Employers who have joined Creative Skillset’s influential online industry panel will be asked their opinions on questions relating to the Skills Investment Fund (SIF), which as announced recently by UK Creative Industries Minister Ed Vaizey, now incorporates the computer games industry.
The SIF will see the Government co-invest up to £16m to match industries’ leading to a total of £32m over two years. The fund addresses skills gaps and shortages in the growth sectors of film, animation, high-end TV, games and VFX. Creative Skillset is working with these industries to identify priority skills areas and ways to address shortages.
Following the success of the pilot panel in February, the June survey will feed into this vital research on skills needs and industry priorities for the Skills Investment Fund. Questions will centre around the occupations in which vacancies are proving hard to fill, the demand for match-funded trainees and whether new work-based degree programmes with more employer involvement will address concerns around graduates lacking skills and experience needed by employers.
To contribute to Creative Skillset industry research into the SIF and how it can best benefit the computer games industry, employers should sign up to the online Employer Panel at www.creativeskillset.org/employerpanel before 24 June, when the next survey will go live.
The online surveys contain no more than ten quick questions each and contributors get priority access to the results. There will be no more than three short surveys a year.
Further details on the Skills Investment Fund can be found online at www.creativeskillset.org/sif.
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For more information contact Jessica Sheridan-Sneyd, Communications Co-ordinator, Jessicas@creativeskillset.org, 0207 713 9859 Pavla Kopecna, Ladbury PR, pavla@ladburypr.com, 0208 969 3934
Notes: Creative Skillset is the licensed Sector Skills Council for Entertainment Media, Fashion and Textiles, Publishing and Advertising, Marketing and Communications. It is owned and invested in by employers working in social partnership with unions and aspires to have the best skills and talent in the world to drive growth of the industries and the UK economy. Creative Skillset brings all parts of the Creative Industries together to add value through collaboration on workforce development. www.creativeskillset.org