Cardiff-based bilingual media training provider, Sgil Cymru, welcomed over a hundred industry guests to Pinewood Studio Wales on Thursday 25th January for the second annual ‘Dathliad’ event.
The ‘Dathliad’ event celebrates the success of Sgil Cymru’s three different media apprenticeship schemes whilst giving industry professionals the chance to network at the film studios.
Sponsored by Wales Screen/Sgrîn Cymru, Lockett TV & Film Transport, and Cardiff and Vale College through the Quality Skills Alliance, the event’s guest list included former Sgil Cymru trainees, apprentices and media industry professionals working in Wales and around the UK.
Sgil Cymru celebrates the achievement of 26 creative media apprentices successfully passing their frameworks with the majority continuing to work in the creative industries with employers such as BBC Cymru Wales, ITV Cymru Wales, S4C and Golley Slater.
For the second year running, the evening’s highlight was the presentation of the Creative Risk Solutions Special Award, acknowledging the achievements of a former apprentice as an inspiration to apprentices of the future. This year’s prize of £250 was awarded to Molleasha Quinn.
Molleasha was an Art Department apprentice with BBC Cymru Wales, starting the scheme straight after her A levels in 2015, and spending a year working in Drama. After completing her apprenticeship, she was hired as an Art Director on Pobol Y Cwm and has since worked as an Art Director on Casualty and as a Set Dresser on Emmerdale. Always looking to improve her skills, Molleasha has also trained in graphic and visual design in Los Angeles.
After almost two years at Pinewood Studio Wales, Sgil Cymru has firmly established itself as Wales’ biggest media trainer with schemes ranging from three different apprenticeship programmes for new entrants to courses for Production Managers in the film industry. The latest scheme is the Stepping Up programme for High End TV Drama crew, funded by Welsh Government and Creative Skillset.
The Creative and Digital Media apprenticeships offered by Sgil Cymru, and sub-contracted by Cardiff and Vale College, provide entrant level opportunities for those wanting to break into the creative industries with jobs ranging from Costume to Camera, Marketing to Multimedia, Casting to Set Construction and everything in-between.
Sue Jeffries, Managing Director of Sgil Cymru said:
We’re very proud that the return of the Dathliad has established this event in the Welsh media industry calendar, and seeing so many familiar faces, from former apprentices to experienced industry colleagues, is a fantastic reminder of the importance of developing pathways into this exciting industry.
Thanks once again to our returning event sponsors Wales Screen/Sgrîn Cymru, Lockett TV & Film Transport, and Cardiff and Vale College through the Quality Skills Alliance, and our hosts Pinewood Studio Wales. Special thanks to Creative Risk Solutions for their generous support of their annual award recognising the inspiration that former apprentices can be to others.
We’re excited to soon be entering a third year of training film and television professionals at Pinewood Studio Wales.