Skillset Celebrates Partnerships And Talent In Northern Ireland

Skillset, the Sector Skills Council for Creative Media, hosted the Enhancing Creative Skills event in Belfast this week, which celebrated the launch of a series of initiatives as part of an ambitious action plan for developing the Northern Ireland creative media workforce; the Skillset careers service and the Northern Ireland Skillset Media Academy.
The evening also showcased and awarded new work from talented creative media students. Confirming the importance of the initiatives Skillset's CEO Dinah Caine was joined by Nuala Kerr, representing the Department for Employment and Learning; Dr Fergus Keeling from BBC Northern Ireland; Mairead Regan, from UTV and Jannine Waddell, Head of Programming at Waddell Media.
In January 2007, Skillset launched Northern Ireland's first Sector Skills Agreement (SSA), a living document that sets out the agenda for developing the creative industries workforce. The Enhancing Creative Skills event celebrated the continued success of this agreement and the partnerships that it has brought together, particularly with Northern Ireland Screen.
The event was also attended by the Northern Ireland Industry Skills Panel, a collective of influential people that work as a formal advisory committee in Northern Ireland, and the main driving force behind the SSA. Industry professionals from the creative industries (film, TV, radio, interactive media, animation, computer games and publishing), as well as students from these areas also attended the event.
Dinah Caine said: "Tonight we celebrate together with out partners in the industry, trade unions and public sector, another two great milestones in our continuous work to ensure that the Creative Media industries in Northern Ireland are able to develop, expand and compete internationally. Both the Skillset Careers Service and the Northern Ireland Skillset Media Academy will not only enhance but nurture skills and create content that will build on the growth of the creative economy in Northern Ireland."
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.
Further information is available at: www.skillset.org.
(KMcA/JM)