iabm training academy


Earlier this year the IABM introduced its Lifelong Learning Manifesto. The statement, quickly embraced and supported by companies across the global broadcast and media technology industry, recognises the industry’s responsibility to develop and train the technologists and engineers needed to secure and sustain the growth of the sector. Steve Warner, training manager at the IABM Training Academy, reports.


and engineers; the need to develop a ‘lifelong learning’ mindset in both employers and employees; the need to invest in the training and development of technologists and engineers to enable the sector to build on its past success and ensure its long-term future; and the need to introduce a framework for continuing improvement of technical skills and the recognition of any associated attainment. Though still quite young, the new IABM Training Academy is already well on its way to meeting these objectives, earning praise from attendees and the companies for which they work. Launched in June, the IABM Training


T


Academy (www.iabmacademy.org) is an educational organisation dedicated to broadcast and media technology, and through it the IABM provides vocational training for engineers and technologists, as well as the administrative, managerial, and executive staff whose job roles require an appreciation of the important role that technology plays in the broadcast industry. To date, the IABM Training Academy


has brought two courses to market. We designed our courses after intensive consultation with the industry, concentrating on areas where there are considered to be skills and knowledge gaps. The first of these courses, ‘Broadcast and media technology - understanding your industry’, familiarised delegates with broadcast and media technology, associated jargon, and the role that technology plays in the business in which they operate. It targeted staff in broadcast operations (and their technology suppliers), post-production facilities, and related businesses whose


Flying start for Training Academy


he eight responsibilities outlined in the manifesto include: the need to maintain an occupational and functional map that highlights career pathways for technologists


Broadcast and media technology is an exciting arena that provides some great opportunities for technologists and engineers. In its short history, the IABM Training Academy has already made great strides in supporting such staff - and their employers - through thoughtful and relevant industry- specific training.


work requires an appreciation of the technology, as opposed to an in-depth understanding of it. The course hit its mark successfully. An attendee who had recently


joined the industry in a marketing role said that the course gave him the opportunity to understand the market, technology, and the language it uses. “It gave me an opportunity to broaden my knowledge of the market and how we fit into it,” he said. “If you’re new to the industry or, indeed, if you have been in the industry for a few months or a few years, it gives you an opportunity to much better understand your place in the industry, especially with respect to other technologies and other companies, and probably to make better-informed decisions.” Our second offering, ‘Audio and


video fundamentals for engineers’, was run for the first time in the UK in October. We created this course for engineers and technologists who need to orientate themselves to the specific technologies and applications involved in the generation, movement, and monitoring of audio and video signals and files in a broadcast and media technology environment. We attracted many attendees who were trained in electronics engineering but were relatively new to the broadcast and media industry, and again we received some very positive feedback from attendees. The response was so positive, in fact, that our November course quickly filled, and we were prompted to schedule another course for January 2012. While those who have attended The


IABM Training Academy have found the courses to be valuable, we’re also hearing praise from their employers. The courses we offer provide supplementary training and education opportunities that many such companies simply cannot coordinate or supply internally. When their employees take courses through the


10 l ibe l november/december 2011 l www.ibeweb.com


academy, they gain industry-specific knowledge that enhances their ability to perform their jobs. This cultivation of current industry expertise is a primary objective of the Lifelong Learning Manifesto, and the success of the academy in this respect has been remarkable. Building on this success, we’re


planning a progressive introduction of additional courses over the next three years. In addition to covering a broader range of critical topics, we’ll be addressing a broader geographic area. We’re planning courses in Germany and Northern Europe, actively seeking partners for Asia-Pacific courses, and lining up course delivery partners in the Middle East and in South Africa. We expect to offer training in all of these areas in 2012, and we’re working to make courses even more broadly available by putting some of them online. In fact, our ‘Understanding your industry’ course should be online in January. Through the IABM Training Academy,


the IABM is also working to attract the interest of students who are actively considering a career in electronics or IT and to encourage them to look at courses and opportunities for broadcast and media technologists. With the help of suppliers and broadcasters, we’ve begun outreach and site visits to select schools and colleges around the world. These efforts tie in nicely with the IABM’s work to facilitate relationships between academic institutions and employers for work experience, student placements, course projects, and entry-level recruitment. Broadcast and media technology is


an exciting arena that provides some great opportunities for technologists and engineers. In its short history, the IABM Training Academy has already made great strides in supporting such staff - and their employers - through thoughtful and relevant industry- specific training.


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