Google News Initiative extends support of NCTJ’s Journalism Skills Academy
The Google News Initiative has extended its support of the NCTJ’s Journalism Skills Academy (JSA).
The Google News Initiative has extended its support of the NCTJ’s Journalism Skills Academy (JSA).
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Launched in October 2020, the academy is a one-stop shop for journalists at all stages of their careers to develop their knowledge and skills.
The ongoing support of the Google News Initiative will enable the NCTJ to scale up its training offer and to promote and market the JSA to relevant audiences.
Matt Cooke, head of Google News Lab, said: “We’re supporting the NCTJ to build their new digital hub for learning – removing the need for resources to be posted, and providing training opportunities for journalists across the country.”
Google News Initiative announced the news in a blog post published today.
Centred on an e-learning platform, the academy delivers training activities including CPD courses, refresher sessions and the NCTJ’s qualifications via an interactive distance learning programme.
As part of the expansion, the NCTJ’s Level 5 Diploma in Journalism qualification today launches on the e-learning platform, enabling distance learners to undertake their studies online for the first time.
All new distance learners will be enrolled on the JSA, and existing learners will be given the option to transfer to the interactive and multimedia online study materials.
Will Gore, the NCTJ’s head of partnerships and projects, said: “The Journalism Skills Academy is a vital element of the NCTJ’s ongoing evolution, enabling us to meet the rapidly changing needs of the journalism sector. The ongoing support of the Google News Initiative means we can now scale up and further improve our training offer across a wide range of topics, and for a broad array of audiences.
“For 70 years, the NCTJ has been synonymous with excellence in professional journalism training. The JSA will make our qualifications and our training more accessible than ever, encouraging new talent into our industry, and providing the thousands of talented individuals already working as journalists with opportunities to enhance old skills and develop new ones.
“We are enormously grateful to Google, and especially to Matt Cooke, for sharing our vision for the JSA, and we look forward to seeing the project go from strength to strength.”
The NCTJ has also this month appointed Christina Borg to the new position of Journalism Skills Academy manager. Christina has extensive experience in the learning and development field, both in educational and corporate settings.
The development and expansion of the JSA is the latest move to ensure the NCTJ’s work remains compelling, relevant and innovative.
As the academy scales up over the coming 18 months, the NCTJ will be working to make the learning experience better than ever, and to develop a range of new courses and resources.
