Month: March 2023

The Pixel Mill will be hosting a 2-day Mental Health First Aid Course for the interactive sector on the 25th and 26th April from 9:30am – 4:30pm at Ormeau Baths.

The two-day workshop will be delivered by Mind Fitness and will focus on best practice guidelines. This will provide the knowledge, confidence, and practical skills for delegates to be able to effectively set boundaries, provide non-clinical mental health support and know how to take care of their own wellbeing, and the wellbeing of the colleagues they are responsible for leading and collaborating with. This course assembles current best practice around mental health first aid and applies these principles to the specific challenges that professionals in the videogames industry are sometimes presented with.

Outcomes for the course are:

• Able to understand the primary goals of a Mental Health First Aider
• Able to identify a range of common mental health challenges based on current best practice insights about how people may present whilst experiencing these common conditions
• Able to apply the RESPOND framework to provide non-judgemental support to any person experiencing a mental health challenge
• Able to confidently take care of one’s own wellbeing and mental health whilst working as a professional in any of the creative industries
• Able to reflect on challenges and communicate with clarity and purpose to influence and direct positive outcomes for the people you manage and the colleagues you collaborate with

Mind Fitness specialises in mental health, wellbeing and personal effectiveness training. With a background in video games and the creative industries, it works extensively in the interactive entertainment industry.

There are limited number of spaces available for the workshop series and will be given out on a first come, first serve basis. In the event that the workshop series are oversubscribed we may limit the number of participants from individual companies.

If you would like to sign up to the workshops please email Rory Clifford, Interactive Manager, rory@northernirelandscreen.co.uk.

The Pixel Mill is hosting a series of online learning sessions focused on People and Culture for the interactive sector during April and May.

The series of 6 x 2hr sessions will cover a range of topics around leading people and developing team culture within interactive studios. The first 3 sessions in series in April are:

• Wednesday 5^th April, 12noon-2pm – Developing Employer Value Proposition (EVP) – what does your brand really say about the people you work with
• Wednesday 12^th April, 12noon-2pm – How to recruit well! From ED&I to the does and don’ts of the process we’ll explore ways to attract and select the best talent for you
• Wednesday 19^th April, 12noon-2pm – Retention is more than your EVP but do you truly know what’s required to keep good people?

The workshops will be delivered by Sarah Brewster from Fresh Seed. Fresh Seed is a People and Culture consultancy for the creative industries providing revolutionary people management and organisational culture services to help the industry grow stronger. Their services range from HR retainer to a training and cultural deep dive, focusing on bringing positive transformation and happiness to the creative industries. Fresh Seed work with various studios within the industry including Safe In Our World and SpongeHammer.

Sarah has spent years in Organisation Design and Development, Operations Management and HR. Having mostly worked in SMEs, she is familiar with the challenges and opportunities that this brings. She doesn’t speak in corporate terms and feels there’s a complete disconnect between HR practices and people management so Fresh Seed was born to bridge that gap.

If you would like to attend the workshop please email rory@northernirelandscreen.co.uk to register.