own work and businesses. It has recognised the impact on freelances of taking part in meetings in part with an attendance fee. However, in terms of requiring further work the Scottish Government needs to keep under consideration that these are not public appointments and any opportunities to take part in further remunerated work stemming from CILG recommendations should be on a free and fair basis.

The Scottish Government recognises that job creation is only one of a number of ways to measure success and that some creative businesses do not consider that this is the most appropriate way to define success. This is why the Scottish Government uses a range of metrics such as number of business start-ups, job creation, GVA, to measure activity.

Areas of potential for future advocacy set out in the report

The working group suggested four areas of advocacy activity: Scottish Local Authority Economic Activity; Young Persons Guarantee, Scottish Funding Council and Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government recognises the potential of the Young Person’s Guarantee (YPG) to better cater for those working in the creative industries and would value a discussion with the CILG. The Employer Recruitment Incentives (ERIs) form one part of a package of support available to support an unemployed person, who is facing multiple barriers, to enter the labour market and is funded through the Young Person’s Guarantee. Local Employability Partnerships determine what types of support an individual needs to help them into employment based on their individual circumstance as well as the demand and needs within the local labour market.

Employers from the creative industries should contact their Local Employability Partnership (LEP) via their Local Authority Employability Lead to discuss what employment opportunities they can provide and what support the LEP may be able to provide to support an unemployed person into the role. The Guarantee has also created additional opportunities through apprenticeships, education and volunteering opportunities, which include opportunities within the Creative Industries sector.

The Developing the Young Workforce works with employers to create work based learning opportunities to better prepare young people for employment, training or education. Developing the Young Workforce Regional Groups and School Coordinators work with a range of employers across Creative Industries sectors to promote employment opportunities and pathways for young people. For example, Developing the Young Workforce Lanarkshire and East Dunbartonshire worked with ACS Clothing to create a sustainable fashion workshop for secondary pupils during COP 26. Although Developing the Young Workforce School Coordinators focus particularly on the senior phase, Developing the Young Workforce Dundee and Angus worked in partnership with the local employers to support primary school pupils to create a comic strip which promoted health and safety in the workplace.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) will further consider how the opportunities identified by the working group can benefit from a creative industries perspective, while noting that these schemes tend to be generic rather than industry-specific. The £2.1 billion public investment in further and higher education is to support the broadest and most impactful mix of provision from which students can choose and business in Scotland can befit. This also connects to the working group’s recommendation on the consideration on developing new opportunities for cross sectoral working and collaborations between the creative industries and other businesses.

Scottish Ministers have engaged regularly with the creative industries to understand and promote their value, as well as to work with agencies such as Creative Scotland to provide extensive support to the sector throughout the pandemic.

Recommendation 2: creative industry audit support

The Scottish Government and the public sector partners that provide support for the creative industries provide information on how they are supporting the sector through their annual plans and reports, their websites and public communications. The Scottish Government understands that, while there are support schemes, policies and other initiatives that relate specifically to the sector, there are also a broad range of initiatives which are cross-sectoral, encompassing both devolved and reserved policies, and which are relevant to the creative industries.

In the case of this recommendation, the Scottish Government considers that the word “audit” is maybe not the most appropriate word. By definition, an audit is an official inspection of an organisation’s accounts, typically by an independent body.

The development agencies are bodies with their own Boards with their own reporting structures and sponsorship mechanisms with the Scottish Government. It would therefore not be appropriate for CILG to provide views of an “audit” of current creative industries activities. A collection of all the current policies and initiatives, devolved and reserved, by the agencies (and also the Scottish Government) would be a considerable exercise to undertake and with policies being continually developed, it would be out of date regularly.

The Scottish Government does not consider that an audit exercise, including the scoping of such an exercise, would be good value for money or provide useful information at this time.

On the specific action points for the economic agencies set out in the report:

Scottish Enterprise – the issue of SIC and SOC codes is one that is common to the Scottish Government and the public sector partners that support the creative industries. For work on data on the creative industries, see pages 7-9 of Annex A on the collection of data.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise – Highlands and Islands Enterprise, with its significant support for the Highlands and Islands, is willing to provide advice and information on what aspects of its policies and initiatives may be transferrable to other parts of Scotland.

