Northern Lights

This is a programme which is currently unmatched across the media industry and certainly in the North West of England. Take a look at what some of the participants thought of the May 2009 programme. You can also read some of their posts elsewhere in the site.

Before I took part in the pilot for the Northern Lights training scheme, I worked in a job a hated with seemingly no prospects of things getting any better. It may sound a little corny but participating in the programme, and meeting so many talented people who were so generous with their time and expertise was just inspirational and turned my life around.

Not only did it expose me to a wide variety of creative industries, but it also equipped me with some of the skills I needed to follow my chosen path. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that overnight, I became a media professional, There’s still a lot of hard work and dedication ahead, but it’s definitely set me off in the right direction.

More important than any of that though, was that Moira and Andrew made me believe in myself. They worked with me to highlight my weaknesses and my strengths and provided a guiding hand.

And they’re still there with me, checking in, seeing how I’m doing, I can’t thank them enough,

As I write this, I’m sat in the creative room of a video games developer, where I’m on a three month placement. It’s, challenging, rewarding, fun and I’m excited about the future. It’s all been possible because of the Northern Lights Training Scheme

If you’re thinking about a career in the Media, and you don’t know where to start. I can’t think of a better place.

Phill Hetherington, participant: specialism Gaming

Northern Lights helped me a lot in terms of preparing for interview as whilst on the course we would have one to one mentoring sessions. These helped me identify key qualities employers look for in the media industry whilst also helping me improve the presentation of my CV and identify a clear career path which I should aim to achieve.

The course also gained me a greater understanding of the convergence of various media platforms which is important to any production in today’s digital age.

Kay Appleby, participant: specialism Radio

I believe that Northern Lights helped me get through the interviews especially the presentation seminar and understanding the audience. I also feel that it helped me think outside of the box when asked questions about what I would do if… In addition I think that that my boss was also impressed that I had recent experience at another advertising agency as large as McCann-Erickson. Finally I think the one to one I had with Andrew about how to nail an interview was extremely useful.

Luke Scowcroft, participant: specialism Interactive

Before Northern Lights I knew very little about multi-platform content and now I will be working for a interactive gaming company in London. It is a job that I don’t think I would have been able to secure without the Multi-Platform Training that I received from Northern Lights. I will be managing the games content for an interactive TV channel called Echostar who broadcast via satellite Television in America. I will be getting real working experience in broadcasting, managing a channel, scheduling, sourcing content, games testing and will be responsible for producing the content for the channel. I don’t think I could have hoped for a better first break into the media industry.

Lisa Strachan, participant: specialism TV