THE Academy in Kidderminster has teamed up with Hartlebury-based communications agency, Drpgroup, to give local school pupils an insight into careers in the digital industry.

The aim is to ensure the next generation of digital employees is developed.

Pupils from The Bewdley High School and Sixth Form Centre and The Stourport High School & VIth Form College visited the Academy at Kidderminster to get a flavour of what courses were on offer, as well as gaining an insight into what skills would be needed for careers in digital broadcasting, character animation and games design.

Stuart Lee, a developer in the Drpdigitalmedia team, provided three separate sessions for year 9, 10 and 11 pupil,s with each session focused on game development, offering an insight into the key factors involved in the profession and the different roles and responsibilities within a digital team.

Ben Wallace, managing director at Drpgroup, said: “Our team is continuing to build and develop its relationship with Birmingham Metropolitan College and The Academy at Kidderminster, with a view to ensuring that we don’t suffer from a skills shortage in the future. We have already taken on three apprentices from the local area, all of which have since become full-time team members.”

Karen Booth, careers manager at Stourport High, said: “Lots of young people have ideas about getting a dream job when they leave school but it’s really important that they see the work that goes into developing your talents, which is why these taster sessions at The Academy at Kidderminster are so useful.

"Our pupils have benefited from talks from a local industry expert, who outlined what they would need to do in terms of study for a career in the digital field. This was a really useful exercise for them and I know some of the pupils will be applying for some of the digital courses on offer here from September.”

Dan Brown, 15, a pupil of Stourport High, said: “I didn’t really know much about what courses were on offer at The Academy but I’m really interested in games design and how they are put together.

"I’ve been learning about coding at school but would like to learn more and I’m thinking of applying for a course here now that I’ve seen the facilities. It was also really useful to hear about what kind of jobs are available in the industry.”

Sue Timms, head of school services at Birmingham Metropolitan College in Kidderminster, said: “We have put on a variety of taster events for school pupils in the area and found that having local employers present adds a lot of value to their experience of college life.

"Having input from local companies like Drpgroup really helps students and teachers understand what careers are on offer when pupils study particular qualifications.”

Drpgroup is in talks with the The Academy at Kidderminster to provide further sessions with more of the drpdigitalmedia team.