Broadcast: In My View

Everyone benefits from having a well-trained freelance community, says Nick Catliff

In The Guardian recently, Maggie Brown declared that TV was in a “chaotic state”, relying “too heavily on poorly trained freelancers”. More than 50% of independent TV employers said they couldn’t afford to invest in training, which wasn’t a priority in the current economic climate.

As chairman of the Indie Training Fund (ITF) – a non-profit training provider for TV and digital media professionals – I just don’t recognise the picture Maggie paints. There are some skills shortages in TV and many freelancers struggle to build a coherent career path but, at the same time, the indie sector is carrying out a great deal of high-quality training.

Recent Skillset research reveals that more than 60% of TV indies have funded or arranged training or development in the past year. Nearly 70% offered it to people on short-term contracts.

Much of it is in-house. Companies such as Lime Pictures and Shed Media have shrewdly decided to resolve skills shortages by training their own teams.

Other indies, from giants like Shine, Endemol, Zodiak and Talkback Thames to leaner outfits like Feelgood Fiction, Oxford Film & TV, Windfall Films, Wildfire and my own company, Lion, provide financial backing for the ITF. In return, each receives tailor-made training for their staff.

Through the ITF, these companies also make a major contribution to the Skillset TV Skills Fund, which provides training bursaries for freelancers and employees.

By far the largest funder of Skillset is the BBC, which, as well as putting cash into training schemes across the industry, trains large numbers of its own staff at the BBC Academy. This in turn feeds into the indie community since virtually everyone who goes through a BBC course will sooner or later turn up on a freelance contract at an indie.  Similarly, we should welcome Channel 4’s commitment to train a new generation of TV journalists for Dispatches. The best will go on to work in the indie sector.

Funding will always be an issue. Sky, ITV and the cable channels are among those who withdrew financial support from Skillset some years ago. The indie sector can and should do better.

While we all benefit from training across the board, many companies do little in-house training and don’t provide funding for the industry’s key training organisation, the ITF. Frankly, they are getting a free ride.

I would argue that, for all indies, training is enlightened self-interest. Better-trained staff means better programmes and better use of ever-tightening budgets.

Offering top-quality training is also a way for any company to attract and retain the best people, since it shows a clear commitment that goes beyond the limitations of yet another short-term contract.

There are many ways to achieve this and I, of course, would urge any indie to contribute to the ITF and work with us to understand any skills gaps and provide the best training.

In co-operation with our partners – including broadcasters, Pact, Skillset, the BBC Academy and other training providers – we’re determined to lead the way by developing the professional skills of the next generation of programme-makers.

Nick Catliff is managing director of Lion Television and chairs the Indie Training Fund