Creative Industries: Qualifications

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Thursday 23rd July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lady Keeley for introducing this debate in such a thoughtful and compelling way. I am delighted to follow my noble friend Lord Knight.

This House has many times focused on the importance of the creative industries to the economy and our social fabric. It cannot be emphasised enough how much creators enhance our reputation and soft power across the world, and our productivity at home in theatre, film, dance, music, computer games, craft, design, visual arts—indeed, any area in which individual creativity, skill and talent play a key role. Those who are able and willing to advance those skills need to be encouraged, supported and given freedom to fly, not thwarted, straitjacketed or discouraged by any entry system of examinations which is not targeted to their needs or the industries they aspire to enter.

Others in this debate have real knowledge of the requirements for entering these subjects and the impact of the specific changes currently being considered, as we have already heard. I do not, but I have learnt a lot. The Library brief was excellent, and I am grateful to my noble friend Lady Keeley for a thorough grounding in the ongoing discussions with the Government and their intentions.

I will make three brief and broad points. First, and most importantly, the creative industries are too vital a part of our economy to get this wrong. When tens of billions of pounds of gross value added and the jobs of two million people are at stake, we need to attract the best recruits and ensure that no unhelpful obstacles or poor offerings impede keen youngsters, whatever their background. It is clear that the Government want exactly that.

Secondly, creative roles increasingly blend technical fluency, software and digital production data with distinctly human capabilities such as originality, storytelling and collaboration. It is clearly a sign of the times that I met recently a senior executive in a company who was indeed “director of storytelling”.

A creative economy that wants to keep growing needs a pipeline of people who can move fluidly between craft and technical skills. It is clear that placements are an important part of these qualifications. I was very struck by the responses of students who struggled to find placements, particularly in the creative industries sector, given that 95% of companies are microbusinesses and up to a third of the workforce is self-employed. Can my noble friend say how the Government will address the placement issue?

Thirdly, digital technologies and AI are increasingly being used to create exciting opportunities, but there will need to be continuous learning to enable them to update technical skills. This is linked to the growing demand for collaboration across disciplines. Creative professionals now often work alongside software developers, engineers, marketers and data analysts. Therefore, communication, teamwork, problem solving, adaptability and leadership skills need to be developed. Anybody who has seen the film “The Odyssey” and sat through what must be at least five minutes of acknowledgements at the end of the film for all the crafts and skills involved would echo that.

All of this points to the need for close consultation and co-operation with those charged with developing the courses, exams and assessments for these subjects. It is clear that providers want to work with the Government to get this right, but it is also clear they have significant concerns. Many students who thrive on coursework-based learning may find the structure of T-levels less accessible. There are concerns about the number of guided learning hours in V-levels, with industry and higher education stakeholders anxious that it will not be enough to assess levels of applied experience and practical competence. UK Music has argued that national occupational standards are not appropriate for creative careers, and University of the Arts London called for the Government to allow flexibility of content.

I know higher education institutions support a diverse post-16 qualifications landscape, with multiple pathways beyond A-levels and T-levels, particularly in creative and practice-based disciplines. But arts and vocational subjects have already been squeezed by previous policy decisions. Reforms need to strengthen not reduce creative pathways, ensuring parity of esteem between vocational and academic qualifications, and protect progression opportunities into creative careers.

Finally, echoing one of the points made by my noble friend Lady Keeley, I ask my noble friend the Minister whether she will pause decisions on funding existing successful creative level 3 qualifications until the new T and V-levels have been designed, piloted and shown to deliver comparable—or even better—outcomes.