Graduate animation programme for Irish film industry

Gareth Lee, manager of Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet: 'The Irish animation, VFX, and games sectors are hugely important to Ireland’s digital and creative economy.'

Screen Ireland and Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet have commenced the Animation, VFX & Games Graduate Traineeship for the first programme of 2023. 

Seven trainees will receive on-the-job training and mentoring with leading Irish animation and games studios. The traineeship, which has been running since 2016, has a significant track record with over 90% of participants going on to gain further work in the industry, either with their host studio or with another in the sector. Additionally, according to the First Steps in the Animation Industry report, over 90% of respondents also said that the programme adequately prepared them for the professional workplace and that they would recommend the programme to prospective new entrants. Last year 14 trainees were placed in six participating studios for the two programmes in 2022.

Targeted at developing skills and talent in the Irish animation, VFX, and games sectors, this iteration of the programme will take place over a three-month period and will involve a mix of on-the-job learning and mentoring with studios remotely as well as additional specialist training delivered through Screen Ireland and Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet. 

The traineeship begins with a week of specialised online training, featuring talks from experts on the latest creative and technological advances in the area of VFX and animation, as well as soft skills such as emotional intelligence and time management. 

Speaking about the traineeship, Gareth Lee, manager of Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet, said: “The Irish animation, VFX, and games sectors are hugely important to Ireland’s digital and creative economy and the Graduate Traineeship continues to be an integral link to bring new talent into the sector. Congratulations to all the trainees.” 

'Talent pipeline'

Louise Ryan, Head of Marketing and Communications, Screen Ireland, added: “The Animation, VFX & Games Graduate Traineeship has been instrumental in providing a consistent talent pipeline for new entrants to work with some of Ireland’s leading studios in a rapidly growing sector. Screen Ireland is proud to support opportunities for next-generation creative talent as this year’s successful nominees embark on the first steps of their exciting careers in the screen industry.”

Screen Ireland and Animation Ireland, with the support of Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet & Eirmersive, announced that applications are now open for the 2023 Animation Innovation and Immersive Development Fund. Since the fund was initially launched in 2021, Screen Ireland has invested in 20 innovative, high-concept development projects across areas such as immersive storytelling, VR, augmented reality and app development. 

This year’s €400,000 fund is designed to reach diverse and highly skilled talent from the animation and immersive storytelling sectors, supporting projects across a wide range of genres and formats that anticipate high-value national and international success. 

The Irish animation sector has been in rapid growth for the past decade – almost quadrupling in size by 2019, where production figures show that Irish animation accounted for almost 50% of all production spending in the country. With major global players like Brown Bag Films, Boulder Media, Giant Animation and Cartoon Saloon, the commercial and critical success of Irish animation is due to a mixture of business acumen, state support via the state tax incentive Section 481, a skilled and talented workforce, and a strong reputation for storytelling and visual artistry.

The deadline for applications to the Animation Innovation and Immersive Development Fund is at 1pm, August 25, 2023.