CHENNAI: Over the last 17 years, the National Film Development Corporation in collaboration with National Backward Classes Finance & Development Corporation (NBCFDC) has been offering free skill development programmes to 17,000 unemployed youth in Tamil Nadu. The initiative is aimed at providing them with employment opportunities in the media and entertainment sector. This year, 100 candidates will be trained in digital film and video editing and graphic designing.
With 60 candidates registered so far, they are hoping to receive a few more registrations by March 15. From the lot, 50 will be assigned to the courses depending on their preferences. “We are primarily targeting the age group of 18-35 with a good mix of female and male candidates. These could even be college freshers who have a passion for working for the media industry.
Some of the beneficiaries from past programmes are currently working in reputed production houses and satellite channels in good roles,” said D Ramakrishnan, general manager, NFDC. The classes can be attended virtually or physically at their centre in Egmore. While editing is a 240-hour programme, graphic designing is for 420 hours. After the completion, the candidates will be given certificates.
Other courses like animation, multimedia, audio engineering, digital photography and camera handling can be availed for free. The institute also offers paid online courses in specialised areas for upskilling. “The key idea behind starting this is to make the best use of infrastructure and experienced professionals we have in the team. We realised that there has always been a gap in midlevel careers in the media industry.
For someone to work even as a camera assistant, there are a few prerequisites. We design the course module keeping in mind all these aspects. It will equip the candidates with the basics to handle things independently and also give them good exposure,” said D Ramakrishnan. The course is expected to begin by March 15.
For details, call: 28191203, 28192506, 28192407