South of Scotland Enterprise – SOSE is keen to work with the creative industries to ensure that it delivers a robust and valuable development programme. One of the themes of its Regional Economic Strategy and its associated delivery plan is cultural and creative excellence. These documents are living ones.

Creative Scotland – During the pandemic the focus Creative Scotland’s work was on providing much needed support for the creative industries and culture sectors. Creative Scotland notes that this recommendation appears to align with the work underway to review the Framework Agreement of 2009, which defines the different roles of the public agencies in relation to the creative industries. Most of the partner agencies have refined and developed their core aims and objectives in the intervening years. Creative Scotland will continue to work with the creative industries to understand its needs.

Skills Development Scotland – SDS will continue to contribute to evidencing work on current workforce and skills demands from a creative industries perspective. In February 2022 it published the latest Creative Industries Sector Skills Assessment. Other recent work includes contributing to the South of Scotland Enterprise’s recent creative industries regional review as well as the OECD focused project on culture, creativity and local development. It worked with Scottish Enterprise to establish an initial scoping of the profile of the creative industries in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire in March 2022. Its activities in the skills planning and evidencing arena are informed by the Skills Development Scotland Framework, Industry, Enterprise and Network Consultancy Framework, which has been recently reviewed and developed. Future notifications under the new Framework will be posted on the Public Contracts Scotland website.

Examples of the development of new opportunities for cross-sectoral working and collaboration include the programme of regional skills pathfinders that has commenced for north-east Scotland and the south of Scotland as well as the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP).

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) understands that “green skills” are not just technical skills, for example in renewable energy, transport or energy efficiency. Many jobs and careers as well as businesses in the creative industries are also low carbon and should be supported locally and regionally.

In addition, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and XpoNorth currently undertake significant work with creative industries and other sector collaborations. A number of non-creative businesses use XpoNorth for support to acquire creative skills and knowledge.

Recommendation 3: Life long learning

Creative Education

The working group refers to the MAKE Learn report on craft education. In addition to this report there have also been other reports commissioned into the creative sectors of drama and contemporary visual art and design in Scottish secondary education.

The Scottish Funding Council funds a successful school-college programme that focusses on the delivery of Foundation Apprenticeships. The Scottish Funding Council will discuss with Skills Development Scotland how these pathways can be improved for the benefit of learners in the creative subjects.

Skills Development Scotland maintains a network of successful online digital channels which promote the availability of investment, resources and support to individuals and businesses across Scotland, as well as using traditional print and broadcast channels to support its work. Its digital assets include My World of Work, Digital World, Our Skillsforce and Apprenticeships.scot and are supported by a set of Facebook channels established on a regional basis, allowing more localised promotional activity and access. It also operates a comprehensive social media library, for example, across LinkedIn, Twitter.

It has some 80 creative job profiles live on My World of Work. It regularly features creative economy apprenticeship jobs and creative digital activities across its communications, working with key sector intermediaries like Creative and Cultural Skills, Screen Skills, British Film Institute, UK Fashion and Textiles Association, Applied Arts Scotland and others. SDS officers regularly promote wider creative industries activity on social media.

Skills Development Scotland will be able to discuss the opportunities provided through its resources at a future meeting of CILG.

The Scottish Government welcomes the recommendations of the MAKE Learn report on craft education.

The working group suggests that a creative education steering group is developed. A Creative Learning Steering Group was established in June 2018. This brings together the National Creative Learning Network Steering Group, and the Creative Learning Plan Implementation and Strategic Groups into one. It comprises representatives from a wide range of partners including representatives from the Creative Learning Network. The purpose of this group is to promote creativity as essential to improvement across every aspect of education, and to collate, contextualise and disseminate examples of effective practice and research evidence of the impact of creativity on outcomes for learners. The group offers support to facilitate creative change, support the delivery of creative learning and build collaboration between sectors and cultures.

Integrated programmes of professional development

The working group has asked for the project evaluation of the sustaining craft business practice programme to be shared with CILG.

The Scottish Government will share the project evaluation of the sustaining craft business practice programme with CILG members once published.

The Scottish Government understands that interventions for upskilling and reskilling have had limited uptake among the creative industries. This appears to be partly due to the SME and sole-trader status of many businesses.

