BT Teams Up With The NFTS

BT has announced a new partnership with the National Film and Television School (NFTS). Working together, the organisations will encourage people to train as broadcast engineers and production technologists to help address the current skills deficit in the sector.

BT will offer a scholarship to support a student through the Production Technology MA – a two-year course which equips successful applicants with the skills required to support all aspects of production technology in live and recorded environments. After completing the masters, graduates will be invited to apply for a job with the company. BT will also provide up to six students with work placements in the BT TV team, based at the BT Tower in London or the BT Labs in Ipswich.

Greg McCall, Managing Director of BT TV, said: "We're looking forward to working with the NFTS and supporting the broadcast industry's talent pipeline. As we continue to evolve our growing TV arm and provide our audiences with the highest quality content, we need the most talented broadcast engineers on board to help us do that.

"Today's announcement is part of our ambition to transform the UK's tech literacy as we firmly believe it's the best way to equip young people to get ahead in the workplace while helping to fuel the economy. We're really looking forward to working with the NFTS to support our goal and help inspire the next generation of broadcast engineers."

Nik Powell, Director, National Film and Television School, added: "The UK is facing a crisis in broadcast engineering as there is a significant lack of skilled people applying for positions. According to some estimates, 60% of all broadcast engineers are within five years of retirement, and there are not enough new engineers being trained at the moment.

"It's fantastic news that BT has come on board to partner with us on this exciting new MA. Both BT and NFTS have content and technology at their heart: BT is leading the way in combining leading edge technology with compelling content and services and at the NFTS, technology and tech know-how is becoming increasingly important in delivering our award-winning content. I am looking forward to working together to deliver a compelling and practical curriculum that will help solve this looming skills gap by providing highly skilled graduates who can hit the ground running."

Applications for the Production Technology MA are open until 07 September, 2017. The course will commence in January 2018. A dedicated open day and free taster workshop for the course will take place on 18 May.

To sign up for the day, visit here.