The ‘Helen North Achieve Programme’ continues to offer career development assistance to women in the animation and VFX industries.
LONDON — Animated Women UK announced that its Helen North Achieve Programme is now accepting applications. This program aims to support women in the VFX and animation industries, helping them reach their full potential. Entry is open now through Wednesday, April 24th.
The Helen North Achieve Programme welcomes women at all career stages who are seeking to address the challenges and obstacles they face daily. The program provides strategic career management, led by recognized career development experts.
Supported by the ScreenSkills Animation Skills Fund, which receives contributions from animation productions and Escape Studios, the program will be run by Marianne O’Connor, an experienced coach, facilitator, and trainer specializing in women’s leadership development, alongside Jan Armstrong. The 24 successful applicants will participate in six sessions held in central London.
Georgina Hurcombe, a producer and managing director of LoveLove Films, participated in the 2018 program and shared her experience: “The Helen North Achieve Programme is an excellent support network for women within the animation and VFX industries. The ability to discuss shared challenges and solutions with like-minded women has been invaluable and inspiring. It was also beneficial to connect with women from organizations like DNeg, Disney, and Blue Zoo.”
Hurcombe added, “The mix of career stages also provided unique and valuable insights. Personally, hearing what these women want in their own organizations has been really useful, and I’ve been considering how I can apply these learnings at LoveLove Films. I’ve also formed some great new friendships, and a year later, I’m still meeting up with many of them.”
Tom Box, chair of the ScreenSkills Animation Skills Council, said, “The newly re-booted ScreenSkills Animation Skills Council is thrilled to collaborate with Animated Women UK and support the Helen North Achieve Programme this year, funded by studio contributions to the animation skills fund. Gender balance is very important to our industry, and the Achieve initiative is a targeted program to help achieve that at every level.”
Beth Parker, co-chair animation at Animated Women UK, stated, “We have observed some significant success stories from our previous Achieve Programs, and I’m pleased we can offer another group of women, from across the experience spectrum, the opportunity to develop their personal and professional skills in a program specifically designed for women, by women.”
Parker continued: “We are always working to give women a platform in the animation and VFX industries, where, although we are making significant progress, we cannot yet say that our voices are equally heard. Programs such as ours are essential for maintaining diversity in our industry. We’re very grateful to both the ScreenSkills Animation Skills Fund and Escape Studios for their continuous support.”
Louise Hussey, co-chair VFX at Animated Women UK, added, “I am personally pleased that AWUK is able to offer the Helen North Achieve Programme for the third year. It has been a successful program, having supported 50 women across different stages of their careers in VFX and Animation. While changes are beginning to happen, the fact remains that women are not strongly represented in many of the senior creative roles, and statistics show that women continue to be at the lower end of the pay scale. It is incredibly heartening to have financial support from the ScreenSkills Animation Skills Fund, with Escape Studios also kindly hosting workshops again, allowing us to provide the best programme possible.”
The Achieve Program costs £225 for Senior participants, £175 for mid-level, and £75 for junior-level for the complete set of sessions, which consist of workshops in central London. For more information or to apply, consult the website.
Source: Animated Women UK