Digital skills

The Scottish Government’s Programme for Government 2021 signalled its desire to continue to work with creative and cultural businesses to enhance their digital and data skills, building on its £1 million Creative Digital Initiative launched in 2021, and support them in gaining access to new opportunities and markets, as well as to develop data-driven innovation in the creative industries.

Creative Edinburgh were provided by the Scottish Government with funding for a CreativeTech Scotland Gathering in March 2022. Run by Creative Edinburgh in partnership with CodeBase, Edinburgh Futures Institute and Creative Informatics, and supported by the Scottish Government’s Scottish Technology Review Ecosystem Fund, the first CreativeTech Scotland Gathering took place on Friday 25 March 2022 at CodeBase Edinburgh and online.

Role of intermediaries

The Scottish Government’s comments on the role of intermediaries is included in its response to the resilience working group report. The report notes that there is an evaluation of Creative Arts Business Network (CABN) underway though Live Borders has decided to terminate its funding.

An independent evaluation report has been commissioned of CABN. Until Live Borders have evaluated the findings, a transition period is underway, with Live Borders engaging with the creative sector on the potential direction and structure of CABN.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

The Scottish Government agrees that there is a need to address the lack of diversity in the creative industries and tackle barriers to entry. These are key issues that affect the talent pipeline into the sector as well as the longer term sustainability of the sector. One of the priorities of the Creative Industries Policy Statement is encouraging inclusiveness.

Minimum Income Guarantee

The Scottish Government is committed to commencing work to deliver a Minimum Income Guarantee for Scotland. This work has real potential to deliver transformational change, reducing poverty and inequality, and ensuring everyone has enough money to live a decent life.

Work to scope out what a Minimum Income Guarantee would include and, therefore, what it would cost and how it would be funded, has yet to be undertaken. This will be a key task of the Minimum Income Guarantee Steering Group. The first meeting of this steering group, co-chaired by Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison was held on 17 August 2021. The Group has cross party representation and experts, which will help to build understanding and consensus around this policy as it is designed.

Scottish National Investment Bank

The Scottish National Investment Bank invests in Scottish business, projects and communities to deliver environmental, social and financial returns for the people of Scotland. Investments in debt and equity are made on commercial terms based on the needs of individual projects or businesses. The Bank seeks to invest widely and diversely, and approaches every opportunity on an individual basis, so that the financing offered is tailored to the needs of the individual business or project seeking support.

Bounce Back Loans are Covid-19 interventions by the UK Government run through the British Business Bank. Updates on the activities of the British Business Bank are found on its website.

Funding models for individuals

The Scottish Government recognises that access to the creative industries is undertaken by a diverse range of routes, including higher education. However, it is aware that not everyone can access a graduate level education. For graduates, Graduate Career Advantage Scotland (GCAS) supports recent, eligible graduates to find rewarding employment by offering careers support and access to high-quality paid internships by collaborating with employers, universities, and other key agencies.

Response to the report of the Working Group 2 - How can we increase the resilience of the creative industries sector?

Recommendations

1. Collect meaningful economic data from the creative industries

The statistics published by the Scottish Government on the creative industries are based on a grouping of Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)^[1] codes that align with the 16 sectors that are commonly agreed to comprise the overall industry^[2]. As SIC codes are a fundamental feature of a range of economic statistics published within Scotland and the UK, and are based on internationally agreed code structures, they are a fundamental organising approach for generating comparable, reliable and robust data on business activity within Scotland.

The subgroup’s recommendation suggests replacement of a SIC-based approach to defining the creative industries through the development of new economic codes for the creative industries, and undertaking new data collection from a representative set of companies from each segment of the creative industries outwith the existing set of business and employment surveys currently undertaken by ONS. The report suggested the approach adopted for Life Sciences Growth Sector statistics as a potential approach for doing so.

However, the report’s recommendation appears inconsistent with the approach as practiced for Life Sciences, which draws on the Life Sciences Sourcebook maintained by Scottish Enterprise. This approach includes businesses under 3 out of 4 of Life Sciences SIC definition codes as the starting point, before adding data for further companies identified by Scottish Enterprise as operating within the Life Sciences sector. The data for these additional companies are obtained via a matching exercise, which involves taking the list of businesses (as per the Sourcebook) and matching it against the ONS Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) mainly using business and address information. This allows statistical data already collected from companies identified in the Sourcebook and held in existing datasets to be added to those already identified under SIC codes relevant to the Life Sciences sector. The Life Sciences Sourcebook is maintained by Scottish Enterprise and is refreshed annually, which involves around 700 companies with a match rate of around 90% to official business data sources.

