LIVE NATION CHIEF TO HEAD NATIONAL SKILLS ACADEMY

MPs praise Creative & Cultural Skills as it names leaders of flagship project and marks three years of achievement for UK-wide creative and cultural employers.

Paul Latham, UK President of Live Nation – the world's largest live music company – has been named as Chairman of the new National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural Skills.  He'll be supported by Ric Green, Technical Director of Opera North, who is named as Deputy Chair of the Academy, which will initially focus on technical and backstage skills for live music and the performing arts.

“Paul promises to bring the resource of Live Nation behind the National Skills Academy and Ric will bring not only a huge amount of expertise and knowledge, but also an enormous amount of goodwill in the sector,” said Tony Hall CBE, Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House and Chairman of Creative & Cultural Skills; the UK Sector Skills Council responsible for the Academy's development: “ I feel confident that these two people are going to make a big difference in defining this Skills Academy and ensure it really delivers the skills the sector needs.”

Tony Hall was speaking at a House of Commons event marking three successful years since Creative & Cultural Skills, was first licensed by the Government. The SSCs role is to oversee skills development on behalf of employers in advertising, design, craft, cultural heritage, music and the arts.  In addition to the Skills Academy the event highlighted significant progress in four key areas UK-wide:

• Creative Choicesº; the first online portal offering specialist careers information, advice and guidance to people working in, or seeking to join, the creative or cultural industries – over 8000 unique users have already visited the site.
• Creative Apprenticeships; purpose-built apprenticeship frameworks that from September 2008 will open new career paths for untapped creative and cultural talent  - over 120 apprentices have already been through a successful pilot scheme.
• Cultural Leadership Programme; delivered in partnership with the Arts Council England, this £22 million programme has already delivered 12,000 management opportunities across the sector.
• Creative Blueprint; the Sector Skills Agreement between industry and education mapping the future development of skills and ensuring supply meets employer demands 

 

The event attracted favourable comment on the work undertaken by Creative & Cultural Skills from senior parliamentarians including John Hayes MP, Shadow Minister for Vocational Education who said: “I’m delighted to be here to pay tribute to the work of this Sector Skills Council and the National Skills Academy. Of all the SSCs there is no better example than this one”

His comments were echoed by Gordon Marsden MP, Chair, Associate Parliamentary Skills Group who said: “Creative Industries are vital to the UK, and what a vital contribution Creative & Cultural Skills makes to these creative sectors. We are delighted to be associated with you as one of the most dynamic and vital Sector Skills Councils. As a constituency MP in Blackpool I am looking forward greatly to CCSkills playing a major part in terms of our regeneration, and I’m sure the regeneration of tens of thousands of jobs up and down the country in the next few years.”

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Please contact Aine.Markey@ccskills.org.uk, tel: 0207 0151800