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Big boost for creative and cultural sectors with new state-of-the-art training facilities

News Release issued by the COI News Distribution Service on 17 March 2010

Funding has been confirmed for a £13 million skills academy skill that will train thousands of people for the theatre industry and provide hundreds of jobs, Thames Gateway Minister Shahid Malik announced today.

The state-of-the-art National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural Skills will be set within the Royal Opera House Production Park in Thurrock and will deliver industry-led training and apprenticeships for the creative sector.

This will help address an anticipated need for 30,000 skilled backstage and technical theatre staff by 2017 and will provide technical accreditation and professional development for the existing workforce.

The funding from the Homes and Communities Agency complements £5 million already committed by the Learning and Skills Council. Work will begin on the building later in the year with it ready to open in 2012.

Shahid Malik, who visited the site yesterday, said:

"I’m delighted the skills academy funding has been agreed. This will ensure a world-class facility will be built that will provide many training and work opportunities for people in and around Thurrock.

"The benefits of the academy will be felt across the Thames Gateway and will only help bolster a creative quarter at the Royal Opera House Production Park which is helping provide much needed skilled backstage and technical staff for theatres around the country."

Commenting on the announcement, the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, stated:

"Today’s announcement is positive news for the UK economy. The National Skills Academy is in line with many of the government’s objectives on skills, training, apprenticeships and regeneration. It will help to support young people in the creative industries, and is of international importance for a live performance sector that generates over £6 billion per year for the UK economy.

"The National Skills Academy will position the UK as a global leader in cultural skills and training; plug the creative and cultural skills gap; and deliver what employers and young people need to boast skills, access and jobs in the vital creative industries sector.

"It will help to support the recovery, and will also contribute to the development of a cultural legacy from the London 2012 Olympic Games, helping to raise aspirations for young people throughout the UK."

Homes and Communities Agency director of East England, Terry Fuller said:

"We are delighted to support this state-of-the-art facility. This is a great investment for Thurrock, both in supporting young people with jobs and by providing a creative hub for the industry."

Notes to editors

National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural
The National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural Skills (NSA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Creative & Cultural Skills, the sector skills council for the creative and cultural industries. Paul Latham is chair of the National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural Skills and Chief Operating Officer of Live Nation Europe.

The NSA operates as an industry-led membership organisation, developing the delivery of industry approved standards, training and related skills through its network of creative and cultural employers and education and training providers.

The unique NSA development is bringing Further Education (FE) Colleges, private delivery partners and key employers in the industry together to develop and promote the skills and training for young people at the pre-employment stage, professional development for employees and freelancers already in the sector, and skills development for those requiring retraining and re-skilling in the post recession recovery.

The NSA training hub at Thurrock
The capital funding for the training academy will contribute to providing a training venue and administrative hub for the NSA in Thurrock, and will increase existing national and regional FE options by allowing a more dynamic range of practice across a broad spectrum of technical theatre, live music and events.

How the NSA works
As a network, the NSA works at both a national and a local level. Nationally, it brings together industry professionals across the country for bespoke training and information sharing in a variety of forms, from short courses to conferences. Most of the work occurs on a local level, and is beginning with ‘clusters’ of employers working with their local NSA Founder College (21) or Training Provider, to adapt and improve the existing curriculum and develop new, fit-for-purpose training. Courses are created based on National Occupational Standards.

The 20 Founder Colleges of The National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural Skills:
• Amersham & Wycombe College
• Bridgwater College
• City College Norwich
• City College Plymouth
• City of Westminster College
• City of Wolverhampton College
• Gateshead College
• Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education
• Leeds City College
• Leicester College
• Lewisham College
• Liverpool Community College
• New College Nottingham
• North Hertfordshire College
• South East Essex College
• Stratford upon Avon College
• Sussex Downs College
• Stoke on Trent College
• The Manchester College
• Wiltshire College

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