Westminster Kingsway College and Capital City College Training will be delivering two Apprenticeships in partnership with the NextGen Skills Academy: Junior 2D Artist and Assistant Technical Director. Both will be starting in January 2019.
Tom Box, Managing Director of Blue Zoo Animation, (Member of the NextGen Employer Selection Panel) said, “We were very impressed with Westminster Kingsway’s proposal to deliver the VFX apprenticeships, combining the experience of their current VFX courses, strong industry links and central location, they seemed a perfect fit.”
The Apprenticeships that Westminster Kingsway will be delivering have been designed to develop core skills and enable progression not only within the VFX industry but also into related sectors such as software development or digital marketing.
This partnership will give our students the opportunity to learn and work alongside professionals in high-profile VFX studios, including Framestore, DNEG, Bluezoo, Molinare, One Of Us, The Mill, Jellyfish Pictures, and Electric Theatre Collective.
The NextGen Skills Academy is a government and industry-invested company offering young people new pathways into various digital creative sectors, whilst at the same time addressing specific skills shortages that have been identified by employers in the games, animation and VFX industries.
Phil Attfield, NextGen’s VFX and Animation Partnership Director, said: “Both the Junior 2D Artist and Assistant Technical Director that will be delivered at Westminster Kingsway are Apprentice roles that lead to recognised positions within the VFX industry. An 18 year old who chooses an apprenticeship over a degree course is guaranteeing that everything they learn at college and on the job is helping them build a career. They quite literally learn while they earn and by the time they complete their apprenticeship can be two to three years ahead of a university student in their career journey.”