Scottish Government officials engaged with analysts from the Office of the Chief Economic Advisor (OCEA) and contacts in public agencies around the feasibility of adopting a similar approach for creative industries. This initial advice has highlighted feasibility challenges around the recommendation, relating to the scale of the requirements, availability of required underlying evidence, and coverage of businesses.

The existing Growth Sector Statistics database indicates that there were 14,515 registered businesses in the Creative Industries growth sector, including Digital Industries businesses, compared with around 700 in the Life Sciences Sourcebook. This would present substantial resourcing and technical challenges around implementing a data matching exercise of this scale.

The Life Sciences sourcebook is maintained by Scottish Enterprise. However, several public agencies (including Scottish Enterprise, HIE, SOSE, Creative Scotland) would likely be required to maintain an equivalent for Creative Industries. Initial feedback from some of these partners suggests that there is not currently an equivalent sourcebook for Creative Industries held between these agencies. The absence of such a sourcebook restricts the ability of government statisticians to undertake a matching exercise similar to that adopted for life sciences, and could potentially require substantial cross-agency development work over several years to establish and maintain.

Engagement with OCEA analysts and Scottish Enterprise colleagues also highlighted that the Life Sciences approach is based on matching data for registered businesses. The sub-group have highlighted important concerns about data availability for small businesses, freelancers and the self-employed. However, as these may not be registered for VAT or PAYE, they would not be included in the datasets that form the basis of the Life Sciences approach, as these only contain data on registered businesses.

The sub-group’s recommendation also suggests novel data collection from existing businesses. These businesses may already be subject to similar surveys from ONS to develop existing business statistics. As such, additional data collection would create additional burdens, and create the possibility of survey fatigue, which would affect response rates and data reliability. A new business survey would also require development of a sampling frame, field testing, and detailed quality assurance. These would be extensive tasks, particularly in the absence of an alternative sourcebook. Taken together, these issues would suggest substantial feasibility challenges around implementing the sub-group’s recommendation as it stands.

The Scottish Government is keen to identify areas where targeted interventions can be made with existing datasets to improve the data available on the creative industries. Scottish Government analysts are reviewing the coverage of the current definition of the cultural sector used within the National Performance Framework to identify options for how this could be broadened to better capture the extent of cultural and creative activity. Analysts are also exploring the potential to use the Annual Population Survey (APS) as the data source for the National Indicator on the cultural workforce, in order to better capture the scale of self-employment within the sector and the characteristics of the workforce overall. These may have broader applicability to the data available for the creative industries. There will also be further analytical work undertaken in response to the National Partnership for Culture’s recommendations on data and evidence, which may support the aims of the sub-group.

In the longer term, it is worth noting that the ONS are developing a Statistical Business Register (as a replacement to the IDBR). This may include HMRC self-assessment data, which would allow for better estimation of business data associated with activities of smaller businesses, freelance workers and the self-employed.

Furthermore, the UN Statistical Commission (UNSC) is also undertaking a consultation with international statistical bodies and governments to review the list of International SIC codes.^[3] This will impact some of the codes that are used to define the Scottish Government Creative Industries growth sector (for example those in section S which covers the Arts). In general, it is considered that the changes will help improve capturing of the creative industries sector. It is expected that the complete structure of the revised ISIC will be submitted to the UNSC for approval in 2023. This will form the basis of a revised set of UK SIC codes, and following publication, the Scottish Government will undertake a refresh of the definition of the Growth Sectors, including the Creative Industries.

Public bodies also provided further advice on work they are undertaking to improve data available for the creative industries. South of Scotland Enterprise are undergoing work to try to map the sector in the South to address some of the micro business gaps. Scottish Enterprise is undertaking ongoing work to expand its framework to understand and capture a broader range of impacts made by businesses in Scotland. This will include impacts around fair work and sustainability in addition to economic impact. Future Creative Scotland reporting is being developed through a new Monitoring and Evaluation Framework which builds on capabilities developed through its recent digital transformation project and which will provide effective insights that can be viewed through different criterial and levels of granularity. Scottish Funding Council is willing to work with Skills Development Scotland and other agencies to improve data analysis and to achieve a better picture of what is needed.

