NextGen alumni are celebrating with the news that they have secured nearly half of recent VFX Apprenticeship positions with leading studios. The cohort, that have previously studied with NextGen across our Level 3 Course, our 8-week NextGen Futures Bootcamps and 1-week short courses delivered with the Prince’s Trust, make up 46% of the recent apprenticeship placements. This exceeds all other single routes into apprenticeships, which includes other Level 3 studies and University alumni.
VFX Apprenticeships are highly sought after, with a very competitive recruitment process. Out of the last two recruitment rounds, a long-list of 130 applicants were invited to assessment days, of that list 24% (31) of the full representation were NextGen alumni. Following these assessment days, 24 apprentices were hired to work in studios, of those 46% (11) are alumni from NextGen courses.
The successful apprentices were chosen and recruited directly by industry, with each studio making the final recruitment decision.
Phil Attfield, NextGen’s VFX Partnership Director said of the news:
“We pride ourselves on preparing students for work within the creative industries via our vocational learning model. Our students not only learn the vital technical skills needed to succeed in the industry, but also soft and transferable skills that puts them in the strongest position to progress onto apprenticeships, higher education or straight into work.
“I am delighted that so many outstanding NextGen students have been offered VFX Apprenticeship placements. The ongoing success of NextGen alumni is testament to the level of teaching being delivered by our tutors and how we bring education and industry together. Industry professionals and employers from across the creative media sector shape our curriculum and delivery, they also support tutors with CPD to ensure our students are learning the very latest industry techniques and software. The fact that the final recruitment decision is made by studios is further endorsement that our teaching model produces real results, equipping students with the skills and experience that employers are looking for.”
Recognising skills gaps and the lack of apprenticeship opportunities within the creative industries, In 2015-16 NextGen worked with employers and Government to develop two new Apprenticeship Standards, for Junior 2D Artist and Assistant Technical Director positions.
The Assistant Technical Director role includes supporting visual effects (VFX) projects by providing technical assistance to creative departments, troubleshooting workflow issues, and managing data and resources.
The Junior 2D Artist role includes assisting senior visual effects (VFX) artists with the integration of live action footage and computer-generated imagery to create images for TV and film.
These apprenticeship roles have been incredibly popular, with applications coming from countries around the world and apprentices being placed in leading studios such as Framestore, DNEG and Industrial Light and Magic. Discover more information here: VFX Apprenticeships
To further build progression routes into industry NextGen has assisted the DCM Trailblazer group throughout the development of the Digital Community Manager standard. Now NextGen is working with employers and training providers to create a training delivery schedule.
More standards in Games, Animation and VFX will become available this year and next. NextGen looks forward to expanding our support of industry recruitment of apprentices and enabling high quality training provision.