Top broadcasters come together to tackle production skill shortage in British TV and film
Industry powerhouses, the BBC, Channel 4, Paramount and UKTV have announced their intention to join forces to tackle the current production management skills gap facing the UK TV industry.
The broadcasters participating in the scheme are each creating a specific Production Management Skills Fund which will be used to boost the volume of production management skills and capacity in the sector.
It comes after a shortage of line producers, production managers and production coordinators batter the industry, which is only worsened by the difficulty of recruiting for the roles.
In addition to this acute skills gap, there is increasing demand given the growth of productions in the UK and the increased requirements on production management such as managing COVID protocols and albert certification.
Therefore, the intention behind the scheme is to ease the short-term strain in production management and help build a longer-term talent pool.
Collectively the broadcasters are committing £1m over the next 12 months.
The participating broadcasters will use their PM Skills Funds to contribute at least 50 per cent of the salaries of these additional roles for the duration of a production. Where possible, they will prioritise diverse talent, smaller and medium sized indies, and those based in the Nations and Regions.
Each broadcaster will flex their approach in line with their own process, budgets, and strategic priorities and will distribute their money separately. This funding will be available from April 2022.
David Pembrey, Chief Operating Officer, BBC Content, said: “Production management is a highly-skilled and vital part of our industry. We want this funding to make a positive difference to productions who we know are managing increased requirements – as well as help develop the next generation of production management talent.”
Nan Whittingham, Vice President, Production UK, Paramount, said: “Production Managers are vital to our industry; content can’t be created without finding and retaining top-class production management talent. This dedicated initiative is a major priority for us, and we’re delighted to work with our broadcast partners on it. It will support Paramount’s own learning, development, and skills gaps funding as announced by Ben Frow last year.”