Skillset Roll Out Route into Radio in Kent
Skillset announced today that its Route into Radio project is now being rolled out in Kent, giving more people the opportunity to fast track themselves into a career in radio. Twelve people from Surrey and Sussex have already taken part in this innovative, industry-led project and applications for the Kent project are open now.
A total of eighteen Radio Stations owned by GCAP, BBC and community stations have signed up to the scheme which will see the interns take a three-month placement and existing radio professionals working as mentors. Trainees will also be able to work towards a City and Guilds Qualification, following workshops from high profile industry practitioners.
To be eligible, applicants need to already have some connection with the radio industry as volunteers, interns or junior staff members. Applications are open until 07 March 2008 for the Kent Phase with the course opening up for recruitment in Hampshire and Isle of Wight in July 2008 and details can be found on the Route into Radio web pages.
This is the first project of its kind and Bob Hoad, Community Relations Director at GCap and Route into Radio Project Co-coordinator, told radiotoday.co.uk: "Route into Radio has already proved to be a great success with the industry and interns alike. The enthusiasm from all parties for this project has resulted in the first group of interns bringing a fresh focus to skills development in the radio sector. I am sure that a number of these will go on to be the talent of the future."
The Route into Radio project has been devised by Skillset - the Sector Skills Council for Creative Media, in conjunction with industry, - with funding from the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA). The scheme covers the entire region - West Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Surrey, East Sussex, West Sussex, Kent, Milton Keynes, Bracknell, Forest, Medway, Reading, Slough, Windsor & Maidenhead, Wokingham, Brighton and Cove, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton.
The three-month placements will include more than six weeks of on-the-job training at regional radio stations where industry professionals will be assigned to work as mentors. The mentors will guide the interns through the key areas within radio including live broadcast, programming, news and news presentation, product and content generation, advertising, sales and marketing. The interns will also have the opportunity to work towards two units of the City and Guilds Media Techniques Diploma which is a Level 3 qualification.
Fiona Wickins, SEEDA's Contract Manager for the project, said: "This is a unique and exciting project that will hopefully create a blueprint for future interventions within the radio sector."
For more information, including application forms, see the Route into Radio web pages.
March 2008
Notes to editors:
1. Skillset is the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for Creative Media which comprises TV, film, radio, interactive media, animation, computer games, facilities, photo imaging and publishing. SSCs are licensed by the UK Government and by Ministers in the devolved administrations to tackle the skills and productivity challenge by sector. They are independent, UK-wide organisations, are employer-led, and actively involve trade unions, professional bodies and other stakeholders in the industry.
2. The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) is the Government-funded Agency responsible for the sustainable economic development and regeneration of the South East of England - the driving force of the UK's economy. Our aim is to create a prosperous, dynamic and inspirational region by helping businesses compete more effectively, training a highly skilled workforce, supporting and enabling our communities while safeguarding our natural resources and cherishing our rich cultural heritage.
3. The Broadcast Radio sector in the South East employs 1904 people, and 531 freelancers (Skillset Census 2006). It terms of workforce size, broadcast radio is the second largest sector within the Audio Visual Industries for the South East of England.