Discover! Creative Careers has announced its expansion into Scotland and Wales through new partnerships with Into Film
Following a competitive tender process, it has been announced that Into Film have been awarded two contracts to implement the Discover! Creative Careers programme in Scotland and in Wales across 2025 – 2026.
Into Film will work with the central Discover! Creative Careers team at ScreenSkills and in collaboration with key local partners and devolved nations support to deliver engagement modelled on the current programme.
Earlier in the year, the UK government announced increased investment from the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) following the Discover! Creative Careers programme’s success in improving awareness of creative industry career paths for school students. The investment included a planned expansion into two other UK nations, widening its reach and connecting even more young people with opportunities to engage with careers events across all creative industry sub-sectors.
The expanded programme will run until March 2026 and will include nation-specific activity as part of Discover! Creative Careers Month in November alongside careers information and employer encounters to young people aged 11-18, and those supporting their careers decisions, with the aim of building a more diverse and inclusive future workforce across the creative industries.
The tender process invited organisations across the nations to submit their interest to a panel which included representatives from the Discover! Creative Carers Steering Group and DCMS.
Mary Rose Programme Lead for Discover! Creative Careers said “This expansion marks an exciting point in this year’s programme delivery. The tender process was extremely competitive with the highest quality of submissions from a range of organisations across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The two separate tenders from Into Film demonstrated a robust approach to collaborating with the core programme, alongside years of experience and deep connections with the careers and education policy landscape in both Scotland and Wales. Like us, they are committed to bringing careers awareness across the entire breadth of the creative industries to under 18s as they work with us to help expand on our hugely successful programme.”
Into Film is the UK’s leading charity for film in education and the community. They provide screen industry careers information and advice, support young filmmakers, and bring the power of moving image storytelling into classroom teaching Established in 2013, the charity has long-established teams located in Scotland and Wales that work closely with schools and partners across the two nations to deliver a rich and varied programme of classroom resources, teacher training and screen industry careers advice. For Discover! Creative Careers, the teams at Into Film will work with local pan-creative industry steering groups and partners to ensure the full range of different creative roles – from dance to music, screen and advertising can be considered.
Non Stevens, Programme Lead for Into Film Cymru said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been chosen to lead Discover! Creative Careers, Cymru/Canfod Gyrfaoedd Creadigol. This is an incredible opportunity to open doors for young people across the nation, helping them explore the full breadth of careers in the creative industries. We are proud to be contributing to building a diverse and inclusive creative sector that is representative of communities across Wales. This flagship programme will broaden horizons, raise aspirations, and play a key role in future-proofing the creative industries in Wales.”
Nicola Kettlewood, Programme Lead for Into Film Scotland: “It’s a tremendous honour for Into Film Scotland to lead the Discover! Creative Careers Programme here. Scotland’s creative industries are rich with opportunity, and this programme allows us to inspire and inform the next generation about the diverse roles available across the sector. We’re committed to making these pathways more visible and accessible, particularly for young people who may not have previously seen a place for themselves in the creative world.”
About Discover! Creative Careers
Discover Creative Careers is a government funded, industry-led programme that is working to ensure there is a larger and more diverse intake of talent via a broader range of routes into the creative industries. The free to access hybrid programme of activities and resources offers meaningful encounters with industry professionals, online tools, training and support throughout the year. Its annual flagship Discover! Creative Careers event takes place every November, connecting thousands of young people with hundreds of workplaces to give hands-on insight into the creative industries.
Discover!, also known as the Creative Careers Programme, was kick-started with funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in 2018 and has been shaped and supported directly by creative businesses, institutions, trade bodies and individuals. Since Discover! Creative Careers was relaunched in 2023, the programme has reached more than 62,000 young people via in-person and online activity and industry encounters.
The delivery of Discover! Creative Careers is led by ScreenSkills in partnership with over 25 organisations and through collaboration with industry, education and careers professionals.
About ScreenSkills
ScreenSkills is the skills body for the UK screen industries. An independent charity, industry funded and business-led, it helps to train people at every career stage who make UK content which everyone loves and trusts. By identifying key skills gaps using industry data and insight, ScreenSkills plays a leading role in the creation of high quality, accessible and standardised training and development programmes that creates and sustains a skilled and inclusive workforce, enabling growth and future innovation, and actively contributing to the future creativity, health and prosperity of the sector. ScreenSkills is evidence-based and data-informed, a respected thought-leader across the sector, and an agile delivery partner embedded throughout the entire cycle of content production.
About Into Film Scotland
Into Film Scotland is part of Into Film, the UK’s leading charity for film in education and the community. They provide screen industry careers information and advice, support young filmmakers, and bring the power of moving image storytelling into classroom teaching and youth provision across Scotland.
About Into Film Cymru
Into Film Cymru is part of Into Film, the UK’s leading charity for film in education and the community. They provide screen industry careers information and advice, support young filmmakers, and bring the power of moving image storytelling into classroom teaching and youth provision across Wales.
For media enquiries, contact:
rachel.shaw@screenskills.com / bonnie.smith@screenskills.com