Discover the 17 projects we're supporting this year

Did you know we have a dedicated fund available for projects and programmes aiming to develop skills and talent within the music, digital and screen sectors in Wales? Our Creative Skills Fund was set up in 2022 to support the skills priorities of our creative industries.

Linked to our Creative Skills Action plan, the fund allows us to support projects that help both companies and individuals, which will continue to drive growth across our sectors.

Read on to discover the projects we’re funding this year. While some are just getting started, others are already in full swing. For updates, head to their websites.   

The Music Manager Development Fund is a project by the Music Manager Forum (MMF). As well as aiming to develop pre-existing memberships and partnerships, it will also establish a professional skills pipeline for those with an interest or educational background in music management.  

Alongside the creation of Welsh MMF Tribes, training opportunities, and accelerator engagement, the project will also provide two bursaries for emerging/mid-career Wales-based music managers via the Music Manager Accelerator.

Brought to you by the Music Venue Trust, this project aims to provide training and up-skilling opportunities for venue managers to learn how to successfully run and manage a grassroots venue.

Sessions have already kicked off and were held across Wales in a one-day face-to-face workshop. It covered topics such as press and PR and building relationships with external promoters.

With the support of our skills fund, Beacons have developed new strands to focus on developing skills for a diverse workforce within the Welsh music industry.

The five strands, which are already up and running, include Resonant, SUMMIT 2024, Bŵts, Transform Music and the Future Disrupter Project. Their website is packed with more information on what each of these projects involves.

NFTS Cymru have kickstarted this new project aimed at providing bespoke training for leaders, managers and producers working in the TV and film industry in Wales. The goal is to equip them with the skills needed to run a successful creative business.

Participants will benefit from a series of masterclasses and seminars hosted by leading industry figures, who will be on hand to offer advice and inspiration.

Next, we have the University of South Wales (USW)-led Screen Academies project. This will see three new academies opened within working studios across the country. The goal is to offer skills, education and training right at the heart of production to support the next generation of screen talent in Wales.

The three academies will be based at Greatpoint Studios, which will focus on virtual production; Wolf Studios, which will focus on innovation in animation and games technology within screen production; and Aria Studios which will deliver training to support Welsh-medium and international drama production.

ReFocus is a project from Hijinx aiming to provide learning disability inclusion training for the screen sector in Wales. There are two parts to this project. Firstly, it will provide one-day in-person training for production companies to help them learn how make sure their project is fully inclusive from script stage. 

Secondly, it will establish the Creative Enabler Agency to support actors with learning disabilities and/or autism on set.

Brought to you by Sgil Cymru, this project aims to support 130 workers within the screen sector in Wales. They aim to do this through a variety of initiatives, including new entrants boot camps; a stepping-up programme for those wanting to make the next steps on the career ladder; and Learning to Drive and Hardship bursaries for apprentices.

ScreenSkills are dedicated to supporting the next generation of heads of departments (HODs) working in the screen sector in Wales. This programme supports up-and-coming HODs to shadow and work alongside existing HODs on HETV productions. The goal is to help them gain experience, as well as get the all-important HETV credit for their CV.

iungo Solutions brings us our next project: a nine-month programme focused on supporting people who may want to upskill or opt for a career change in the games industry in Wales. It focuses on games design and games development.

Media Academy Wales received funding to launch Gêm: a gaming hub that supports the strategic development of training provisions that covers entry-level requirements at levels 1, 2 and 3 on a BTEC framework. The goal of this project is to develop a creative workforce that is representative of all communities across Wales.

Next up is the Hollow Pixel Academy from United Filmdom Ltd. This is an animation apprenticeship programme focusing on training apprentices to use Blender 3D software. It is hoped this will help to meet the demands of the animation sector in Wales. Read our spotlight on Hollow Pixel here.

The National Youth Arts Wales brings you this cross-sector project helping the next generation of music professionals. The Music Futures project will give young people aged 15-19 a glimpse of the music industry and a musician’s career.

Whereas the Professional Pathways programme will recruit 45 of Wales’ most talented theatre performers aged 16-22 to take part in an intensive residential training programme. Participants will get a first-hand insight into the range of careers available to them across theatre and screen. 

M-SParc is Wales’ first science park. This project includes several different initiatives, including Creative Sparc – a programme for 250 year 7 pupils across Conwy, Gwynedd and Anglesey. It aims to explore how we can incorporate STEM into the TV and live events industry in Wales.

Then there’s the Skills Academy, which will support two cohorts of five individuals to up-skill in the screen, digital or music industry across the three regions.

Finally, there’s the NetZero pathway, which will provide 12 businesses in the creative and digital sector with a full digital review – helping them to lower their carbon emissions. 

Bectu and Cult Cymru launched a new project aimed at addressing the imbalance for creative freelancers within the screen, digital and music sectors in Wales. 

Indielab launched a new UK-wide games accelerator programme to help drive investment, networking and growth in the games industry. Head to their website to read more about the project.

For the third year, Creative Wales is supporting IndieLab’s TV accelerator project by providing bursary funding to Wales-based indies. As well as expanding their contacts within the industry and helping them connect and network, the project will also support them in developing their commissioning and revenue growth.

And finally, we bring you rad Cymru Wales from TRC. This eight-month paid traineeship is available for eight trainees who are based within a Welsh independent television production company. The initiative will support people from under-represented backgrounds gain access to paid placements, training and guidance. Therefore, hoping to help remove barriers to the industry.

For more information on our Creative Skills Fund, head to our website.