Nurturing skills and talent for a Creative Wales

The Creative Skills Fund, now in its second round, aims to nurture new and existing talent by training and upskilling individuals across several creative sectors, including screen, music, immersive tech, animation and games.

The first round, which opened in 2022, has already benefitted over 27,000 people with almost 500 training courses and 435 upskilling placements provided.

Some of the award recipients announced today include:

• Creative Sparc by Menai Science Park – a cross-sector project delivering four different strands, including working with 250 primary school children to integrate creative industries into the curriculum and employing recent graduates in specific key creative sectors in north Wales.
• Animeiddio by Media Academy Cymru – development of two new BTEC courses focussing on 2D, 3D and stop motion animation.
• A new game plan for Wales, by Esports Wales – Esports Wales plan to extend their academy program to cover the whole of Wales and offer taster sessions, networking and career events.
• Post-production stepping stones, by Gorilla Academy – a programme designed to deliver post-production courses in Welsh language, helping to address the recognised shortage in Welsh-language editing skills.
• Anthem Gateway, by Anthem Music Fund Wales – a website for aspiring young musicians and young creatives who are looking for a pathway into the music industry in Wales, it will now upscale and produce regular, engaging content to grow its reach and audience.

Hijinx, one of Europe’s leading inclusive theatre companies, received support as part of the previous round of the fund to deliver ReFocus (learning disability inclusion training for the screen industry) sessions, and has been successful in securing fund in this latest round too.

As part of their work, they have established Creative Enablers training sessions which train people to assist and empower deaf, blind, disabled and / or neurodivergent artists to be creative at a professional level.

Mari Luz Cervantes, actor, community theatre practitioner and facilitator, said:

I work with young people who have various disabilities or additional needs and I’m hoping to learn more through this training about how I can support them to produce their best work. The project will make a huge difference. People whose needs might not have been considered previously will now be able to be seen on film and in the theatre.

Sami Dunn, Access Lead at Hijinx and, leader of their Creative Enabler sessions, said:

We’re starting to see a rise in learning disabled and/or autistic talent being used in the artistic industries and this funding will help us upskill and recruit creative enablers (CEs) across Wales to meet that rise and support LD/A actors to thrive in their chosen industry.

The arts industry isn’t as inclusive and accessible as it could and should be and human support is part of what is needed to bridge that gap. Having a CE working with an LD/A artist and with a production means the artist can focus on acting. If there’s any issue to do with access – the CE is there to support and advocate.

The Minister for Creative Industries, Jack Sargeant, recently visited one of Hijinx’s sessions to see the work they’re able to do thanks to the funding. He said:

The importance of the creative industries to Wales is clear – it doesn’t just create jobs, it is intrinsically linked to our culture, well-being and identity.

We want a creative sector that reflects and represents its audiences, provides fair and accessible employment opportunities and attracts, develops and retains talent from all backgrounds.

It was superb to visit Hijinx and see the fantastic work and the people they’re able to support thanks to our Creative Skills Fund. I wish them all the best / pob lwc with their creative careers.