Forces Media Academy Selects Students for Second Creative Media Production Course

A group of service leavers and veterans are setting their sights on a new career in the media industry, as they prepare to join the Forces Media Academy (FMA) in September.

They will be the second intake of students to embark on the Creative Media Production course at the Academy, which was established last year as part of the Services Sound & Vision Corporation (SSVC).

Director of the Forces Media Academy, Alistair Halliday, said: “The standard of applicants who undertook the comprehensive final selection was very high and their motivation and aptitude for creative media was impressive. Our future students come from a wide range of backgrounds and all three services, and we are confident that we will have another great year.

“The course equips the students with the practical experience and qualifications they will need to follow new careers in digital, TV and radio production. It’s a great opportunity for service leavers to build on the many skills they have gained while in the Services, opening up exciting career opportunities in an industry where veterans have traditionally been underrepresented.” 

The FMA’s principal charity partner, The Royal British Legion, is supporting the initiative for a second year running by providing each student with an £18,000 bursary towards living costs. The course itself is free, thanks to funding from the Chancellor’s LIBOR Fund.

The Royal British Legion’s Head of Grants and Social Policy, Steve Baynes, said: “The training and opportunities provided to students of the Forces Media Academy are absolutely second to none. We’ve been impressed by the huge level of commitment, enthusiasm and progress the first year’s cohort has shown, and look forward to watching this new intake similarly flourish.

“The Legion is proud to have supported the Academy from the beginning and to be able to provide every student with a bursary, making the course as accessible as possible.”

The 15 students selected to join the 2018 Creative Media Production course are:

Katherine Azopardi, Jonathan Boam, Daniel Boyd, Kirk Bowett, Darren Coventry, Derek Derenalagi, Robert Downham, Ross Goold, Karl Lambert, Bryan Larkin, James Marshall, Jonathan Neill, Jack Ward, Andy Wasley and Stephen Williams.

The accredited first year degree course is run at SSVC’s headquarters in Buckinghamshire, home to the Forces Network and Forces TV. Alongside the lectures, students study in a live media environment, with award-winning media teams who understand the military.

For more information about the Forces Media Academy, go online to www.forcesacademy.com

 

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Notes to Editors:

About the Forces Media Academy

The Academy was set up in 2017 with a £1.8m grant from the Chancellor’s LIBOR Fund. The Royal British Legion has contributed £800,000 to support the Forces Media Academy which offers veterans a unique opportunity to gain new skills and qualifications in media production after leaving the Services. The contribution from the Legion will cover the living expenses for 15 academy students annually for the next three years. Forging new careers and developing different skills after the Armed Forces can be challenging and the Legion is dedicated to supporting veterans’ transition back to civvy street at any point in their lives.

 

The Services Sound & Vision Corporation

The Forces Media Academy is run by SSVC, the charity which runs the Forces Network and Forces TV. SSVC is a not-for-profit organisation, founded in World War II and specialises in providing media services to the UK Armed Forces.

SSVC remains dedicated to informing, entertaining and connecting the military abroad and at home. SSVC’s mission is to champion the Armed Forces and keep them in the public eye. SSVC makes a vital contribution to Service morale and welfare and specialises in communicating effectively with the wider armed forces audience.

Our services include, but are not limited to:

  • Forces TV – is the home of entertainment and military life – broadcasting comedy, entertainment, drama, news and sport 24/7
  • BFBS TV – multichannel TV broadcast worldwide providing the best of UK and international TV to serving forces and their families posted around the world
  • Forces Radio BFBS – broadcasting 24/7 from seven overseas locations, nationally and locally in the UK, and to the Gurkha community
  • Forces News – a fully-integrated news capability produced by specialist journalists and technicians with intimate knowledge of the Armed Forces
  • Forces Cinemas – fixed and mobile digital cinemas providing the latest film releases to military venues around the world
  • Forces Live Events (CSE) – suppliers of live entertainment for British Forces personnel and civilian audiences, including music, comedy, celebrity visits and event services
  • SSVC Training – offering quality training in a range of subjects including digital media, video content generation and media training to defence and wider government departments
  • net – state-of-the-art online capability, placing video, digital imagery and articles at the heart of our growing New Media presence

 

Our Executive Members

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