“Where will the jobs come from?” is a cry often heard when it is proposed that we embrace change in the economy. The purpose of this session is to answer that question. Despite the real fears that people have about change giving rise to job losses, it is also true to say that there is also a continual process of job creation that goes with it.

We are in the process of moving from the Organisational Age to the Creative Age. The Knowledge Economy is a phenomenon of the Creative Age. In the Knowledge Economy, the key to wealth creation is the ability to enhance knowledge. Knowledge is enhanced by adding value to what is known already, and this occurs through a creative process. By augmenting knowledge creatively, those who undertake this process have added value to the existing stock of knowledge, and this wealth creation drives economic growth.

It is often said that the key to job creation is the nurturing of the ‘Creative Class’. This is a group of people who are seen as essential to triggering economic growth. Much effort is made to attract the creatives to various locations, with varying degrees of success. Normally, we would want to generate a creative cluster as a pre-requisite to economic success. It is not until the cluster is fully interactive that the benefits will be felt.

In this session, we shall consider who the ‘Creative Class’ are, why they are seen as essential to economic regeneration, and what policies and strategies could be put in place to attract and nurture them. We also need to take a detour into our likely technological future before moving on to consider what sort of jobs might be in Suffolk by 2030 if these policies were to be effective.

There is no charge to attend any of the sessions, although booking in advance would be helpful to allow us to anticipate numbers. Please feel free to share this invitation with any of your colleagues who might be interested in atending.

The briefings will be delivered by Stephen Aguilar-Millan (Director of Research, European Futures Observatory), who will also lead the discussion and review.