News Rewired: What next for the niche?

Here’s an outline of a presentation I gave at news:rewired today on what’s next for the niche.

Skillset is the Sector Skills Council for Creative Media. We work with our industries as well as education, training providers and accreditation bodies to identify current and future skills gaps and shortages for existing workforce and new entrants and to plug those gaps.

We work with the Advertising, Animation, Computer Games, Facilities, Fashion and Textiles, Film, Interactive Media, Photo Imaging, Publishing, Radio and TV industries. It’s a big part of the economy, with over 25,000 companies. Despite the recession, it also has a substantial workforce: half a million people are employed in the industry, with a further 130k employed in Creative Media occupations in other industries. (Source: Skillset’s Strategic Skills Assessment for the Creative Media Industries, 2009)

As we have worked across the creative media sectors, we’ve seen the different industries increasingly draw on the skills and knowledge of each other. Today’s programme reflected this. Just take the mobile session: a traditional interactive media platform that is now relevant across publishing and broadcast. How far will this disruption to traditional business models and roles go? What impact will convergence platforms and technologies have on the skills of the workforce? I want to take you through a model we’ve developed at Skillset to understand these issues.

Digital has had an increasing impact across the traditional work flows in all sectors. Each of our sectors is on a journey: from traditional media modes of working to a ‘digital cloud’, where traditional boundaries don’t apply. Each is in transition, learning from the existing model of business, but needing to map a way forward.

(Source: Fiona Kilkelly, Skillset, 2010)

We want to understand:
What core, traditional skills will we take with us?
What new skills from other sectors will we need to acquire?
How will we go about our business in the digital cloud and who will we be working with?

What core, traditional skills will we take with us?
There are seven key areas of competence relevant to the practice of journalism identified in the recently merged broadcast and print National Occupational Standards for Journalism, developed in conjunction with employers, freelancers, BJTC, NCTJ, PTC and other industry bodies, published in February and now available online.

What new skills from other sectors will we need to acquire?

1. Core ‘craft’ skill
2. Platform specific specialism: audio, video, stills, text.
3. Additional technical knowledge or expertise from other sectors (e.g. non-linear narrative, data & infomatics, mobile etc)
4. Broad skills and knowledge to utilise (e.g. Agile project management, business models, managing conversations)
5. Most important, reader/customer/consumer in mind at all times: what they want, how they want it and when & where they want it.

It also applies to all levels: you need flexible & adaptive management, visionary creative leadership and collaborative working.

How will we go about our business in the digital cloud and who will we be working with?

That’s a lot of skills and knowledge for one person. We are starting to see emerging networks of individuals working collaboratively, pooling knowledge, skills and resources. e.g. Help Me Investigate, They Work for You, Talk about Local network. Adam Westbrook’s Next Generation Journalist ebook is a handbook for getting started.

There are opportunities for industry that may be beyond the scope and scale of even large multi-nationals. Alliances and partnerships need to be formed – across technical and creative sectors. The IFNC and subsequent local TV pilots, are emerging examples as is the development of computer games in educational publishing.

It’s an exciting time. NESTA analysis for 2009-2013 points to growth as businesses take advantage of digital technologies to develop new business models. Recessions tend to play a role in triggering new business start-ups. Whatever your size, whatever your niche, it’s no longer enough to just have the core skills. We’ll all have to think – and work – differently to get the right mix.

One final request.
Whether you agree or disagree with what I’ve said today, make sure you have your say and help shape our thinking. Take our Workforce Survey. It should take approximately 15 minutes, but will feed into our work for the next couple of years.

Thank you.