INDUSTRY. CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
that’s one of ScreenSkills’ key purposes. We’re here to ensure people understand that all you need is the right attitude and talent. There are hundreds of positions within screen and amazing openings across all skill sets. One of our programmes, First Break, is there to encourage people who may not be new entrants from education. It’s not only for young people, either. You may want to retrain, or could have been in a young offenders’ unit, looking to get on a good career path. We welcome these individuals to open-access evenings, where we don’t talk jargon. Once people understand the positions they may be suited to, we advance to more hands-on events and boot camps, introducing them to the industry. And then, there are paid – which is a very important factor – job shadowing opportunities. Beyond that, there’s Trainee Finder, which we’ve been running as a hugely successful programme for around a decade. Trainees are taken on across a host of trades. They’re with us for 12 months, during which they usually get a few chances to work on real content, and 99% of the time that’s their entry point. It’s a really great way of getting a foot on the ladder. Has there been an increase in entry- level individuals seeking training, following these initiatives? Very much so. Fantastic work is being done to open doors to people, and the screen sector is booming. It remained very buoyant throughout the pandemic and, before that, was showing itself as a growth industry. We absolutely hope people see how viable and secure it is, no matter where you are in the nation. There are massive pieces of content being made all over the UK. London remains one hub, but production companies are routinely making dramas in the north of England, Glasgow and Bristol – to name just a few. In line with that, we are seeing a real uptick in the amount of interest and number of people we’re able to support. Is skills development matching the rate of wider industry growth? It’s a very positive challenge, to be at a time when the industry is going through such significant growth that, understandably, filling all the roles is difficult. You can’t create a line producer overnight – that takes years of experience. So it’s important to bring people in at the bottom, but it’s also paramount that we’re supporting those advancing in their careers. The challenge is the huge surge in the amount of content being made. In the last financial year, we saw a doubling of the production we supported.
KAYE ELLIOTT ScreenSkills director of high-end television
Elliott serves as the all-important link between industry demand and those who fulfil it
W orkers are the backbone of the screen. Every transformative film or bingeable episodic we watch is only made possible by hundreds or thousands of brilliant individuals. But the high level of talent pooled on sets isn’t developed overnight. For some, higher education paves the way. For others, knowledge is accrued within the role itself. But the path for many includes dedicated skills training. There are few UK providers as prolific as ScreenSkills. With a nationwide reach and staggering number of opportunities, there’s plenty of work being done here. The full breadth of courses, training days, placements and beyond can be viewed online, and those at every single step of their career journey are encouraged to see what’s available. Taking a broader view of the current climate, Kaye Elliott delivers her expert insight. What kind of individuals come to you at the entry level, and what are they looking for? I think there’s still a job to be done to try and encourage people from all different backgrounds to consider screen as a really viable and successful career. Of course,
The pandemic caused an unusual situation, where productions that hadn’t been able to take place all happened at once. But we’re also seeing a hugely significant increase in the quantity and scale of content made in the UK. It’s a perfect storm to very quickly run out of people. However, a huge amount of work is being done to combat that. As you touched upon, skills development isn’t only for those at the beginning of their production career. What’s in place to ensure experienced filmmakers are keeping
KNOWLEDGE SHARING Monika Chowdhary Kuczynski (right) speaks passionately with skilled VFX producer and mentor, Kate Vaisey (left)
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