Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the sector-led approach so important?
It enables the sector to form tailor-made business solutions and organises the critical mass needed to implement those solutions. Skills can set the UK apart in an increasingly competitive global business, and through industry and Skillset working together, effort and resources can be targeted to where they are needed most.
Why should industry be in the driving seat?
The creative media industries are in the best position to identify current and emerging skills needs. The media industries are a major economic player worth well over £10 billion a year to the UK economy and the skills and talents of people working in the industry are essential to that success. The industries must combat the skills challenges ahead and Skillset is perfectly placed to help form partnerships between industry and the education system.
For too long, the supply-side in education - the colleges and universities, the qualifications bodies, the funding bodies, the Government through targets - has dominated what gets delivered by the education and skills development systems. More relevant education and better skills development is needed. This means listening to what employers really need. Through its Sector Skills Agreements Skillset has been addressing this issue and will continue to do so to ensure that the industries get the skills and training they need for their existing and future workforce.
Why are skills important to the creative media industries?
The creative media industries exist at the cutting edge of new technologies. While new platforms present new opportunities to exploit, they also present new skills needs, such as media literacy and knowledge of intellectual property rights issues. In the face of continual change and tougher worldwide competition, such as from China which will be the third largest economy in the world by 2015, our workforce must have the skills needed to keep the UK ahead of its competitors. The UK's creative media workforce needs to update its skills continually to stay ahead in the digital age. We have a reputation for the very finest high quality skills and we must maintain it.
What are the skills gaps and shortages?
Each sector is subject to specific skills gaps, shortages and issues:
Television
- Commercial awareness and management and leadership;
- Health and safety;
- Specialist high end creative and technical skills;
- Vision mixers, broadcast engineers, technical operations and people with wide interactive knowledge and skills;
- Skills around programme innovation, deal structuring, investor relations, cross-media ownership, fluency in intellectual property issues and scheduling skills extending across channels, across platforms and across time.
Film
- High level generic business/managerial and company development skills;
- Specialised high-level skill needs around product innovation, deal structuring, investor relations, cross-media ownership, fluency in intellectual property issues and scheduling skills extending across channels, across platforms and across time;
- Practical experience and expertise in digital film technology among the UK's world-class technicians;
- Retaining and sustaining talent once it has been trained and developed.
Interactive Media and Computer Games
- There is a shortage of experienced practitioners with functional flexibility and the right combination of specialist and generic skills, including management, business development, and leadership;
- New entrants and many graduates are not fully equipped to meet the needs of the industry; post-entry skills acquisition is primarily through self-directed learning, coaching and mentoring;
- Traditional 'training solutions' are unlikely to work - flexibility and modularity are key at all levels;
- At the company level there are gaps in business, project and production management skills, company development, client management, sales and marketing and commercial awareness within an international context;
- As well as generic skill gaps there are potential gaps in drawing, diagramming and creative art skills, as well as creative and specialised or technical writing skills.
