Innovative training project for Rolls Royce

An innovative audio visual project involving Katapult Productions, ViVA: the orchestra of the east midlands and Rolls-Royce has been hailed as a perfect example of how manufacturing businesses can benefit from the creative process.

Katapult and ViVA have been working with 40 first year engineering apprentices from Rolls-Royce plc in Derby to create eight different videos on their own interpretation of 'power'. Working with composer Andrew Williams and musicians from ViVA, Katapult Productions' video director Leon Davies and training staff from Rolls-Royce - the groups have run their own production companies with different roles and an imaginary budget to create the videos.

The project is an excellent example of a wider government initiative to encourage business and industry to use creativity to enhance performance, and is being put forward as a model of best practice to show how businesses and the creative industries can work together to achieve long-term bottom line benefits.

ViVA composer Andrew Williams said: "We are really impressed with the results of the project which started before Christmas and culminated in a first showing of the videos in an event on June 10"

"The aims of this unique project were to take these young people out of the workshop environment and develop their creative thinking, problem solving, communication and leadership skills.

"Having seen them develop and mature as groups with a common purpose over the past six months, I think we have achieved this and they should all be extremely proud of the results.

This is the second year that Rolls-Royce have involved their apprentices in a project designed to promote creative thinking in the work place, and the first time that they have worked with video production. The emphasis is on developing good communication, problem-solving and team-working skills. Video production is a perfect example of how different skills need to be bought together and managed to achieve a result, and the skills that the apprentices have learnt will be transferable to many other working situations.

Neil Fowkes, Rolls-Royce Learning Delivery Manager, "With this project, we wanted to tackle something totally different with a flexible approach to enhance the training they gain during their apprenticeship. The feedback from the trainees and their mentors has been very encouraging. We believe there will be a lot of interest in the results of their hard work.

ViVA and Katapult work closely together on a number of projects and are both key members of the city's unique Creative Industries Network (CIN). This is a private sector network set up to encourage collaboration, peer to peer support and to raise the industry's profile through activities such as events, its web portal and lobbying. This fascinating project - bringing together music and video production in a flexible training environment - is an excellent example of how businesses can use the power of creativity to achieve a business goal.