The initiative, administered by ScreenSkills on behalf of the wider creative industries, is delivered in partnership with a steering group of nearly 30 creative industry, education, and careers organisations. At its heart is Discover! Creative Careers Week, now expanding to a month-long programme of industry encounters this November, is helping young people engage directly with professionals across TV, film, design, gaming, publishing and more.
The expansion comes at a critical time for the region. Last year, West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker pledged to create 150,00 new jobs across the region, and with creative industries currently supporting 50,000 jobs and generating £1.1 billion for the regional economy, the opportunity to support young people’s journeys into creative jobs has never been more necessary.
This initiative directly addresses this challenge by showcasing the diverse and growing creative industries as a potential route to engagement and employment across the entire Midlands – with part of the programme delivery for 2025-2026 focusing on preventing young people from losing touch with education or employment pre-18 as outlined in chapter 4 of the Youth Guarantee White Paper).
A work experience pilot will be run by Alison Grade’s Mission Accomplished with a focus on in-person placements aimed at Years 10 and 11, building on the Department for Education’s ambition for two weeks’ worth of work experience for all young people. Work experience placement(s) in years 10-11 enables students to experience a real working environment and begin to develop work-based skills and behaviours.
Mission Accomplished will be leading this initiative, helping to open up access to meaningful work experiences for young people so they can explore the breadth of creative roles available, build confidence, and imagine futures they may not have thought possible.
Alison Grade, CEO at Mission Accomplished, shared:
“I am thrilled that Mission Accomplished has been selected to deliver the work experience pilot programme for Discover! Creative Careers. This important initiative plays a vital role in connecting young people with the UK’s diverse and dynamic creative industries. Meaningful work experience is a powerful way to open doors and spark ambition – it gives young people, across the UK, a real insight into the diverse range of possibilities a creative career can offer. We can’t wait to create experiences that open doors and spark real excitement about the future.”
The Programme is set to cover both the West and East Midlands, North East and South West, where the creative industries contributed less than 5.7% of regional GVA in 2024, all falling below the UK average. These regions also had relatively low employment in the sector, with the North East and East Midlands having the smallest shares nationally.
By focusing delivery in these areas, Mission Accomplished aims to tackle regional imbalances, unlock untapped talent, and ensure that young people across the country have equal access to the opportunities and economic benefits of the creative sector.
You can find out more about how you can get involved in Next Generation Creatives here www.mission.guru/wex/
The Discover! Creative Careers government funded initiative has received increased investment from the Department for Culture Media and Sport following the programme’s success in improving awareness of creative industry career paths for school students. The free to access programme will continue to support efforts to broaden and diversify the talent pipeline into the creative industries, whilst plugging skills gaps to boost productivity in one of the UK’s most important sectors. Discover! Creative Careers has also announced a planned expansion into two other UK nations, widening its reach and connecting even more young people with creative opportunities, with further details to be announced shortly. Find out more at discovercreative.careers