National Skills Academy for Creative and Cultural Skills

The first annual conference of the UK’s National Skills Academy for Creative and Cultural Skills (NSA) took place at the Birmingham Hippodrome on 25th February 2010. 

The NSA is a network of industry professionals working together to develop and improve the skills of people working in the creative sector. Approximately 150 delegates attended, representing businesses, further and higher education, producers, venues and unions. The event started with a discussion of the challenges and issues facing the technical theatre and live music industries, led by the conference chairman (Paul Latham, chief operating officer, international music, Live Nation). Other sessions included the launch of the Performing Arts Blueprint, which is an analysis of the skills needed in the performing arts sector in the UK, jointly developed by Creative and Cultural Skills and The National Skills Academy. 

Nikki Scott, commercial director, attending on behalf of Stage Technologies, commented: ‘The conference highlighted for me how much can be gained by communication lines being established between the delegates in attendance – let alone those who have yet to join the NSA. We learnt, for example, that at any one time there are around 750,000 people following cultural-sector-related courses in further and higher education. And yet, many are struggling to find meaningful work in our marketplace. By creating the forum initiated at this first conference we can begin to see ways of ensuring that educational establishments are better able to serve the needs of employers and vice versa.’