Image: The scheme will create up to 6,500 apprenticeships

Arts Council England (ACE) has launched the Creative employment programme to help young unemployed people find paid entry-level work in the arts and cultural sector.

The programme is designed to support up to 6,500 new apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships and paid internships across the sector and will target unemployed people aged between 16 and 24.

ACE has opened a commissioned grant for applications to find a national provider who will deliver the programme.

The successful applicant will receive up to £15m to deliver the scheme and help subsidise new opportunities which will directly benefit unemployed young people until March 2015.

Andrea Stark, Executive Director, Arts Council England, said: "The Creative employment programme is a fantastic and vital development for young people interested in working in arts and culture.

"If young people cannot gain entry into the sector workforce we risk losing a generation of talent, which would potentially have an adverse impact on the art that is produced, distributed and attended by the wider population."

• The Creative employment programme builds on work started by the sector to provide fairer entry routes for young people. 1,800 Creative Apprenticeships have been delivered over the past four years as well as two initiatives - the Creative Jobs Programme and the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries Scheme.

For more details on the initiative and how to apply, click here.