18 December, 2005
Screen Council To Target Training Courses
The New Zealand Screen Council today announced plans to target the quality of screen production training with a new
website designed to help students choose entry-level courses.
The site – found through the Screen Council’s homepage – includes information on 27 of the country’s institutions
offering screen production training. By April, a “ScreenMark” will be given to the courses that meet the council’s
quality standards.
A questionnaire was sent to each institution in September asking for details about the courses available – including
course content, fees, student intake numbers, pass rates and the percentage of graduates who found jobs in the industry.
To date, the Screen Council has received responses from 13 institutions – which are now available online. From this
information, the council will determine the “ScreenMark”. Only courses which meet the council’s criteria for high
quality course content, teaching and success in finding graduates jobs in the industry will be awarded this “seal of
approval”.
The website will also feature training tips from senior professionals in the industry. It shows the Screen Council’s
commitment to providing quality education in the screen production sector. “The Screen Council wants to ensure every
student planning to do screen production training has the best information available on the different courses out
there,” Screen Council executive director Tim Thorpe said.
“Looking at the quality of New Zealand’s screen production training has always been one of the council’s major aims.
This is a step in the right direction towards finding out the general standard of courses and where improvements need to
be made. “We are pleased with the co-operation so far shown by many of the country’s institutions and look forward to
hearing back from the other institutions.”
ENDS