Variety: ScreenSkills Teams With BBC, Channel 4 on Five-Year Plan to Boost U.K. Screen Industry Workforce

Story from Variety:

ScreenSkills, the U.K.‘s screen industry skills body, has unveiled an ambitious five-year strategy aimed at developing a robust workforce to support the nation’s £13.48 billion screen sector.

The organization’s blueprint, which follows recommendations from the Screen Sectors Skills Task Force in 2023, emphasizes data-driven decision making and strategic partnerships with industry heavyweights including the BBC and Channel 4.

The strategy addresses five core areas: skills needs identification, access to training, strategic partnerships, equity and diversity initiatives, and future-proofing the workforce. Special attention will be paid to emerging technologies and the games industry, with ScreenSkills partnering with U.K. Interactive Entertainment (Ukie) to build crossover skills between gaming, digital media, and TV.

In the West Midlands, ScreenSkills has partnered with the BBC and Create Central on a Skills Accelerator cluster program, now entering its second year. The BBC is also collaborating with ScreenSkills on research to better understand industry entry points and career pathways.

Dawn Beresford, director of talent and skills, BBC Commissioning, said: “The new strategy gives both ScreenSkills and the wider screen sector a shared blueprint to address the structural issues around access to the industry, career opportunities and reskilling, and to play a key role in growing the creative industries.”

Key components of the strategy include expanding the ScreenSkills Training Passport program and establishing partnerships with regional bodies like Create Central in the West Midlands. The organization has also commissioned Ampere Analysis, in collaboration with Channel 4, to conduct a comprehensive study of the U.K.’s film and TV workforce.

“This strategy is built on partnership and collaboration, bringing together industry, wider stakeholders, and government to build a workforce skilled for today and agile, adaptable, and resilient for tomorrow’s challenges,” said Laura Mansfield, CEO of ScreenSkills.

The initiative arrives as ScreenSkills transitions into its new role as the sector’s strategic skills body, with plans to streamline its board structure while maintaining representation across the industry and throughout the U.K.

Georgia Brown, chair of the Skills Task Force, emphasized the importance of the organization’s transformation, noting that “to remain competitive on the global stage, we must provide a clearer roadmap for skills development and invest in sustainable and structured pathways for our workforce.”

“Establishing a clearer picture of the people who work in our industry – who they are, where they are and what they do – will enable 4Skills and ScreenSkills to continue to make much more meaningful and impactful interventions,” added Kevin Blacoe, head of partnerships at 4Skills.

The BFI, a key stakeholder in the U.K. screen sector, has thrown its support behind the initiative. Harriet Finney, BFI’s deputy CEO, highlighted the strategy’s potential to “deliver a highly skilled and sustainable workforce, which is truly representative and accessible to all.”

Lisa Opie, chair of ScreenSkills, said the strategy “reinforces our commitment to developing a future-ready workforce for the U.K. screen industries,” emphasizing that the governance changes will enable quicker responses to industry needs and growth opportunities.