The Scottish Government and its agencies use the same top line data. The definition of the creative industries by the Scottish Government is a well-established and understood by other agencies in Scotland. Key data is available publically for example through ONS, as well as specialist sources. The Scottish Government and agencies make use of existing databases according to their needs, and commission as further need arises, for example through ad hoc business surveys and so forth.

The agencies all have a clear understanding of what constitutes the creative industries sector as defined by the Scottish Government. For example Creative Scotland, Scottish Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland use the Scottish Government Growth Sector Database and its periodic reports as the basis for understanding the composition and high level reporting on the creative industries in Scotland. Skills Development Scotland uses the economic data categories in line with the Scottish Government Growth Sector and this approach informed the development of the Skills Investment Plan for Scotland’s Creative Industries (2015), Skills Issues in Scotland’s Screen Industries (2019) and its study of the Creative Industries Workforce in the Pandemic (2021).

The Scottish Government and its partners welcome the opportunity to work with CILG to continue to build on its knowledge of the sector.

2. Establish and empower specialist network hubs to connect and interact with creative industry operators

In its response, the Scottish Government is approaching creative networks using Creative Cardiff’s definition of them. These are “organised networks (sometimes as their own legal entity, sometimes as part of another organisation), that have dedicated people working to support the creative network to create collaboration and/or growth in the local/regional creative industries.” Specifically, they are “broad, place-based initiatives with the ability to bring people together in real time in real places”. They do not include sectoral networks (such as the Royal Institute of British Architects) or agencies with national remits such as Creative Scotland.

These networks often have their own distinctive aims and support and are usually focused on supporting micro businesses and individual creative practitioners within a local context. This support includes knowledge sharing events, peer mentoring, career/business development, market development, and online information. Each one is different, often through having grown from a specific context or specific leadership approach.

Provision of support for creative networks across the public sector was set out in Paper 6 of the meeting papers for the CILG meeting of 16 March 2022. This states that some agencies have significant input providing strategic funding, while for others they are not a current focus, though they recognise the value of collaborative working. Each of the public sector partners decides their policies to support them, including levels of funding, funding criteria and their outcomes to meet strategic objectives.

Creative Scotland currently provides funding support for a range of organisations, governed independently of it, that provide network support in the way defined here. They apply for funding support according to their needs and ambitions and support is assessed according to the fund criteria. In 2019, using National Lottery funds, Creative Scotland piloted the Create:Networks fund with the explicit purpose of providing an opportunity for organisations, creative businesses or practitioners to create new, or develop existing, local creative business networks in Scotland.

The current set up of these networks means that many of them do not have explicit economic or creative business development functions (while recognising that traditional business investment and support functions remain with local authorities and the enterprise agencies or contracted to specialist providers such as Accelerator). Thus, they do not operate on a common methodology allowing baseline data and online measurement in sectoral and / or business growth terms within their locations, which readily allow comparison or measures of growth/impact through time. Additionally, there is a related issue of their organisational capacity and capability to do so.

It will be for the funders of these networks, as set out in Paper 6 of the meeting papers for the CILG meeting of 16 March 2022, to decide whether there is a strategic need to conduct further research to support their investments in this area. Research will also need to fit in with any research priorities.

3. Create specialist agile departments in public agencies to support and develop high value creative industry sectors

The development of Screen Scotland followed extensive work with the screen sector and a partnership approach across the main enterprise and skills agencies. There continues to be a specific and ongoing case for joint development in screen and high end TV production in Scotland. The enhanced investment provided for Screen Scotland is predicated on significant targets for sector growth and financial returns.

The Scottish Government and the public sector agencies supporting the creative industries would encourage the creative sector to work with them to explore a range of solutions to sector growth. These can often be achieved without the creation of new organisations.

The Scottish Government meets regularly with music stakeholders including the Scottish Music Industry Association and Scottish Commercial Music Industry Taskforce and will ensure the recommendation of the Resilience working group is discussed in detail.

