Training crisis? What crisis?

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

Posted by indietrainingfund
Tags: BBC Academy, channel 4, endemol, Feelgood Fiction, ITF, Lion Television, Oxford Film & TV, pact, Shine, Skillset, Talkback Thames, Wildfire, Windfall Films, Zodiak
Comments: (0)

Pact Digital Showcasing ‘Behind the Screens’ tour

Pact is running another of its revealing series of ‘Behind the Screens’ showcasing events to highlight some of the best new digital, innovative and technological projects from the UK digital media industry.
Get a closer look at the latest projects from award-winning Pact members and network with other producers, commissioners, new media executives, managing directors, technology representatives and more to gain new ideas, productions and partnerships.
Kicking off in March in London, this FREE 7-city tour, sponsored by Adobe, will feature top producers and their projects as follows:
London: 12 March 2010
Featuring Maverick Television (Embarrassing Illnesses); Coggap (Noostar); Raw TV (Battlefront) plus more

Glasgow: 6 May 2010
Tern Digital (Art of Maps); Illumina Digital (Sun Quiz Live), Axis Animation (The Journey); Cube Interactive (Double Six Club)

Birmingham: 13 May 2010
Star Dot Star (Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra); Eye Film and TV (Tempting Fates); Lion Interactive (Victorian Christmas)

Manchester: 10 June 2010
Preloaded (1066); Desq (BBC Legacy); Urban Canyons TV (Urbanation); ISO Design (Central Station)

Cardiff: 15 September 2010
Quark Films (The People vs George Lucas); Modern Toss (Chaos Laboratories); Hat Trick (Chartjackers) plus more

Bristol: 11 November 2010
RDF Contact (Being Human), plus more

Belfast: 9 December 2010
Ronin Films (The Irish Giant), plus more

These FREE events will run from 3.30pm-5.30pm followed by drinks and networking.
For more details and to register go to: https://www.pact.co.uk/Homepage/Events/

Posted by indietrainingfund
Tags: adobe, digital showcase, pact
Comments: (0)

Diversity Forum creates business opportunity

Greater diversity can make programmes more commercially successful as well as more creative, said Channel 4’s Oona King as she wound up the ITF Open Forum for indie TV producers at C4 on Thursday 8th October. She encouraged programme-makers to take risks, show untold stories through different eyes, and give chances to new talent both in front of and behind the camera. Peter Kay, for example, was found by C4 Talent scouting in Manchester. She added that two of C4’s greatest successes in the past 2 years both had diversity at their core: the movies “Slumdog Millionaire” and “The Last King of Scotland”.

The Indie Training Fund had given Channel 4 and the BBC the chance to join forces to support the broadcasters’ new Diversity Pledge by staging an ITF Open Forum called “The Creative Opportunity”. It was the first time this event had been staged for the indie sector, and seen outside the BBC where it has previously only been available to programme-makers in its Vision production unit.

The Forum was the first in a series of similar events and other half-day Diversity workshops that ITF (the leading charity providing training for the indie sector) will be staging around the UK.

It was led by the same two facilitators who have run similar sessions so successfully in the BBC: Kate Rowland (the BBC’s Creative Director of New Writing and writersroom) and Daniell Morrisey (Vision’s Talent Business Manager, and a member of the Indie Talent Forum).

In the opening interactive quiz the small teams of delegates from several indies (including Diverse, Endemol, IMG, Initial, Leopard & Windfall) had some surprises in what they knew about their audiences. Guided by the workshop leaders they then discussed some successful current programmes, and came up with ideas about how they could be improved by working towards more diverse elements and perspectives:

• Offer & support work experience for young people from a wider range of backgrounds
• Offer some shorter flexible and part-time contracts
• Go out into local/regional communities to find more diverse contributors and presenters, as well as more female, disabled & older people
• Form partnerships with local, regional or underprivileged community organisations
• Offer mentoring to regional schools/colleges on CVs and interviews for media jobs
• Today’s school-leavers are very at ease with new digital platforms which will also be  ideal for niche audiences

Everyone present felt they gained new perspectives from the event which they would aim to include in the content of their future projects.

Channel 4 & the BBC have this year also jointly funded the appointment of a new Diversity Adviser post to the industry’s producers at its trade association Pact. Recently appointed to the role, Angela Chan took part in this Forum event. She has previously worked as a diversity consultant to the BBC, and in the indie sector as both a producer (Firefly & Keo) and in C4 commissioning.

Posted by indietrainingfund
Tags: Angela Chan, bbc, channel 4, Daniell Morrisey, Diversity, Kate Rowland, Oona King, pact
Comments: (0)