Skillset North Launch and a Quick Update on 7 Wonders in 7 Days
I’m finally blogging my notes from a couple of key industry events I attended in the last month. This post is about the launch of Skillset North. I will blog about developments at MediaCity:UK in a follow up post.
I must apologise for the lack of updates on Real Fresh TV of late. Those of you following me on Twitter may be aware that I currently have my hands full with work and my social media for social good project, 7 Wonders in 7 Days.
The social media powered round-the-world charity fundraising trip which aims to raise £777,000 for 7 charities through my visiting the new 7 wonders of the world in 7 days in September is gaining momentum.
A recent charity auction raised £242 with £50 coming from a signed children’s novel sent in by Sir Terry Pratchett OBE, patron of Alzheimer’s Research Trust, one of the 7 charities being supported on the trip.
The 7 charities are:
Alzheimer’s Research Trust, Diabetes UK, British Red Cross, Open Doors, Young Minds, Feed the Minds and the Jessie Ekweozor Memorial Foundation.
The last is a foundation my parents are starting in memory of my grandmother whose death aged 83 from Alzheimer’s inspired the whole trip.
The 7 Wonders in 7 Days story has been picked up by local press with the Manchester Evening News’ Salford Advertiser running a feature on it.
I’m also being interviewed on BBC Radio Manchester on the Becky Want show on Tuesday 7th July at 2pm! Catch up on the rest of the campaign by visiting the 7 Wonders in 7 Days website where I blog about updates on a twice weekly, if not daily basis.
People on Twitter have chipped in to help with the travel itinerary, which is being planned with Thomas Cook Manchester. There is also a host of social media content from video on YouTube, pictures on Flickr and a growing community on Facebook.
Now back to my notes from the Skillset North Launch event.
I attended the launch of Skillset North Northern Exposure event in Leeds on the 11th of June. It was an insightful and inspiring event, not least because Bradford had just been awarded UNESCO City of film status.
Skillset is the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for Creative Media which comprises TV, film, radio, interactive media, animation, computer games, facilities, photo imaging and publishing.
Skillset aims to supports skills and training for people and businesses to ensure the UK creative media industries maintain their world class position.
Here come my notes. If you were there and remember it differently, please shout out in the comments!
The event was introduced by Dinah Caine OBE, Chief Executive of Skillset. She is pictured above with Peter Salmon, Director North BBC.
She provided some background to the setting up of Skillset North.
Skillset worked with the three regional development agencies and screen agencies to develop Skillset North. The process started 18 months ago.
Results include:
Swedish based digital media and leadership management training for creative media businesses across the north as provided by Hyper Island.
There are also Leadership Lunches providing support to creative leaders across the region as part of the Leaders@Lunch seminars.
Other successes include:
- Three highly acclaimed Skillset Media Academies at Liverpool John Moores University, University of Teeside and Yorkshire and Humber Skillset Media Academy.
- Endemol Media Training Programme in partnership with Northern Skillset Media Academies
- 40 Media Production Apprentices working in the North West
- Sustain – a high level skills programme for freelancers and creative media companies in the North East
- Production Guru – professional development course for TV production professionals
Within 18 months the BBC comes to the North! And with that she introduced the next speaker, Peter Salmon, Skillset Board Member and Director North BBC.
Peter shared the very exciting news that Bradford had just become the world’s first City of Film.
Originally from a small city between Leeds and Liverpool, Burnley, Peter pointed out that the world has moved on from being joined up by narrow boat and is now joined by pipes (bearing information).
He will be based at MediaCity in Salford and joked that ITV let the BBC off the hook from working with talent in this area.
He says that it is an extraordinary opportunity for the BBC to work in this region. This work is already ongoing:
5 Days, a drama thriller is shooting in Dewsbury, Wakefield. There’s a new sitcom shooting in Hebden Bridge and children’s program Tracy Beaker will be shooting 13 episodes of a series in the North East.
London is worrying about a brain drain to the North!
Over the next 18 months [we] will see the temperature rise. See more recruitment across the North. Peter says he is looking forward to providing work and support to people in the sector, to hearing Geordies and flat vowels in BBC offices!
People in the region in Burnley will feel like it is at their doorstep.
It’s a period of massive change, when much of the plans were envisioned, ‘to Google’ was not a verb.
Over the next 2 years over a thousand people will be recruited into the BBC.
He ended by sharing that he was told that the only 3 screen agencies worth working with in the country were in the Northwest!
Up next was the chair of the Skillset North Industry Panel and Managing Director of Standing Stone, Tom Gutteridge sharing about the work of the Panel from a business perspective.
Tom shared that the sea change that has hit the industry will need Skillset to move very quickly to manage training for all.
The interface between university and industry is shown in the way the academies have been made.
As highlighted in the Successes of Skillset North above, there are now three Skillset Media Academies at Liverpool John Moores University, University of Teeside and Yorkshire and Humber Skillset Media Academy.
He shares that the problems that the media industry face are vast and not all down to the current downturn. The solution: It’s all down to unlocking and harnessing talent.
Up after Tom was Sally Joynson, Chief Executive of Screen Yorkshire who shared how public agencies were working together across the north.
Sally said she was speaking on behalf of the 3 screen agencies.
The North now faces the biggest opportunity of its kind.
15 million inhabitants, one third of the UK.
Over the next 5-15 years, there’s lots of opportunity for it to be known as a global creative hub.
We have all those ingredients there.
What we need to make this work is partnership.
The 3 Northern Screen agencies are now looking at new levels of partnership and collaboration.
MediaCity is very important.
Screen Yorkshire were vocal about the need to make MediaCity about more than the North West.
With Skillset, the regional development agencies and the Learning Skills Council, it’s very much a pan-Northern day, particularly with Bradford achieving UNESCO City of Film status.
A great coup for the region!
That’s where my notes end. The next sentence was about the Skillset North Panel members having red badges to aid networking!
I hope you can see why I took the time to blog it, it was a pretty exciting event. What do you think? Where you there? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Image credit: Taken by Chi-chi at the event
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