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News Rewired: What next for the niche?

Friday, June 25th, 2010

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.

Impact of disruptive technology

(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.

Journalism NOS

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

Core ‘craft’ skill
Platform specific specialism: audio, video, stills, text.
Additional technical knowledge or expertise from other sectors (e.g. non-linear narrative, data & infomatics, mobile etc)
Broad skills and knowledge to utilise (e.g. Agile project management, business models, managing conversations)
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.

Pick n Mix skills

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.

Tags: #newsrw, journalism, news:rewired, niche, Publishing, skillse, skillset
Posted in Interactive, Publishing, Skillset, creative media | 2 Comments »

Calling all professional and aspiring writers and literature workers

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

ccskills

Are you professional or aspiring novelist, poet, writer, translator, critic, editor or agent? Our sister Sector Skills Council, Creative and Cultural Skills, is running an open consultation on their Literature Blueprint.

The Blueprint is a UK-wide workforce development plan for the literature sector developed in conjunction with Arts Council England. It will analyse the skills needs of the literature sector and propose key actions in response.

Creative and Cultural Skills are inviting writers, literature development workers and others across the literature sector to contribute to the new plan to develop the skills needs of the industry.

If you are working in the sector, make sure you have your say. Download the Literature Blueprint here. Comments should be sent to: engagement@ccskills.org.uk

Deadline for feedback is Friday 19th March 2010.

Posted in Interactive, Publishing, Skillset, creative media, higher education | 2 Comments »

MY NEW BEST FRIEND: mentoring in the games industry

Friday, July 17th, 2009

Three wise men: Thomas Bidaux, Charles Cecil and David Wightman

Mentoring is to my mind a quite quixotic way of imparting skills. In effect it’s actually about knowledge exchange rather than skills, and hence is a little bit off the Skillset radar. It’s also usually a one to one activity, and hence rather expensive to institute. In fact one-to-one is a little misleading. There are usually (to paraphrase Princess Di) at least three people in this marriage- mentor, mentee and matchmaker or fixer. That’s a hell of a bill to pay at the end of the day for often unpredictable outcomes. But when you apply that equation to the Games industry, it might just be worth the risk for two reasons.

Firstly ideas have to be a lot hardier these days to weather the economic realities outside of the concept art stage- the previous originality of British brands like Elite, Lemmings and Worms just wouldn’t survive today’s climate without serious economic, logistic and even legal planning and canniness before hitting the market.

Secondly, the rewards can be huge for UK PLC; it’s reckoned Jagex make 60 million dollars of annual sales from Runescape. Estimates suggest that the IP for GTA has generated 1.9 billion for Take 2 (Games Investor report).
For those two reasons, it’s surely worth taking a punt at mentoring.

(more…)

Tags: Games, Mentoring, NESTA
Posted in Games, Interactive, Skillset | No Comments »

Farewell and Thanks to Mandy Berry – a key part of the creative media industries

Friday, July 3rd, 2009

01_1_06 Last night, key figures in the education, skills and business world of creative media gathered in a Soho basement to wish Mandy Berry well in whatever she does next.

Mandy Berry has ran 01zero-one for the last five years. It is a fantastic resource for the UK creative media industry – a sector-specific training space, deep in the heart of Soho. Skillset has done many fantastic things with Mandy and 01zero-one in that time – things like First Post, cutting edge subsidised training courses for employees and freelancers, a brilliant networking programme called InSync, London Games Fringe, a new introductory qualification for new entrants into the industry… …

Hundreds, if not thousands, of people have benefited from 01zero-one. Hundreds of lives have been improved, careers kick-started and fine-tuned, minds engaged and stimulated.

There are a number of remarkable things about 01zero-one. It is a media business-facing unit in the heart of a further education college. It has always been an establishment of partnership – borne out of a real drive to improve the creative industries in London. It has always kept industry at the very heart of everything it does (I sit on the industry board alongside other key figures). It has always been cutting edge – debates and discussions happen their before they bleed into the mainstream; courses available are always up-to-the-minute (some times too much; we once funded a course a number of years ago on multi-platform content that got little take up – at the time the industry didn’t see the point!). And it’s part of a wonderful Skillset Media Academy.

The success of 01zero-one is down to Mandy and her every brilliant team. She has always steered the work of it into interesting and crucial challenges. She has always worked collaboratively with key partners. She has always happy to experiment in content and delivery. She has always welcome our industries into the building with openness and great hospitality.

Wherever she goes to next, whatever she does, all of us at Skillset thank her for the support, dedication and hard work she has given our sector over the years and wish her the very best of her future endeavours.

