The Crafts Council floated some figures regarding the craft industry in the United Kingdom that should cause some jaws to drop. A downloadable 116-page report “Measuring the Craft Economy,” found that craft skills contribute close to £3.4 billion to the UK economy.
The Council states that the “contribution craft makes to the economy is much bigger than previously thought.” Here’s some numbers to give a sense of scope:
- £745 million to the economy through the craft sector
- £243 million to the economy through creative industries including fashion, film and architecture
- £2.4 billion to the wider economy in industries including bio-medicine, science and engineering
The council goes on to quote Ed Vaizey, the Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy, who said:
“The UK’s Creative Industries are a veritable powerhouse and contribute more than £8 million an hour to the national economy. This report highlights the key role that craft plays in this remarkable success story and demonstrates the huge range of occupations through which craft skills are contributing the phenomenal growth of the creative industries.”
The report probably feels like vindication to the people working within that field. Dezeen reported about a year ago that the UK Department of Culture, Media and Sport proposed dropping crafts from its list of recognized creative industries, which triggered a backlash from the crafts sector. Rosy Greenlees, the Council’s executive director, had the tact to not gloat over the numbers in light of this report, stating:
“This research gives us, for the first time, evidence of how vital craft skills are to the UK’s economy. They contribute to a wide range of industries — may of which the UK leads the world in. We look forward to continuing our work with the government to ensure that craft’s value is reflected in official economic statistics.”
Bill Rodgers is a Contributing Editor at CFile.
Any thoughts about this post? Share yours in the comment box below.
Add your valued opinion to this post.