FIRST MAJOR ALLOCATION OF FILM TRAINING FUNDS

THE FIRST major expenditure from the film industry’s Skills Investment Fund (SIF) has been announced one year on from the fund’s establishment.
An additional £200,000 will be invested into new entrant craft and technical training in the next twelve months. This money from the SIF has also been used to attract additional European funding. The trainees will start two-year programmes of training and work placements with FT2, the freelance training organisation.
The SIF now has commitments of over £600,000 from the film industry to provide training in priority areas. The fund’s first year has also seen the appointment of Paula Smith to the post of Film Advisor and the addition of Film Representatives to
Skillset’s Investment Committee who will decide where the money is spent.
Janet Anderson, Minister for Film and Broadcast, said: “The success of the British film industry relies on harnessing the enthusiasm and skills of young people; it is vital that they have access to high quality training. I’m delighted that the SIF is giving so many people the chance to pursue their dreams of working in the film industry.”
The committee is made up of senior figures in the industry representing the MPA, PACT, The Production Guild and BECTU. Further training is to be announced in coming weeks.
New entrant training was seen as a priority by the joint government and industry Film Policy Action Group along with Health and Safety training for all grades. Training for existing production accountants and new entrants is being developed in partnership with the production Guild. NVQ delivery and assessment across all grades is also a priority.
£25,000 has already been invested in Health and Safety training across critical grades including construction managers and location managers.
The industry has also agreed to the levels of contributions for new entrants working on production and for a UK wide Trainee Network to be established next year, in partnership with it's national/regional partners, to provide practical career development advice and information about working in the film industry. This service intends to raise the standard of trainees working in the industry that are available to producers, alongside those from structured schemes. A Code of Practice is also being developed to be used by producers and trainees working together on production.
Some 30 UK pictures have contributed to SIF, among them is ‘Beautiful Creatures’ (pictured) featuring Rachel Weisz and Susan Lynch.
(CmcL)