As mentioned before, training has been and is a low priority area for most animation companies. Internal supervision and on the job guidance are the most favored methods of employee training. However the pressing demand for trained animators makes the need for training even more severe. Some of the options that can be exercised by a company to train staff are:

1. Internal formal and informal courses for staff

2. Persuade institutes and teaching bodies to orient courses suited to industry needs

3. Participate in industry-based schemes by way of support and organisational help for members

Internal formal and informal courses for staff

High cost of infrastructure, capital equipment and time constraints make this form of training prohibitive for most companies. Moreover companies don't teach ancillary skills such as business management, production control, budgeting and supervision. The small size of most units in India also makes it unprofitable to invest in training schemes. Large companies have also found that sustaining long duration courses is not viable and why should they invest time and effort in training students in material that is not relevant to their production needs. Constant change in technology makes it difficult for companies to impart expert knowledge in such areas. Therefore courses are merely short term alternatives for the staff to become productive and useful for the immediate projects at hand.

Persuade institutes to orient courses suited to industry needs

Lead-time required to introduce new courses in universities, schools and colleges is in itself a deterrent. Moreover these bodies do not enjoy the kind of financial freedom to be able to spend heavily on capital equipment on a regular basis. There are also differences in the objectives of these organisations and in most cases the industry and they do not see things in the same light.

Colleges of art and design see the intellectual and individual creative development of students as their main objective while the industry would rather have them concentrate on production based subjects. It would be unrealistic to rely on the existing schools and colleges to fulfill the required shortages in trained manpower.

Industry standards require constant upgrades in equipment and skills both for the trainee as well as trainer. It would be unrealistic also to suppose that educational bodies in themselves would be in a position to take on this challenge.

Participate in industry-based schemes through support and organisational help for members

Industry-based schemes provide a host of advantages over other forms of training. Let us take a look at some of the prominent among them:

1. Regular mass of student trainees to bridge gap between demand and supply

2. Regular training programs can be easily arranged

3. Capital equipment is already present in companies only methods to make it available for training have to be devised

4. A range of different courses can be devised based on general needs of industry

5. Many companies can cooperate to reduce the burden of capital expenditure on any one unit

6. Ready availability of trained staff for training requirements

7. Operations can be devised as readily scalable to suit changing demand scenarios

However there are certain considerations that need to be addressed:

1. Outside finance will still be required as total outlay will be huge

2. Cooperation from Government bodies and institutions will be required to make it a creditable venture for the general public

3. Space is a major consideration in cities like Mumbai

4. The business element will have to be kept in mind for the venture to be financially viable

5. Inclusion of many players will require compromises and accommodations of differing points of view

6. Backup staff will be required to take over in case production demands require on site presence of senior staff

7. Industry requirements have to take precedence over individual company requirements that participate in such schemes

In-spite of these considerations it is certain that industry-based schemes are the only solution for this specialised field. Even though teaching skills of trainers may be inadequate, the knowledge they bring to such schemes will more than make up for these shortcomings by providing leading edge training and information to students.

Technology can come to the aid of those who are less fortunate in the art of communication. Teaching aids in the form of interactive multimedia presentations can be employed to make the classrooms more interesting and the training program cost effective and at the same time provide a ready platform for standardisation of course material.

HOW

The success of such courses depends to a large part on the proactive role of the entire industry including the existing training units. Some pointers that may help us introspect and work towards a viable solution:

1. Help existing animation training institutes with know-how and technical expertise

2. Increase awareness of animation as an effective medium of creative expression among Indian film makers

3. Minimise animation costs through effective use of technology

4. Setup exclusive animation entertainment clubs for children

5. Set standards in recruitment by formulating proper criteria

6. Organise regular induction programs at college level to motivate young students

7. Place strong emphasis on training and skill updates after employment

8. Introduce a self appraisal system for assessment of individual achievements

9. Help in building careers through overall development of staff

10. Conduct seminars, workshops and programs for staff and students

11. Promote cooperation among companies to participate in training

12. Persuade Government and educational institutions to play a more proactive role in animation training

13. Collaborate with software and hardware vendors to enable cheaper training wares

14. Work closely with industry in order to understand the latest in manpower requirements

15. Provide strong emphasis on employment based training

16. Recruit staff for studio requirements from affiliated training programs

17. Enable students to get loans for animation studies from partner institutions

The immediate need is to provide suitable training to our abundant manpower resources so that it can seek gainful employment. Indians by nature are keen observers and learners. However conservative attitudes and age-old learning programs leaning towards theoretical knowledge have plagued us for far too long. Vocational studies have yet to gain ground and more importantly -reliability among the masses. Our social structure inclines heavily towards job security and one of the main casualties of this attitude is indifference towards the arts. This needs to be changed.

Maybe courses should be like extensions of existing animation business. While this will allow companies to provide recruitment opportunities to deserving candidates, a scheme wherein member companies may be required to plough back a small percentage of their revenues into these programs may be the answer. However companies will have to retain control over training activities in order to ensure that only industry relevant skills are passed onto students.

These are mere pointers that should allow companies, corporate institutions, training units and hopefully the education sector to take a good hard look at where we are today and where we would like to be tomorrow. The time to act is now.

End of Part 10

Part 11 of the series entitled 'BENEFITS' shall appear in the next issue of Animation 'xpress.

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Read Part 3

Read Part 4

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Read Part 8

Read Part 9