CWL NEWS ARCHVE

This is the CWL News and Funded Project News Archive. It draws an informative picture on which stories relevant to the creative industries were happening during the AHRC-funded period of Creativeworks London between 2012 and 2016.

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UK visual effects, animation & games industries get multi-million pound skills boost

The UK’s leading visual effects (VFX), animation and games employers – including Double Negative, Framestore, Moving Picture Company, Pinewood Studios, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Ubisoft Reflections – have joined forces to create a new Next Gen Skills Academy.

The consortium has secured nearly £6.5m of investment via the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), to develop the next generation of talented animators, games designers and visual effects artists.

Led by Centroid, one of the industry’s leading motion capture companies, and Amersham and Wycombe College, a leading provider of vocational courses and training, the Next Gen Skills Academy will develop and offer new entry level qualifications, higher level apprenticeships, short courses and online learning opportunities, all designed to meet employers’ skills needs. The initiative is also supported by a range of stakeholders including BFI, Creative England, Creative Skillset, TIGA and Ukie.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said:

The UK’s creative industries are amongst the strongest in the world, worth £71.4 billion per year to the UK economy and supporting more than 1.7m jobs. Visual effects and games in particular are a great British success story. But if we’re to maintain our cutting-edge position, we need to make sure that we have the talent and skills the industry needs.

Investment will support the development of a new online learning platform to deliver the latest training and skills for these fast moving industries, together with the development of new nationally-recognised qualifications.

Phil Stilgoe, CEO of Centroid added:

By being led by a consortium of employers, the Next Gen Skills Academy will equip learners with the relevant skills that our sectors are crying out for.

The announcement follows the launch of the Creative Industries Strategy (Create UK), an industry led strategy launched in July 2014 that will see businesses and government work together to maintain the UK’s position as a world leader.

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Arts & Humanities Research Council
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London Fusion

Creativeworks London is one of four Knowledge Exchange Hubs for the Creative Economy funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to develop strategic partnerships with creative businesses and cultural organisations, to strengthen and diversify their collaborative research activities and increase the number of arts and humanities researchers actively engaged in research-based knowledge exchange.