The skills that staff have are transferable not just to other companies but to other sectors - VFX boys and girls getting stolen for their software expertise by the corporate finance industries. Andthe capitalists will always have deeper pockets than the creatives. Retaining staff when they are offered significant increases in wages is near-impossible - unless, and Huw’s point is well made, we can make our industries more attractive in different ways, more rewarding (perhaps even holistic) than just chasing the pound signs. It’s not just in recruitment that we need to do it - it’s in keeping the talent you’ve got.

Maybe we’ve got to think outside the box. Of all the industries I’ve worked in, the Interactive sector has to be the “nicest”, in that whilst there is inevitable competition, there’s also a very healthy collaboration between companies in many instances. Maybe we need to think about taking this a step further, and” jointly” employing good people ? The nature of the industry means that it’s often difficult to justify employing specialists on a full time basis - so shared employment of specialists could be an option worth exploring further ?

A more proactive, meaningful partnership between industry and academia is also an area that could help address some of these issues constructively, leading to a pretty quick fix. There are some interesting discussions going on currently, and it will be good to see “models of best practice” being shared, possibly around these forums, that others can benefit from, and replicate ?

But “Skills Emergency ?” I’d say it’s a lot more serious and imediate than just a simple emergency…….