Knowing Mandy as I do, I am sure they will be equally as important and impactful for our industry!

Posted in Animation, Facilities, Games, Interactive, Skillset, creative media | No Comments »

Leadership and Management skills in the creative media industry

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

We at Skillset are embarking on a journey of discovery around leadership and management skills in the creative media industry. There is a strong-held belief that this area isn’t up to scratch in our sector. Maybe because we are made up of “creatives”, maybe because the business model is different, maybe because we have very little professionalisation going on – I don’t know why, but this I do know (or at least I think I do!): (more…)

Posted in 2012, Animation, Facilities, Games, Interactive, Publishing, Skillset, creative media | No Comments »

In with the summer sun

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

dandelion-field1 We’re back!

Sorry for the downtime recently – it’s been a bit of a struggle migrating this onto our own servers -but now, like the great British summer, we’re back and we’re here to stay!

And we’ve got a new look – to go with the new Skillset logo.

We are always interested in what works for you here – there is quite a lot of you reading us now – so let us know.

If you have things to say, don’t be shy. Compliments or complaints – agreements or arguments – do let us know. We read each and every comment, and as long as it’s legal and tasteful we’ll happily add your voices to the debate. If there is a topic you would like us to talk about, let us know that too.

Thanks for reading – all at Skillset.

Posted in 2012, Animation, Facilities, Games, Interactive, Publishing, Skillset, creative media | No Comments »

Guest Blog from Neil Garner – Training vs Education

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009

Neil Garner is a professional trainer I have known (and respected) for over a decade. He used to train the trainees I looked after at the BBC – and was a perfect judge of character as well as a wonderful communicator, enthuser and sage. Here are his thoughts on the difference between education and training.

As a freelance trainer of many years standing, I work with both Universities and people in our industry (running bespoke training events for them) and would like to point out that the aims of the two are almost mutually exclusive.

HE and University is about education… this means that courses have to have academic value and rigour, and the college/university authorities guard this rightly, because it is a heritage which goes back centuries. It means thatundergraduate life about personal development and discovery. The courses require the students to study and learn independently, without massive amounts or intervention from anyone, just a guiding hand from tutors. The result is that university education is about asking questions… and the students will be given time in which to explore and develop their ideas and themselves. In due course they may find the answers for themselves.

Training on the other hand is about achieving commercial goals… getting a person to a point where they can do something they are required to do, by the most cost effective means. Bearing in mind that time is possibly one of our industries most valuable commodities, it probably means as fast as possible. The result being that a training course provides answers… it will spoonfeed information, skills, knowledge or concepts to the trainees as required to achieve the desired outcome. Through this training, the trainee can go away and immediately put the learning into use. With time and practice of doing what they learned, the trainee will also gain experience and therefore develop personally.

I suspect that in real terms our industry will always need both… the universities to provide people who can prove (by their degree status and the work they have done) that they have the ability to be self starters and to learn quickly and effectively and take initiative.

Industry trainers and training bodies to provide the specific skills and knowledge which industry needs. To take the graduates and non- graduates alike to the professional level required.

Over the years, in my role as a trainer, I have seen large numbers of new recruits to the industry, some of whom have come with ‘relevant’ degrees, some with ‘other’ degrees and some, of course, who have neither. In practice I have found that actually, there is almost no difference between the categories and that those with ‘relevant’ degrees have only a marginal advantage at the beginning. Often however, this is more than offset by the drive and enthusiasm of those without, who may have spent large amounts of spare time getting involved with similar activities and the feeling that they have a disadvantage to overcome. I believe, that where the graduate benefit shows through, is at a much later stage, when they are better prepared to move to the higher level jobs, but this is a legacy which much harder to quantify and may only seen at later stage when training, time and experience have also been given.

In real terms this opens a debate which other more ‘mature’ industries probably had many years ago… what can we realistically expect from the HE and Universities sector and how does our industry intends to
provide training. It is worth pointing out that, for example, a degree in accountancy will only shorten the training period for Chartered Status by 6-9 months and be the equivalent of a ‘foundation’ course. The other 2-3 years and all the professional exams still need to be taken… Many other ‘professions’ are similar.

Bearing this in mind, does it matter whether our employees have degrees in media studies, medicine or management accountancy? Do we value the label of BA, BSc, etc.? Would trying to change degree courses to be much more ‘training’ focused actually ‘throw the baby out with the bath water’?

Posted in Animation, Facilities, Games, Interactive, Publishing, Skillset | No Comments »