Mayor partners with industry leaders to encourage young Londoners from all backgrounds into the creative industries

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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.

Khan has worked with HBO, Bloomsbury Publishing, Disney’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.

When the credits roll on a film, the list of jobs can seem bewildering to those outside of the industry and the new films are designed to demystify these creative roles. The programme shows young people aged 11-15 how this 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 £58 billion 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.

Khan 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 Studio Canal to help them diversify their workforce and the Mayor has secured nearly £10 million in funding to build new film studios that will create 1,200 jobs.

Khan said, “I am delighted to partner with industry leaders and heavyweights from theatre, visual effects, film, architecture, design and music to encourage more young Londoners to join our hugely successful creative industries.

“These industries are powering the UK’s economic recovery and there are so many exciting roles available, so it’s more important than ever that all of our capital’s talented young creatives learn about them and how to access them.

“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.”

Dermot O’Leary, TV and radio broadcaster, said, “The Unpacking the Credits programme delivered by the Mayor of London will help young people to discover the different roles that exist in the creative industries and there really are a lot of roles. I loved the films and I want more. What a way to go to engaging our young people in to this industry.”

Josette Bushell-Mingo OBE, Principle and CEO of The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, said: “This programme from the Mayor of London will help to break down barriers and connect young people to a wide range of training and career options. These types of initiatives, particularly in the creative industries, continue to showcase the exciting opportunities that are available.”