Our role and responsibilities

We are licensed as a Sector Skills Council by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. Sector Skills Council licences are governed by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.

We work across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. We are members of the Alliance of Sector Skills Councils, collectively representing the skills needs of UK industry.

Our licence means that we are recognised as the Standard Setting Body for the creative and cultural industries, working with employers and industry representatives to set National Occupational Standards to inform the development of vocational qualifications.

We are an Issuing Authority for Apprenticeships in England, as designated by the Minister for FE, Skills and Lifelong Learning, responsible for quality assuring apprenticeship frameworks to guarantee that they are genuinely employer-led.

We are a member of the National Skills Academy network, recognised by the Skills Funding Agency as providing genuinely industry-led skills initiatives.

Our Skills Academy is a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England.

We are a member of the Confederation of Apprenticeship Training Agencies, as part of our role in running a recognised Apprenticeship Training Association.