Mr. Gareth Lee:

There has been a growth in courses that are linked to the creative industries and technology. Historically, there were general courses but it is great to see more specialised courses come onstream. So now, more than ever, one will see third level courses in areas that are specific to animation or games. In the past five or six years as many as four or five new undergraduate courses in animation have been developed. As the Chairman has referenced, the kids of today adapt so quickly to technology that it makes sense for them to pursue a career path in the industry.

As Ms Finnegan referenced, we welcome the human capital initiative by the Department of Education and the Creative Futures Academy that is provided by the Institute of Art, Design and Technology, University College Dublin and the NCAD. The aim is to future-proof the industry in terms of creativity. I guess another strength is to bring the various disciplines together such as design and film-making, and UCD, a university that is strong on writing courses. There are a lot of very interesting initiatives that seek to address future skills that can be provided in higher education. Another welcome addition on the education landscape is the Springboard+ course that allows providers to introduce very industry-facing programmes that address a very specific need at a point in time. We have developed a number of certified programmes through Springboard+ with third level providers in the last few years that have added value to the provision for the sector.