Multiplatform bursaries

Skillset recently announced an investment of £200,000 in multiplatform skills by offering bursaries worth up to £800 to those employed in – or working as a freelance for – the television industry. With 500 places available on 38 pre-selected courses, Skillset can pay up to 80% of the multiplatform training costs.

Why multiplatform? The onset of convergence between the television, digital and interactive media industries is creating new challenges and demanding new skills from the workforce. Therefore, multiplatform skills have been identified by Skillset’s Television Skills Council as a priority training area. The Council is made up of senior representatives from broadcasters, unions and independent producers, who all agree that while multiplatform delivery is the future of television, there are large skills shortages in this area.

The courses are at foundation level, around programme skills or for general management, and include:

• Introduction to multiplatform
• Introduction to social media
• Developing and pitching a multiplatform project
• Editing for multiplatform
• Encoding content
• IP rights and monetisation of content
• Project management
• Repurposing TV content
• Shooting for the web
• Writing for multiplatform
• Managing performance
• Running cross-displinary teams

This is a scheme that responds directly to the challenges of those working in creative media who intend to work in or with the TV industry in a multiplatform context. Full details on eligibility, the courses available and how to apply are available on the Skillset website. But hurry, even though the deadline is 26 March 2010, applications are flooding in and places are limited.