Chapter 1: Competitive & Sustainable industry

1.1Supporting local
content and talent

To raise productivity in the media industry, MDA enhanced the Talent Assistance grant scheme with the introduction of Training Allowance for freelancers in July 2012. The Enhanced Apprenticeship, which supports experienced media practitioners for work attachments, was also introduced. These new initiatives were made possible with the support from the National Productivity and Continuing Education Council. As of 31 March 2013, these two initiatives have benefitted 76 media practitioners and freelancers.

Two of the 76 recipients are Josh Yong, a Ngee Ann Polytechinic graduate and freelancer; and James Phang from Tiny Island Productions. Josh was supported by the Enhanced Apprenticeship, and was attached to the London 2012 Olympic Games as a sports video editor, editing 'live' coverage of the games for worldwide audiences. He was the only Singapore video editor to be selected for the position. Since his return, he has worked on editing projects in Australia and Singapore including for the reality TV programme, Asia's Next Top Model.

Another recipient, James Phang, an employee of Tiny Island Productions, was attached to FremantleMedia Enterprises in Los Angeles to learn story and concept development under the mentorship of experienced Hollywood development specialists. He had since returned to Tiny Island Productions, to assist the company in strategic planning.

To ensure a constant pipeline of talent, MDA revamped its Media Education Scheme (MES) in 2012 to foster closer collaborative relationships with the industry. By tying up with the industry to co-sponsor scholarships, MDA hopes to achieve the twin goals of nurturing media leaders and professionals, while at the same time meeting industry’s need and demand for talent with specified skill sets. Six scholarships were awarded jointly with established media companies to Wendy Wong Shumin, Yunita Santoso Ong, Chan Mei Yu, Jethra, Kenson Tan Kian Seng, Aemilia Mariani Widodo and Jodie Pang Li Juan. Upon graduation, the six will be attached to media companies like MediaCorp, Starhub, Tiny Island Productions, Singapore Press Holdings and Viacom International Media Networks. From 2003 to 2012, MDA supported 182 individuals to pursue their media studies through the MES scheme.

This year, MDA introduced a film category under MES. MES (Film) aims to nurture talent pursuing independent film careers. Recipients of MES (Film) will be mentored by local film-makers for two years, after their studies.