A seminar led by the renowned concept artist and illustrator Mr Jake Parker will be held today by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), in partnership with Lasalle College of the Arts. Mr Parker, renowned for his work with Marvel, Blue Sky Studios, Disney Animation and Warner Brothers Animation, will share insights about his career in art and living a creative life with 500 Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs) from the media, design and creative industry at the inaugural U Creative Summit.
THE EMERGING CREATIVE INDUSTRY
Working in a challenging and emerging sector, creative industry professionals find themselves needing to constantly upgrade their skills to keep up with the latest technology and industry trends and developments. Furthermore, as Singapore’s role as a regional and global media hub continues to grow, opportunities for growth and leadership for our PMEs in this sector are on the rise.
U CREATIVE SUMMIT AS PART OF U CREATIVE PROGRAMME
The U Creative Summit is part of the U Creative Programme, designed by NTUC. It provides a platform for creative professionals to keep abreast with the ever-changing business environment and meet the challenges in the sector. Other initiatives under the U Creative Programme include U Creative Mentorship, which is an opportunity for participants to connect with trailblazers such as photographer John Clang and other practitioners in an intimate small group setting, as well as the U Creative Series, a series of dialogues that allow participants to network and share knowledge.
The U Creative Programme is part of NTUC’s broader efforts to prepare Singaporean PMEs for tomorrow’s challenges.
“The U Creative Summit strives to provide a key platform for Singapore’s creative industry professionals to exchange ideas and draw insights from some of the world’s biggest names in visual communications,” says Vivek Kumar, Director, U Associate and Future Leaders Programme, NTUC. “In order to be future ready and to compete on a global stage, our PMEs need to be at the forefront of the developments in the industry, keeping their fingers on the pulse. The U Creative Programme not only provides business networking opportunities for creative professionals, it is also a bridging platform for the creative industry to tap into NTUC’s professional ecosystem in expertise areas such as information technology, human resources, project management, leadership, etc”.
OUTREACH OF U CREATIVE PROGRAMME TO MEDIA SCHOOLS
Beyond the working professionals, U Creative Programme also reaches out to tertiary institutions such as Republic Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Nanyang Technological University of Singapore to engage students in the area of career challenges and skills needed to kick start their careers. These outreach sessions convey important skills and know-hows, giving our students a much needed head start, ensuring that they are future-ready.
SECTORAL TRIPARTISM
At the national level, tripartism has always been the hallmark of Singapore. The U Creative programme seeks to provide a platform for tripartite partners in the creative and media sector to help our professionals grow.
“U Creative welcomes all partners and stakeholders such as media companies and tertiary institutions to join us in this effort to grow our professionals in the creative industry. We look forward to working with like-minded organisations with similar passion to deepen the skills and knowledge of the creative industry professionals and keep them future-ready” says Mr Vivek Kumar.
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