Creative Skillset Cymru Invests £600,000 In Local Industry

Over £600,000 is being invested to grow skills and talent in Wales in the Creative Media Industries via Creative Skillset Cymru.

The Welsh branch of Creative Skillset announced it has awarded over £300,000 through its Skills Investments Funds, which has been co-invested by businesses from across Wales in the TV, games, animation and VFX sectors to total over £600,000 of investment.

Eleven companies from across Wales have taken advantage of the recent round, including software development house West Coast Software, motion graphics and visual effects company Bait Studio, creative digital agency Atticus Digital, television and film production companies Boom Pictures, Dragonfly, Fiction Factory, Green Bay Media, Tifini and Zig-Zag, animation studio Cloth Cat and IP developers A&O Studios.

"We are delighted that companies have taken advantage of Creative Skillset's Skills Investment Funds to boost their businesses," said Gwawr Thomas, Director of Creative Skillset Cymru. "The fund is made up of industry investment which has been matched by the UK government and is a great example of the Creative Industries and public investment collectively taking responsibility for the continued growth of the industry through skills and talent development.

"Through this investment companies from a range of sectors can advance the skills of their employees through high quality and affordable training. We're also pleased to have recently received another set of investment applications from companies in Wales, so watch this space for more possible investment announcements."

Martin McCabe of Atticus Digital based in Cardiff, said: "The impact of this investment will be to springboard our staff to the next generation of technical experts in the virtual world. This will enhance the talent base in Wales and provide expertise in new technology with a multi-skilled taskforce that will become global leaders in VFX and virtual reality. Without the support of the Creative Skillset fund, Atticus would not be able to carry out this training at the required level."

Ken Bird, CEO of West Coast Software based in Aberystwyth, added: "West Coast Software Ltd is extremely pleased to be awarded the Creative Skillet support. It will enable our company to help develop the skills of graduates to a commercial level on new gaming platforms. To build a strong business you need to focus on each individual and help develop them to their full potential. This will make a stronger business and a stronger economy."

Between 2014-2016, the UK Government is co-investing pound for pound to match investment in Creative Industries skills with a total fund value of £16 million, through the Skills Investment Funds. The funding goes to support skills in film, TV, animation, games and VFX. So far over £900,000 has been used to support skills development in Wales since March 2014.

www.creativeskillset.org/nations/wales

(IT/JP)