West Yorkshire Combined Authority

Yusuf Ukadia, Policy Officer and Carly Boden Adult Upskilling Manager, shared insights from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority:

Culture and the creative industries have been a key priority for West Yorkshire Combined Authority since the appointment of Tracy Brabin as Mayor in 2021.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority identified skills as a high impact area and has since commissioned and delivered a series of programmes from early years to adults education. It has used its devolved powers to introduce flexibility and up-take of some programmes, having found national funds limited in size and scope (e.g. 12-week minimum to be a valid progression).

Adult education initiatives include:

• Skills Bootcamps in stage and screen rigging and advanced games production

• Mayor’s Screen Diversity Programme – supporting young people and adults with protected characteristics to access careers within the screen industry.

• Live events careers – working with Theatres Network in Leeds to create and fund a Level 3 Diploma in Theatre Design and Production Diploma, to address the lack of technicians and suitable qualifications available for people to move into those roles.

• Apprenticeship levies – working with large employers in the region around unspent levies including £50,000 from ITV that will be passed to SMEs and businesses in the creative industries.