4. Change the language and reform funding; investment and support

Scottish Enterprise investment is always focused on achieving the Scottish Government’s policy objectives through working with ambitious companies around their growth plans. It is making changes to its industry engagement process and is simplifying access to skills, knowledge, advice and funding. These changes will help businesses, including those in the creative sector.

Skills Development Scotland supports the continuing demand for greater financial stewardship in public spend and support, including the growth of place-based investment, with a growing focus on community wealth building and well-being. It plays an active role across Community Planning Partnerships in Scotland assisting in the development of a better understanding of demand and supporting the co-development and delivery of services locally, especially working with further and higher education and industry to develop the current and future development of skills and metaskills.

Teams with different functions also come together to enable the public and private sectors to work together. For example, XpoNorth and the Highlands and Islands creative industries team work with HIE Development Managers, to provide them and creative industries businesses with support. This engagement will continue.

Public sector support must be provided in accordance with the Scottish Public Finance Manual, which sets out the relevant statutory, parliamentary and administrative requirements, emphasises the need for economy, efficiency and effectiveness, and promotes good practice and high standards of propriety. This includes accountability.

It is important that as well as accountability in funding schemes, there is also a simplicity and efficiency of investment to ensure that effective public benefit is generated. The role and disbursement of emergency funding provided at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic took place under unique circumstances and is not directly comparable to investment funding. However, the evaluation of Creative Scotland’s emergency funding provided at pace during the height of the covid-19 pandemic is still to be undertaken and the Scottish Government is keen to ensure lessons are learned.

5. Value the freelance workforce properly by understanding its nuances and supporting people, not employment or business categories

The Scottish Government and its public sector partners recognise the complexity of the workforce in the creative industries.

It is undertaking a range of actions which will be important for taking this recommendation forward.

6. Champion leadership and success in the creative industries

The Scottish Government and the public sector partners that provide support for the creative industries undertake a range of activities that profile success in the sector.

These include social media, news opportunities, Ministerial visits, speeches and meeting. The continued use of these, as well as better use, will be important for taking this recommendation forward.

7. Compel government-funded organisations to buy from creative businesses and individuals in their sectors

The Scottish Government recognises the massive role that SMEs and micro businesses play across public procurement in Scotland and regard their success as key to unlocking opportunities for all. It is committed to levering the full procurement rules to make it as easy as possible for SMEs to bid for and win procurement contracts and / or participate in local supply chains.

The Scottish Government already supports a range of activity to improve opportunities for SMEs and the third sector in public contracts. It supports and promotes free advice, training and resources for suppliers who wish to bid for public sector contracts. These include a comprehensive and joined-up set of tools and guidance which together help simplify public procurement processes and support SMEs to access and manage procurement opportunities. It may be that the sector can benefit more from this support. Further information is available on the Scottish Government website.

Procurement legislation places duties of equal treatment and non-discrimination on purchasers.

These duties apply to contracts worth at least £50,000. Organisations may have their own internal procedures as to how contracts less than £50,000 are advertised, tendered and awarded.

Certain specific services are excluded from procurement legislation. It does not apply, for example, to contracts awarded “by an audio‑visual or radio media service provider, for the acquisition, development production or co-production of programme material intended for audio-visual media services or radio media services” or awarded “to an audio-visual or radio media service provider, for broadcasting time or programme provision”. It may also be possible for organisations to award a contract without first advertising the requirement where the goods or services can only be supplied by one particular contractor because the aim of the procurement is the creation or acquisition of a unique work of art or artistic performance

Within these rules, the Scottish Government is listening to and learning from suppliers about their experiences of public procurement and will do more to challenge barriers that SMEs may face in competing for public service contracts.

Creative Scotland is continuing to explore the options available through programmes such as community wealth building, and supporting the development of skills for procurement. HIE procurement already includes an assessment of community benefits and community wealth building. Scottish Enterprise is continuing to develop best practice and is looking for advice from the Scottish Government on local sourcing.

8. Nurture the talent pool; train and take care of tomorrow’s creatives

Talent Pipeline

Skills Development Scotland is focused on a number of key policy areas in relation to the nurturing of the talent pool. These include: the promotion of metaskills within education at all levels to advance a future skills focus; improving awareness and practice of career management skills at all ages; developing new standards and frameworks to support greater flexibility and currency of work-based learning to meet future demand. It has worked with a range of creative industries’ interests through Sector Skills Councils, colleges and universities and more recently through a place-based approach through Regional Growth Deals. A key development in 2023 will be a review of the current Modern Apprenticeship Frameworks for the creative and cultural occupations. It anticipates that well-being, fair work and net zero transformation will be key components of this development.

