Creative & Cultural Skills supports the skills and training needs of the UK's creative and cultural industries. Through their Skills Academy, they deliver a growing network of employers and training providers who are committed to the provision of high quality, industry-relevant creative education and training, apprenticeships and careers advice. They have recently completed a new; purpose built facility, The Backstage Centre at Purfleet, for the training of technical theatre staff. The Backstage Centre is a state of the art technical facility housed alongside the Royal Opera House production workshop. In September 2012, the Trustees of The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation agreed to provide funding towards master classes at The Backstage Centre to include technical theatre students, who will have the chance to experience real-time training with some of the world's best bands and theatre companies in a large-scale industry-standard venue, strengthening their practical skills. The Trustees of the Foundation were particularly impressed with the facilities within the new building and are hopeful that their support will encourage others to fund this and other projects at the Centre in the future. LATEST NEWS - 6 AUGUST 2013 Creative & Cultural Skills has announced a plan to host a series of one-day masterclasses in Autum 2013 for young people embarking on careers in technical theatre. The Technical Masterclass Series is supported by The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation.