Animated Women UK Host “Managing People” Workshop
On the 23rd of October 2019, Animated Women UK held their first standalone workshop taken from the Helen North Achieve Programme. It was delivered by Achieve’s Jan Armstrong and Marianne O’Conner.
The evening covered a range of topics and addressed a range of issues facing women as they step up into management roles in the Animation and VFX Industries, including flexing one’s leadership style. There was also the opportunity to workshop real-life leadership issues facing the attendees.
The Helen North Achieve programme has recently completed its’ third year, which we celebrated with a panel and networking event highlighting what the course has achieved. Modules on the programme include understanding personality types, achieving a better work/life balance and presentation skills.
The Achieve Programme has proven so popular (always attracting 3x the number of applicants than available places) that Animated Women were really keen to hold individual workshops, lifted straight from the Achieve Programme, to allow and more women to develop their skills and grow their careers in the Animation and VFX industries and this year, thanks to funding from ScreenSkills and a great location provided by Escape Studios, they have been able to do just that.
Providing workshops like these reflects our core aims at Animated Women UK. Research backs uptake provision of targeted and specific training and mentorship for women. A report, conducted by Skillsoft, found that almost all of the 450 women who participated in an international survey reported that a disproportionate number of leadership roles were currently being held by male employees. Alongside this, Catalyst found that men received more institutional support and highly relevant guidance than their female counterparts. By not receiving the same targeted and specific mentorship as their male colleagues, women are being held back.
Feedback for the workshop has been great – read some thoughts from the women who attended below:
I thought the 'Managing People' course was full of insightful, useful and clear information and advice, expertly delivered by Marianne and Jan. I loved how interactive the class was too, and how much information was shared between the attendees as well as from the course leaders. – Niki K.
Personally, I really appreciated the opportunity to share a leadership challenge I’m currently facing with peers from across the industry. They gave me some great advice, and that and the rest of the content from Jan and Marianne have left me feeling re-energised and newly motivated to do what I can to improve the situation, as well as giving me several new options to try. – Lucy W.
A second workshop from the Helen North programme will be delivered by Marianne and Jan in November 2019, this time based around pitching and presenting.
ScreenSkills
ScreenSkills is the industry-led skills body for the UK's screen-based creative industries - animation, film, games, television including children's TV and high-end drama, VFX and immersive technology. We work across the whole of the country to ensure that UK screen has access now, and in the future, to the skills and talent needed for continued success.
Escape Studios
From VFX to Game Art, Animation to Motion Graphics, Escape Studios is recognised as a first-class education provider for the creative industries.
We take students with raw talent and shape them into the creative professionals demanded by today’s employers. With courses developed by industry experts, at Escape Studios you learn from the best.
We offer undergraduate degrees in VFX, Animation and Game Art. Plus a range of postgraduate degrees and short courses such as Motion Graphics, Storyboarding and VR. We don’t just love the creative industries, we live and breathe them; our focus is on ensuring all of our students leave studio-ready.
