Andrew is big news at military media centre
PRINCE Andrew yesterday opened an academy to train former military personnel to work in the media.
The 57-year-old Prince spent 22 years in the Royal Navy and gave his royal seal of approval to the new facility, which is based at the headquarters of the Services Sound & Vision Corporation (SSVC), which makes Forces TV and other broadcasts for Britain’s Armed Forces.
The Duke, who is royal patron of SSVC, said: “To provide a course like this – for either retiring or leaving veteran service personnel – is absolutely secondto-none.
“There are a number of media organisations in this country who are looking for additional skills.
“They are looking for core skills of resilience, the ability to be able to deliver work unsupervised and to be able to get on with things in a way that the servicemen and women can do.”
The Duke of York met students on one-year media production courses at the Forces Media Academy in Chalfont St Peter, Bucks.
The academy will train former service personnel, including reservists, for future careers in videography, digital, TV or radio. One of the first intake of students, Sophie Maynard, 24, from Herts, was given the chance to interview Prince Andrew.
Sophie, who joined the Royal Navy in 2014 and served for three years, said: “What a fantastic way to kick-start my education in media. It also made me realise that I am no longer camera-shy, and presenting and interviewing is now an area I wish to pursue when I complete the course.”
The Royal British Legion has given each of the first 15 students an £18,000 bursary.
The academy was set up with a £1.8million grant from the Chancellor’s Libor Fund, which was created from fines levied on bankers for rigging rates.