The Creative Skillset Tick

The Creative Skillset TICK

- The Kite Mark of excellence in courses for the creative industries

Gini Stirling, Quality Associate and Consultant,Creative Skillset

Creative Skillset

Creative Skillset is the licensed Sector Skills Council for the Entertainment Media, Fashion and Textiles, Publishing and Advertising sectors.

We help the UK Creative Industries to be world-beating by leading the sector’s skills and talent drive.

Creative Industries

The Creative Industries sector is one of the most highly qualified in the economy:

• over 60% of workers in the creative industries have a degree or equivalent qualification compared with 36% of the population of working age across the economy.

Essential partnerships

• With the creative industries• With employers• With further and higher education and training

providers

What is the Creative Skillset Tick?The Creative Skillset Tick signposts the courses and Apprenticeships that have earned employer approval for providing the most industry-relevant education and training available.

Before the Tick

Students found it difficult to know which courses were right for them and their career aspirations.

Employers found it difficult to know which courses to recruit from and to engage with for internships / master-classes and live briefs etc..

Signposting quality and industry relevanceFocusing on excellence and the industry relevance of courses, by:

Deploying industry practitioners to use industry designed criteria to judge whether a course:• Recruits with a focus on talent and aspiration to

work in the creative industries• Deploys industry experienced and up to date

teaching and technical staff• Has up to date industry standard equipment• Maintains close links with industry to design and

deliver the course• Has graduate destinations that prove success in

getting students jobs in the industry.

Partnership with Higher Education

Sector specific course accreditation:

• Scriptwriting• Animation• Computer Games Design / Art• VFX

Partnership with Higher Education

Universal Course Accreditation Pilot 2011-2012.

• Creative Industry designed generic criteria to accredit HE courses across all sectors

• Made sector specific by deployment of Industry Evaluators to desk-based assess applications and visit courses

Recruiting from Industry

All Creative Skillset Accreditation processes are industry led

• In Spring 2012 succeeded in recruiting, briefing and training over 60 employers and industry representatives to take on evaluator roles within the new Universal accreditation process

• Within Apprenticeships, Creative Skillset has hired 6 industry evaluators

• Over the rest of our HE accreditation we have a pool of 50+ professionals leading the assessments

• Short Courses for continuing professional development has approx. 30 industry assessors

Outcomes from the Universal 2011-2012 Pilot

• 156 course applications from 27 institutions across 12 subject areas

• 96 courses received the Creative Skillset Tick.

Accredited coursesAdvertising – 3

Art and Design (applied in creative industries)– 8

CGI, Computer Graphics – 7

Film – 23

Interactive Media – 4 courses

Media Business/ Entrepreneurial – 1 course

Accredited courses

Animation – 4

Screenwriting – 2 courses

Media Technology – 6 courses

Photo Imaging – 6 courses

Post Production – 6 courses

Publishing – 2 courses

Radio – 4 courses

Television/ Video/ Broadcast – 29

The Creative Skillset TICK

Fashion Design

• Current pilot (January 2013 – December 2013) to accredit undergraduate degrees in fashion design

• 20 high performing courses invited to take part• 17 have submitted their courses for assessment• The project is being led by Betty Jackson and

Anne Tyrrell, along with a panel of leading industry figures from high profile companies such as MaxMara Group, Nicole Farhi, Jigsaw, John Lewis, Topman, Roland Mouret and Hobbs.

The Tick for Apprenticeships

Following a pilot, a number of Apprenticeship programmes have been deemed to offer the best learning to get started in the industry.

Provision was judged on:• Employer engagement and industry involvement in

training• Quality of Apprenticeship delivery• Progression routes • Quality recognition from external bodies

Currently Ticked Apprenticeships• Advanced Apprenticeship in Creative and Digital Media

• 8 Ticked courses• Apprenticeship in Saddlery and Advanced Apprenticeship in

Saddlery• 1 Ticked course

• Advanced Apprenticeship in Photo Imaging • 2 Ticked courses

• Apprenticeships and Advanced Apprenticeship in Fashion & Textiles

• 17 Ticked courses

No apprenticeships currently Ticked in Wales but:

• Over 40 new roles have been created since 2011 in the Welsh Creative and Digital Media Industry through our Level 3 CDM

• SEPT 13 aim to roll out the very first digital higher level apprenticeship in Level 4 ( target: to create another 20 roles in digital media in North and South Wales)

Creative Advance in Wales

• Creative Provision is a project funded by the Welsh Government Sector Priorities Fund pilot aimed at inviting HE and FE providers who deliver creative and digital media/animation to submit an expression of interest to help them strengthen industry links for their courses. This could include the offer of industry mentors to review curriculum and delivery and/or continuing professional development for staff

• Invitations will be sent out between now and the end of June to identify activity to be delivered later in the year

• Creative media employers will be approached to contribute to the development work and to act as mentors.

Creative Skillset CPD short course approval• 2012 piloted an on-line application and approval

service for industry training providers to gain the Creative Skillset kite-mark

• 30 applications from invited providers• Aim to quickly approve industry facing short

course programmes • On-line process delivers ‘fleet of foot’ service to

ensure that specific skills development can be targeted and addressed

The Creative Skillset TickFind the best courses and training available using our course database.

Find out more:

Details of courses awarded the Creative Skillset Tick can be found at: http://courses.creativeskillset.org

Higher education course accreditation will ‘go live’ for all applicants late summer 2013.

Fashion design accreditation will ‘go live’ in Spring 2014.

ginis@creativeskillset.org