The Animation Workshop, VIA University College (TAW) carried out the two training activities 3D Character Animation (3DCA) in the spring and the Visual Effects (VFX) course in the fall 2015.The 3DCA course took the participants through all the components of 3D animation. Under the supervision of the guest teachers, the participants were introduced to the Maya software and to 3D character animation through a series of exercises designed to transfer the classical 2D animation principles onto a 3D platform. Focus was on body mechanics and physical action during the basic training and then moved on to the advanced concepts of pantomime acting and lip sync. The course culminated in a 4-week final project, each student's show reel masterpiece; a 20-30 seconds animated short film.We designed the VFX course to equip computer graphics professionals with the knowledge and skills to create photorealistic computer graphics and integrate them seamlessly with their own filmed live action footage. This photorealistic CG work ranged from set extensions through vehicles to body part replacements and effects simulations such as smoke and water. Participants worked within the industry standards for software and camera equipment. Throughout the course, participants worked on their own final project, a short live action scene with integrated CG elements and simulations.Through the training, participants acquired both hard and soft skills. Primarily, we taught the participants the craftsmanship, best practices, the technical and artistic skills, since the specific software and tools may and do change over time. The philosophy is learning by doing, while being guided and supervised by qualified professionals, resulting in a rapid learning curve.Each week of the training activities consisted of artistic and technical lectures, film and game analysis, numerous and intense assignments, group critiques, evaluations, one-to-one critiques and tutoring, and production simulations.On the 3DCA course, we accepted 14 participants out of 49 applications and on the VFX course, we accepted 8 participants out of 26 applications. Across the two training activities, 15 different nationalities were represented, and out of those, two were non- European.Participants developed communication and teamwork skills, as the course organizers set up the courses to mimic a studio environment with "daillies" and "weeklies", group critique meetings where participants and instructors reviewed the latest work. For their future careers, it is essential for the participants to be able to share ideas and to give and get critique, as TAW objective is to set the participants up for life-long learning in a changing industry. A vital parameter of success is the employment rate, and we are happy to note the training activities gives participants a boos of employability, resulting in many of them being hired shortly after the courses.