At the final round table session of the Leadership for Creative Businesses course at Aberystwyth University, 12 independent media company managers and academics were privileged to hear the views of Secretary of State for Wales Cheryl Gillan on the media industry in general, and its importance to the wellbeing and economic recovery of Wales. This was the finale of a very successful high end four month part time course for chief executives of media companies The aim of the course had been to influence the ambition of the group so as to drive forward the creative industries in Wales. Though this course has been directed at a very small body of players, it is a group that has substantial influence over the Welsh creative industries through the fact that their companies have substantial turnover and considerable staff complements. The originator of the course, Professor Elan Clos Stephens had long been thinking that the sector would benefit from a course to help ambition and innovation of leaders. The Secretary of State had agreed to take part at the very beginning of the development process, and she became the final part of a series of round table speakers including the WAG Culture Secretary Alun Ffred Jones, Guardian correspondent Maggie Brown, and Professor Ian Hargreaves author of the Heart of Digital Wales; a Review of Creative Industries for the WAG report.
During the course the participants have been mentored in different leadership styles such as Narrative Leadership by
Leadership for Creative Businesses with Secretary of State for Wales, Cheryl Gillan
Geoff Mead, The Connected Leader with Emmanuel Gobillot, and Collaborative Leadership with Nick Jankel.
Sue Jeffries Skillset Academi+ Coordinator said: “to my knowledge no other course joining Higher Education Institutes and the media sector has been so ambitious in its aims and objectives. Hopefully, we have created through the Leadership for Creative Businesses course a group of people who can turn to each other as a network to move the industry forward during these difficult times for the sector as a whole.”
Amongst the courses funded and arranged by SA+ until the end of March, there will be an exiting High Definition Event held at Enfys Studios on the 18th of March at two thirty. This is a free opportunity for the sector to meet the people who have already invested in HD, and the companies who are at the forefront of HD product development. Company representatives who will be at the event include Canon, Panasonic and Avid. SA+ in conjunction with the Skillset Media Academy will be holding an industry workshop Hybrid Distribution, by the internationally renowned distribution expert Peter Broderick, on the 31st March. This is an excellent opportunity for film and TV producers to explore new ways of distributing and marketing their projects.
