Making a career out of your passion and a business from your ideas - that's what we want to help Britain achieve. Culture Secretary Andy Burnham

The first ever comprehensive plan for Government support for the creative industries is published today, marking their shift from the margins to the mainstream of economic and policy thinking.

The strategy, 'Creative Britain: New Talents for the New Economy' makes 26 key commitments for Government and industry across every stage of the creative process. It is designed to turn talent into jobs and help creative businesses thrive in the international market.

It recognises the growing success story that is Britain's creative economy and seeks to provide the industries with an unrivalled pool of talent to draw on, and the same formal, structured support associated with other industries.

Publishing the action plan today, Culture Secretary Andy Burnham said: "Making a career out of your passion and a business from your ideas - that's what we want to help Britain achieve. So now is the time to recognise the growing success story that is Britain's creative economy and build on it. The creative industries must move from the margins to the mainstream of economic and policy thinking, as we look to create the jobs of the future.”

The starting point of the comprehensive strategy is unlocking creative talent, helping it flourish and turning it into jobs. Routes into the creative industries for people of all backgrounds will be developed. New commitments announced today include:

· securing 5,000 apprenticeships across the creative industries by 2013. BBC at mediacity:uk, Tate Liverpool, Universal Music Group and Monkeydevil Design are among the first to sign up to offer high quality training

· working with the industries' most successful creators, including Aardman Animations, EMI, and the Royal Opera House to develop five new 'centres of excellence' in creative skills

· exploring the creation of a 14 - 25 Academic Hub for the creative industries, which will bring schools and art colleges and universities together

· The World Creative Business Conference - an annual event bringing together world leaders in the creative and financial sector

The Creative Industries accounted for £60 billion, or 7.3per cent of Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2005. The Creative Industries grew by an average of 6per cent per annum between 1997 and 2005, which is twice as twice as fast as the rest of the economy. In 2006, creative employment totalled 1.9 million jobs. This comprised just over 1.1 million jobs in the Creative Industries and almost 800,000 further creative jobs within businesses outside these industries