"Pixar University is at the center of Mr. Nelson's agenda. The operation has more than 110 courses: a complete filmmaking curriculum, classes on painting, drawing, sculpting and creative writing. "We offer the equivalent of an undergraduate education in fine arts and the art of filmmaking," he said. Every employee — whether an animator, technician, production assistant, accountant, marketer or security guard — is encouraged to devote up to four hours a week, every week, to his or her education."
Back when I wanted to be an animator, I bookmarked that article for this quote:
>The skills we develop [at Pixar U] are skills we need everywhere in the organization,” Mr. Nelson said. “Why teach drawing to accountants? Because drawing class doesn’t just teach people to draw. It teaches them to be more observant. There’s no company on earth that wouldn’t benefit from having people become more observant.
That show how much they've got this "being an employer" thing down. Can you quantify "people becoming more observant"? Probably not, but they reap enormous benefits out of doing things that other companies wouldn't justify because of the costs. Seriously, at what other company can you essentially attend an undergraduate degree's worth of instruction related to that company's industry? Seems like a no-brainer once you think about it.
"Pixar University is at the center of Mr. Nelson's agenda. The operation has more than 110 courses: a complete filmmaking curriculum, classes on painting, drawing, sculpting and creative writing. "We offer the equivalent of an undergraduate education in fine arts and the art of filmmaking," he said. Every employee — whether an animator, technician, production assistant, accountant, marketer or security guard — is encouraged to devote up to four hours a week, every week, to his or her education."
sounds like an exciting place to work and grow