Skills Development Scotland developed the National Transitions Training Fund Creative Industries Freelance Workforce Recovery programme in response to direct sector research in early 2021. This brought a new, well-being focus to upskilling and reskilling creative industries freelances through the Creative Ambitions Scotland programme, co-developed by the Future Economy Company and Social Investment Scotland.

Additional components on well-being were also part of both Level Up – Digital from Ironworks The Venue and Sustaining Crafts Businesses programme from Lews Castle College UHI and Applied Arts Scotland. Skills Development Scotland also managed the delivery of Creative Game Changers from the Future Economy company under the Scottish Government Creative Digital Initiative, which took a unique developmental perspective on the growth mindset and digital capacity and capability of the creative business owner/practitioner.

Skills Development Scotland also continues as a member of the Scotland’s National Creative Learning Plan Steering Group to promote links from education to work-based learning, metaskills acquisition, careers and to the wider Creative Industries.

Scottish Enterprise is working closely with Skills Development Scotland and Scottish Funding Council to understand the impacts of talent development on industry. Its focus is primarily to understand what skills and businesses need to grow within their core markets. It offers a range of people and leadership advice and interventions with a focus on workplace innovation and fair work.

Creative Scotland has worked closely with partners in Education Scotland, Scottish Funding Council and Skills Development Scotland to ensure that creative talent is encouraged and supported to thrive. One example of Creative Scotland’s work in this area is the sustained partnership work with Education Scotland. Scotland’s Creative Learning Plan was first published in 2013, setting out a shared vision for the importance of creativity in education and as a result we have seen growth in a shared language and common understanding of creativity and creativity skills. The Creative Scotland and Education Scotland Action Plan continues to bring that vision to life through tangible actions, especially given the impact of Covid-19 on children and young people.

The action plan contains 3-year outcomes committing to:

• Creativity embedded in curriculum design
• Learners’ mental health and wellbeing is improved
• Learners confidently applying creativity skills in all contexts
• Learners directly influencing their own creative learning
• Quality cultural experiences accessible to all learners.

Health and Wellbeing

Evidence and research demonstrates that meaningful, fair work can provide important benefits for people’s mental health and wellbeing. Creating workplaces which support and promote good mental health, benefit both individuals and employers.

In the Scottish Government’s Transition and Recovery Plan, published in October 2020, it has committed to working closely with stakeholders, including trade unions and employer groups to promote mentally healthy workplaces where mental health and wellbeing is meaningfully discussed, promoted and supported, and where stigma and discrimination are addressed. This is backed by a £120m Recovery and Renewal Fund which will transform services and allow us to make a greater shift towards prevention and early intervention.

9. Ensure digital inclusion is nationwide and genuine

The recommendation of the working group refers directly to digital connectivity or digital infrastructure rather than specifically to digital inclusion. Digital connectivity is about access to fast and reliable internet connection (fixed or mobile) which enables users to benefit from smart and digital services. It is one part of digital inclusion.

Digital inclusion relates to access to devices, digital skills, availability of digital public services and affordability etc. It is about making the benefits of the internet and digital technologies to everyone.

The Scottish Government met its policy commitment to ensure that every home and business across Scotland could access superfast broadband by the end of 2021. This was achieved through our Reaching 100% (R100) programme – the £600m R100 contracts, the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (R100 SBVS) and continued commercial deployment.

Through the R100 North contract, 16 new subsea cables will be laid, providing future-proofed, resilient connections to those island communities for decades to come. The Scottish Government is already funding the extension of full fibre into some of the hardest to reach communities anywhere in the UK. It is working with the UK Government to secure a fair share of the £1.2bn that is available through Project Gigabit to push that coverage even further. Its £28.75 million Scottish 4G Infill programme is bringing 4G mobile infrastructure and services to thousands of properties across Scotland for the first time. It has delivered 27 masts and are on track for up to 55 masts by March 2023. This is helping people access high speed connectivity, and is enabling rural and island communities to recover from the pandemic by opening up new economic opportunities.