The Creative Industries and workforce in Wales
Size and shape of the workforce
Employment within the Creative Industries in Wales is just over 13,000 with 28% of the workforce working as freelancers.
The largest sectors in Wales in terms of workforce are Interactive Media (approximately 4,000 people employed), Television (3,500 employees) and Publishing (2,000 employees).
Women represent 29% of the Creative Industries workforce in Wales, 3% identify themselves as being from an Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) background, and 7% consider themselves to have a disability (as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act). 47% of the workforce is under 35 years, suggesting a relatively young workforce. 29% of the workforce in Wales can speak Welsh.
The Creative Industries in Wales are characterised by a highly qualified workforce, with 68% of the workforce in possession of a degree level qualification. Approaching three-fifths (57%) of the Welsh Creative Industries workforce had participated in training during the preceding 12 months. Demand for training still remains high, with 56% of the workforce indicating that they have a current training or development requirement.
Sector by sector
Animation
Animation is a particular strength in Wales with a number of leading Welsh animation studios clustered around the Cardiff Bay area. The sector employs some 400 in Wales across a wide range of programming types, roughly the same as 2006. It is estimated that the annual turnover for Welsh animation is around £7.5m.
Computer Games
The Computer Games sector in Wales is estimated to employ around 50 people, less than 1% of the UK total for this sector. Due to rounding and freelancers who ‘dip in and out' of the sector this figure may somewhat understate the sector's true size. However, the estimate does suggest a fall in employment numbers since 2006.
The Computer Games sector in Wales is supported by a growing number of courses offered at Further and Higher Education level, and cross-over links with the Animation sector.
Facilities
The size of the sector is relatively small, reflecting relatively low levels of production across the Nation. Overall UK-wide estimates point to a workforce of around 43,000 people, with less than 2% (around 700) working in Wales.
Film
200 people work in the key sub-sector of Film Production in Wales, which is about 2% of the UK total. The Film Agency for Wales estimates a further 180 people work in Cinema Exhibition across 57 venues in Wales.
In terms of the economic impact of the Film sector in Wales, production spend directly against film in 2008-09 was £1,898,165 - of which only (19%) originated from Welsh production companies, with the rest coming from inward investment, principally England and the USA.
Interactive Media
As with the UK as a whole, the Interactive media sector in Wales is growing rapidly with around 3,850 people employed (approximately 11% of the total UK workforce).. In terms of employment profile, the sector is characterised by relatively low levels of freelance working (7% of the workforce) and extremely low levels of female participation (just 2% of the workforce).
Photo Imaging
About 1,200 people are employed in the Photo Imaging sector in Wales. Most of the sector is compromised of micro businesses and therefore heavily reliant on freelance working (around two-thirds of the sector).
Publishing
It is estimated that 2,000 people in Wales work in the newspaper publishing sub-sector (Approximately 3% of the UK total for this sub-sector) In Wales, indicative findings point to a sector characterised by a stable but small industry of small independent publishers - with book publishing concentrated in North and Mid Wales, while newspaper publishing concentrated in the South.
Radio
Around 750 people - 4% of the UK total - work within the Radio sector in Wales. This estimate represents a fall of around a quarter since 2006. Only one in ten (9%) of the Welsh Radio workforce was estimated to be freelance at the time of the survey, compared to 23% across the UK as a whole.
Television
Current estimates suggest that around 3,500 people are employed in the sector in Wales. The majority of jobs - around 2,500 - are in Independent Production, with an additional 1,000 people working for Terrestrial Broadcasters in Wales. Overall, 31% of the TV sector works in a freelance capacity, although these figures vary from 38% in Independent Production to 15% in Terrestrial Broadcast.
Data taken from the Skillset‘s Strategic Skills Assessment for Wales 2010. For more information, please visit the Research section.