50 animation instructors trained under youth employment project

Fifty animation instructors from training institutions across the island have upgraded their skills under the Government's Youth Employment in the Digital and Animation Industries (YEDAI) Project.

The instructors, who were selected from secondary, tertiary and vocational institutions, went through extensive skills development as part of the Train The Trainers component of the project, which is being executed by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the project on Friday at the Excelsior Community College in Kingston, the principal finance officer at the OPM, Rosalie Phipps, urged participants to pass on the new skills to students so that Jamaica can gain more from the US$220-billion global animation industry.

She noted that the training is intended to "continuously build the capacity of Jamaican instructors, which will, in turn, improve the skills of young people so that they can participate in the growing animation industry".

Phipps said that the Train The Trainers initiative has been growing since YEDAI was implemented over three years ago, noting the success of students in the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination.

Being undertaken through funding from the World Bank, YEDAI has the objective of fostering entrepreneurship and employability among Jamaican youth and creating a favourable and innovative ecosystem for the emergence and growth of youth-led start-up enterprises.

The Train the Trainers component aims to enhance effectiveness in the delivery of local animation training programmes.

It is designed with input from local animation studios and institutions and international education experts for effective instruction in the fundamental principles of 2D and 3D animation.

JIS