ScreenSkills to invest £10m in HETV training amid skills gap concerns

The ScreenSkills High-end TV Skills Fund is to invest more than £10m of industry contributions from UK producers, broadcaster in-house productions and inward investors in the coming year to meet the training needs of the booming sector.

The investment of £10.1m in 2022-23 will be a considerable increase in spending from £6.7m this financial year which has supported 1,400 individuals to move up in their careers, fill shortage grades and develop their professional skills.

The respected flagship programme Trainee Finder with paid placements for new entrants will be increased from 120 places to more than 200 including the addition of a new cohort of at least six trainees in virtual production.

Make a Move, which funds stepping up opportunities for crew on productions, will be almost doubled in capacity from £1.1m to £2m to ensure it continues to support the significant increase in anticipated productions shooting in the UK in 2022/23.

As part of the drive to ensure freelancer retention in the industry and improve work/life balance, the HETV job share programme will also be significantly expanded to support more flexible working for up to 40 job-sharers. In addition, training in leadership and management and anti-bullying and harrassment will continue to be available to every shooting HETV production team, to foster good working practices.

The HETV industry working groups, which are led by many independent heads of production are meeting this month to finalise grade shortage specific investment for the coming year, with a focus on developing mid-level crew and building capacity in the UK-wide workforce. 

There will be a continued focus on ensuring access to training and opportunities across the UK, which this year will be strengthened further with the introduction of industry working groups in the three nations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, to enable localised training opportunities to be determined by local industry. This will build on work with local partnerships that has been funded over the last five years, complementing the wider programme of support offered by the fund.

The article originally appeared on our sister site Broadcast