Collaborative partnerships with key stakeholders will serve as the bedrock of the five-year strategy of UK training body ScreenSkills, as it shakes up its governance model.
The skills body today unveiled its revamped roadmap, which includes collaborations with the BBC and Create Central on a programme for the West Midlands, a pilot survey with Channel 4 to gauge the scope of the UK’s film and TV workforce and an enhanced partnership with BFI’s Skills Clusters.
ScreenSkills’ five-year strategy is the result of the Skills Task Force’s recommendations last year. Most notably, it was suggested the organisation evolve into a pan-sector strategic skills body that will lead the development of a comprehensive, long-term plan for the screen industries.
High quality training will remain a core focus for the skills body, as it revealed a consultation with 1,600 people across industry showed that 66% of its respondents valued e-learning modules against the 49% who valued placements. To this end, it will expand its Training Passport scheme, which standardizes
As well as this, the ScreenSkills’ board of trustees will reduce in size from 16 to an as-yet-undisclosed number to ensure appropriate skills and a diversity of industry interests are represented at board level.
This change, which was another recommendation from the Skills Task Force, is intended to foster greater transparency and accountability in the skills training body. From next Spring, the board of trustees will also regularly hold its meetings in the nations and regions to nurture better local engagement with key stakeholders and partners.
Lisa Opie, chair of ScreenSkills, said: “Changes in our governance will streamline decision-making and enable us to respond to both immediate needs and long-term opportunities for growth. By staying adaptable to emerging technologies and the shifting industry landscape, we will nurture and support a workforce that is diverse, highly skilled, and positioned to maintain the UK’s leadership in global content creation.”
Partnerships
ScreenSkills’ Mapping Project will tie with the BFI Skills Clusters to signpost training, development and placement opportunities across the nations and regions to ensure that regionally-relevant training is available to strengthen the UK’s talent pipelines, as well as supporting inclusivity across the country.
“[ScreenSkills’] commitment to developing a data-driven approach to address skills shortages and improve access to high quality training has huge potential to deliver a highly skilled and sustainable workforce, which is truly representative and accessible to all,” said Harriet Finney, BFI’s deputy chief executive and executive director of corporate and industry affairs.
The organisation will partner with Create Central and the BBC to support the West Midlands Skills Accelerator cluster programme, which is now in its second year. It will work with the BBC and other local stakeholders to develop targeted interventions and help guide future training in the region.
Ed Shed, chair of Create Central, said: “This partnership with ScreenSkills and the BBC is an exciting step forward in our mission to bridge the skills gap in our region’s creative sector. By focusing on granular, data-driven insights into local industry needs, we’re not only supporting current training initiatives but also laying the groundwork for sustainable growth and production-ready skills that will serve the industry well into the future.”
Separately, ScreenSkills will work with the BBC to co-commission research that will provide more detailed insight into the entry routes into the creative industries in order to help support new talent across the UK.
Dawn Beresford, director of talent and skills, BBC commissioning, said the union will “support and underpin BBC and public sector investment in key, strategic locations for the sector”.
She added: “The new strategy gives both ScreenSkills and the wider screen sector a shared blueprint to address the structural issues around access to the industry, career opportunities and reskilling, and to play a key role in growing the creative industries.”
ScreenSkills will also work with C4’s training arm 4Skills to research the size and profile of the screen industries’ workforce. The work will be conducted by Ampere Analysis, with a survey set to offer a detailed breakdown of the film and TV production and post production talent pool by region, department, role, seniority and demographics.
The survey is intended to highlight areas of shortage and oversupply, as well guide resource allocation and assist in setting targets and improving understanding of the industry’s demographics. This research is expected to be an annual undertaking.
Kevin Blacoe, head of partnerships at 4Skills, said: “Establishing a clearer picture of the people who work in our industry – who they are, where they are and what they do – will enable 4Skills and ScreenSkills to continue to make much more meaningful and impactful interventions to broadcasters, production companies and stakeholders, who will be able to make much more impactful and meaningful interventions to identify gaps, strengthen the workforce and bolster the creativity and resilience of British production.”
Other partnerships around animation, post production and games are also planned to explore the opportunities and skills needs in those industries, as well as a team up with Freelancers For Action to address recruitment and working conditions for the freelance talent pool.
A strategic partnership with Creative Diversity Network (CDN) was previously announced, to improve access and progression for underrepresented groups across the UK. It will also tie with social charity the Sutton Trust to address socio-economic diversity, while its Trainee Finder initiative will create pathways into the industry for diverse talent.
ScreenSkills’ chief exec Laura Mansfield said: “This strategy is built on partnership and collaboration, bringing together industry, wider stakeholders, and government to build a workforce skilled for today and agile, adaptable, and resilient for tomorrow’s challenges. We are committed to creating a more diverse and inclusive workforce where opportunities are accessible to everyone.
“By uniting efforts across sectors and regions, this strategy will address skills gaps, drive innovation, and empower the next generation of creative professionals, ensuring long-term sustainability and growth.”
Georgia Brown, chair of Skills Task Force, lauded the refreshed roadmap. “The transformation of Screen Skills into a more cohesive, data led long-term strategic partner to the industry is vital to powering the future of the UK’s creative economies, and the Screen Sectors Skills Task Force supports this new strategy,” she said.
“Our industry thrives on innovation and talent, but to remain competitive on the global stage, we must provide a clearer roadmap for skills development and invest in sustainable and structured pathways for our workforce. With a more collaborative, connected and future facing approach we can ensure that our creative sectors not only meet current demands but continue to drive economic growth, cultural impact, workforce satisfaction and sustainability for generations to come.”
A version of this story first appeared on Screen’s sister site, Broadcast
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