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Skills minister Matthew Hancock has launched the Creative Employment Programme (CEP) on behalf of Creative & Cultural Skills, at its annual industry conference 06/03/2013

This follows the announcement made by Arts Council England  on November 6 2012 that it had selected the Skills Academy, through Creative and Cultural Skills , to be the national distributor of the new £15million National Lottery funded CEP, to increase work and training opportunities for unemployed young people.

In his keynote speech to the 250 leading industry representatives at the conference, Mr Hancock urged employers in the creative and cultural sector to support the programme. The CEP provides funding to facilitate the creation of 6,500 new traineeships, apprenticeship and paid internship opportunities, to help young unemployed people aged 16-24 (graduate and non-graduate) enter the arts and cultural workforce.

The CEP aims to tackle youth unemployment by providing paid opportunities for unemployed young people to gain access to on-the-job training, skills and experience in the arts and cultural sector. It also aims to change recruitment culture in the sector by helping to diversify the workforce and provide fair access and progression routes in the long term, to help the sector to meet its economic potential.

Positions created will be in a range of disciplines, from technical to administrative roles, provided they are located in England and fall within the Arts Council England’s footprint of: music; dance; theatre; literature; visual arts; contemporary craft; combined arts; carnival; circus; galleries; museums and libraries.

'The UK's world-beating creative industries should be open to those with the most to offer - regardless of background. But for too long, young people without money or connections have struggled to get a foot in the door. This programme will help the industry meet its full economic and creative potential both by offering real employment opportunities to bright new recruits, and driving a culture change to put the sector on a firmer footing for growth,' said Mr Hancock.

Applications open today at Creative Employment.