South African animation studio Triggerfish has teamed up with a government-backed program in Germany called Employment for Skills and Development (E4D) to help African high school graduates break into the animation industry.

The three-year program aims to promote the industry to 10,000 graduates, create 200 jobs, strengthen portfolios, and provide 6,000 emerging creatives from across the continent with market access.

Phase one of the initiative is a free animation editing course available online on digital learning platform Triggerfish Academy. Writer/director/editor Kerrin Kokot—whose editing credits include Triggerfish’s upcoming feature Seal Team—is teaching the course.

The Capetown-based studio has also launched a 10-second animation competition for 18- to 35-year-olds. Entries will be accepted until November 14, and the grand prize is a tablet and a half hour of one-on-one guidance from Triggerfish head of production Mike Buckland. More details are available on the Triggerfish website.

The partnership with E4D was announced at the 2021 Cape Town International Animation Festival, where Triggerfish also presented a making-of workshop featuring Troll Girl (pictured), a debut short film from creator Kay Carmichael. Using Blender and Grease Pencil, Carmichael produced the project with Triggerfish through her Giantslayer Studios prodco, and it offers a great case study on the value of free software.