Interactive Media Sector: research
The sector's rapid evolution makes research no easy task. It is also a very fluid sector overlapping many other sectors, including IT, and, of course, television as convergence gathers pace.
The UK's interactive media industry is worth several billion pounds annually and is estimated to employ around 40,000 people. It is heavily reliant on freelancers and contractors, who make up around one fifth of the workforce. The workforce is generally very highly qualified, with a combination of specialist skills and also a range of more general skills.
While individuals with specific skills are relatively easy to find, those with the hybrid skills needed by the industry are not. An absence of cross–disciplinary awareness and understanding of role context is particularly significant. This broad expertise is essential for practitioners to progress into senior or management roles. To meet the industry's long term needs, these skills need to be developed throughout the education system, especially at university.
Labour Market Intelligence Digest
Skillset's industry endorsed research programme provides authoritative Labour Market Intelligence (LMI) for the creative media industries throughout the UK.
This LMI informs how we allocate our funding and underpins the development of skills solutions as well as our strategies and Sector Profiles. The latest data available are summarised and published in a series of Sector LMI Digests
Digests for 2011 are currently being produced. The LMI Digest for Interactive Media 2011 will be published here soon.
Visit our Research section to see the Census and surveys on which the profiles are based.