The key purpose of the Animation Skills Fund, formerly known as the animation levy, is to support the development of animation talent at all levels - bringing new entrants into the industry and advancing career development.
The fund was created following the introduction of UK tax relief for the animation sector. It was agreed that any production utilising the tax credit would contribute to a fund managed by ScreenSkills.
Productions pay a voluntary contribution of 0.5% of their production budget spent in the UK into the fund. Contributions are capped at £54,000 per production (the cap increases each year in line with RPI). To maximise the opportunities you could benefit from, animation productions should contact ScreenSkills as soon as possible about contributing to the fund. Your commitment to the levy does not have to coincide with your application for the tax credit.
Since 2016 the fund has raised more than £850,000, which has been invested in training and career development for the UK animation industry. More than £173,000 was raised in 2023-24 alone, from 17 animated productions.
Contributing studios include Aardman Animation, Blink Industries, Blue Zoo, Eagle Eye Drama, Gutsy Animation UK, Jellyfish Pictures, Karrot Animation, LoveLove Films, Lupus Films, Magic Light Pictures, Sun & Moon Studios, Tiger Aspect Animation, Wildchild Animation, Wildseed Studios and more.
Since 2020 more than 1,900 people have signed up to ScreenSkills with animation as their key focus and/or career identifier. 2021 saw the launch of the first edition of Animation Trainee Finder. Trainees on the new entrant programme, specialising in 2D, 3D and stop motion and storyboard animation, have received more than 447 weeks of paid placements on productions across shows such as Corpse Talk, Specs, Lloyd of the Flies, Dodo and Super Happy Magic Forest. The programme continues to run this year.
Decisions about how the funds are spent are made by the Animation Skills Council which is made up of industry leaders in the sector.
What is the fund used for?
The industry contributions are invested in skills development for animation professionals and new entrants across the whole of the UK. Training and support programmes are delivered both in-house and externally by industry-recognised training providers with a view to develop and sustain a word-class animation workforce.
The best thing about this approach is that it allows collaboration to happen between studios across the country, to achieve what studios alone cannot do. The more that studios contribute to the fund, the more activities can be delivered that will help to evolve the workforce, enabling studios to be able to assemble amazing teams of highly skilled people.
Read about the programmes supported by the Animation Skills Fund.
For more information about the Animation Skills Fund please email: Kieran Argo.
- Super Happy Magic Forest
- Ladybird and Bee series 2
- Pip and Posy Let's Learn
- Pip and Posy series 2
- BooSnoo!
- Mr Bean series 4
- Badjelly
- Tweedy & Fluff
- The Woohoos
- Roots & Fruits series 2
- Obki season 3
- Doodle Girl
- The Velveteen Rabbit
- Tabby McTat
- Tiddler
- The Smeds and The Smoos
- Pop Paper City
- Happy the Hoglet Series 1
- Superworm
- The Abominable Snow Baby
- Enkai (Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire)
- Peter and the Wolf
- Lloyd of the Flies
- The Sound Collector
- The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
- Two Black Boys in Paradise
- Best and Bester
- Moomin Valley Series 4
- Ready, Eddie, Go!
- Yukee
- The Sunnyridge 3
- Dodo Series 2
- Dr Panda Series 2
- JoJo & Gran Gran Series 2 & 3
- Kensuke's Kingdom
- Labuntina Series 2
- Love Monster Series 2
- Millie and Lou
- Odo
- The Abominable Snow Baby
- The Brilliant World of Tom Gates Series 2
- The Debutante
- Zog and the Flying Doctors
- Big Tree City
- Circle Square
- Dodo
- Grimefulness
- Ladybird and Bee
- Milo
- Obki
- Pablo
- Pip and Posy
- Pirates Love Underpants
- Quentin Blake's Clown
- Sale Mali
- The Brilliant World of Tome Gates
- The Snail and the Whale
- Chado
- Horrid Henry's Gross Day Out
- JoJo & Gran Gran Series 1
- Love Monster Series 1
- BBC Bitesize Primary History Famous People
- Go Jetters Series 3
- Horrid Henry Series 5
- The Tiger Who Came to Tea
The fund was dormant at this time.
- The Moth and the Butterfly
- Pablo Series 1