Mayor unites with ‘giants’ of film, music, theatre and culture to support London’s £58bn creative industries

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is partnering with industry leaders in film, music, design, publishing, architecture and theatre to encourage young Londoners from all backgrounds to consider a future in the capital’s “world-beating” creative industries.

The Mayor has worked with HBO, Bloomsbury Publishing, Disney Theatre’s The Lion King, Sony Music, Grimshaw Foundation and Yinka Ilori to create the Unpacking the Credits programme of short films and resources aimed at young Londoners.

The programme aims to show young people aged 11-15 how a wide variety of roles and skills are involved in creating the final product seen on stage and screen, opening up these careers to young people who may not have traditionally considered this kind of job.

The films cover visual effects, publishing, theatre and stage productions, music, architecture and design, and sit alongside a range of engaging education resources, with 12 lesson plans for teachers, parents, carers and guardians.They will be distributed to around 700 secondary schools and education institutions across all of London’s boroughs.

London’s creative industries generate £58bn a year, however are experiencing skills shortages, for example, the film industry will need to fill 50,000 jobs over the next few years.

Only four per cent of those in the film industry and 24 per cent across the creative industries are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds and the Mayor wants much more to be done to encourage and help young Londoners enter, and stay in, the creative industries.

The Mayor is supporting a range of projects to unlock creative jobs for Londoners from underrepresented communities. Last year Sadiq announced a partnership with NBCUniversal giving young Londoners from underrepresented communities the chance to work behind-the-camera on TV and film productions.

His Creative Skills Academy, a partnership with Film London, is connecting people who have traditionally been underrepresented in the industry with opportunities for employment and freelance work.

The Equal Access Network, which he funds, is working with high profile employers such as ITV, Sony and StudioCanal to help them diversify their workforce and the Mayor has secured nearly £10m in funding to build new film studios that will create 1,200 jobs.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, commented: “Unpacking the Credits will make a big difference, demystifying behind-the-scenes jobs and ensuring young people from all backgrounds have the chance to realise their potential and help to drive the creative economy forward, as we continue building a better London for everyone.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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