Skills training and support are delivered by ScreenSkills and third parties, providing training and investment needed to progress the careers of crew and talent already working in the sector. The fund is investing in skills that have been identified as a priority by the high-end TV industry through our research and by senior employers on the High-end TV Skills Council. Click the button below to see a directory of training programmes and courses that are currently running.
Please note that some of our training is currently being delivered differently or has been paused due to Covid-19. Find out more here or contact the high-end TV team.
Ongoing ScreenSkills schemes for High-end TV crew and talent:
Leadership and management training
Free management training for heads of departments and other staff in management positions on Skills Fund-contributing productions. For more information contact Hannah Green .
Leaders of Tomorrow is a three-year programme focused on providing comprehensive and tailored support to mid-level
professionals working in High-end TV. The aim is to give them the tools to progress to a senior level, decision-making role in the future.
We have a cohort of 19 professionals who are ready for on-the-job training opportunities on HETV productions across various
departments.
Funding is available to subsidise the cost of employing, supporting, and training the individuals in a relevant role, as they progress their careers over the three years of the programme. Productions that contribute to the HETV Skills Fund can apply for up to £12,000 of funding per production.
The money can be used to fund:
salaries
travel and accommodation expenses
mentoring
shadowing
For more information about the Leaders of Tomorrow cohort and to apply for funding, please contact Hannah Green.
Funding is available to subsidise the cost of employing and training individuals into higher grades, with the aim that at the end of the training the individual will be already in or able to apply for their next job at the next grade up.
Examples of potential ‘step ups’ could be a location assistant moving up to a unit manager, clapper loader to focus puller, or production secretary to production coordinator. The scheme covers all departments on a production.
High-end TV Skills Fund-contributing productions can apply for up to £15,000 per production and can be claimed in 2 ways:
- if more than one individual is being stepped up or
- if the individual being proposed is stepping up to the following senior roles: Producer, Line Producer or a Head of Department
For productions supporting only one individual outside those listed above the maximum contribution is £10,000 per production for one individual.
By supporting more than one applicant on each production this ensures the HETV Skills Fund can deliver maximum value for money from its investment.
Make a move will support all grades, but actively encourages applications to support Craft and Technical roles , crew from under-represented groups and for those “step ups” highlighted below as skill shortages:
- Production accountant
- Assistant accountant
- Line producer
- Production co-ordinator
- 1st AD
- 2nd AD
- 3rd AD
- Location manager
- Unit Manager
- Location Assistant
- Art Director
- Grip
- Editor
Additional Make a Move funds are available for:
Candidates stepping up into any Craft and Tech role. Up to £2,500 per production
Candidates stepping up into post production. Up to £10,000 per production for teams who are supporting any grade to move into a post supervisor or post coordinator role
Please note:
- Individuals can only participate in Make a Move after being put forward by their employer
- Individuals on Make a Move are not trainees, but part of a scheme to encourage and promote professional development
- Those put forward for the scheme need to be a professional who is deemed ready to move up to their next career grade
- They can be a completely new person to the team and department or an individual that has already worked with the team on a previous production
- We encourage all productions to talk to us submitting a CV for the individual they would like to step up prior to application - we also ask to speak to all potential participants to ensure they are fully committed to taking part in the scheme
What can Make a Move fund?
The funding is flexible and can be used to cover:
- Salaries
- Travel and accommodation expenses
- Mentoring
- Shadowing
- Attending short courses
What doesn’t Make a Move fund?
- We are unable to fund retrospective claims. Apply at least 2 weeks before the Make a Move crew member joins the team to allow us to process the associated paperwork
- We are unable to fund individuals who are already working within the grade they are about to move up to unless there is a robust case that the ‘moving up’ will mean they are working differently
- Individuals who have previously been supported through Make a Move or a similar stepping up scheme in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can only be put forward every two years to be moved up to their next role
How to apply
Please email our senior high-end TV new entrant manager Nicky Ball, or give her a call on 07432 591 375.
Schemes being supported by the ScreenSkills High-end TV Skills Fund 2020/2021:
Production grades:
- Production secretary and coordinator training: a five-day online course to support production assistants, production secretaries, assistant production office coordinators, factual production managers and production managers to step up in HETV.
- Step up to line producing programme: training for production managers ready to step up to line producers. Topics covered include setting up a production, recruiting effectively, scheduling, budgeting working internationally and dealing with co-productions.
- Introduction to location management: webinars and bootcamps to introduce people to working in the locations department. Those completing the bootcamps will have the opportunity to apply for paid placements on HETV productions in 2021.
Craft and tech:
- How to be a business – toolkit for freelancers: a course to help freelancers manage their careers effectively and find a healthy work-life balance.
- 1st AD masterclasses: masterclasses across the UK for runners, 3rd ADs and 2nd ADs who would like to become 1st ADs. Topics covered include breaking down a script, producing a filming schedule and managing professional relationships in production.
Post and VFX:
- Effective client relationship and negation skills for post and VFX: an online session followed by a mentoring session for professionals working post and VFX. The course offers key ideas, tips and resources to help participants develop effective client relationships and help them handle challenging situations and negotiations.
- Return to work for post and VFX: programme for individuals who have previously worked in VFX and post, who are returning to work following a career break.
- ACES training: training course for experienced cinematographers, directors of photography, post-production professionals and supervisors. This course offers an understanding of how ACES is used in the various stages of the production process.
- Unreal training: a course for professionals in VFX who wish to upskill in a new real time technology being adopted within the industry - the Unreal Engine .
Producers:
- Producer mentoring programme: alumni of the Co-Producer Programme will be given the opportunity to be mentored by an established high-end TV producer over a 12 month period.
- Co-producer placement programme: programme which enables production companies to support new producers stepping up as co-producers on a high-end TV production.
Regions:
- Post-production roadshow: outreach careers events in the North and the South West with a focus on promoting careers and pathways into working in post and edit.
- Accounts industry transfer progamme: a programme to introduce accountants and people working in finance outside the screen industries to job opportunities in television.
Nations:
- Scotland: we are partnering with BECTU Scotland to deliver bespoke training and step up opportunities to compliment wider skills support.
- Northern Ireland: we are partnering with Northern Ireland Screen to deliver bespoke training and step up opportunities to compliment wider skills support.
- Wales: we are partnering with Sgil Cymru to deliver complimentary local bespoke training and step up opportunities to compliment wider skills support.
Production Lab
Production Lab is a free masterclass designed to give junior production crew a more comprehensive knowledge of standard practice across the industry.
HETV Link: HETV Link is a programme for heads of department (HoDs) and senior crew based out of London. The initiative helps them improve interview technique, prepare for job pitches and widen their circle of contacts.
Return to Work for TV Freelancers with Media Parents
Media Parents, who champion flexible working, are providing free return-to-work training for production freelancers in high-end TV drama and children’s TV. Two cohorts from around the regions, including Wales, Bristol and the South-west have already passed through the scheme. The final cohort were recruited from the North West, read about their progress by visiting the Media Parents blog here.
HETV Connect, with thecallsheet.co.uk
In this programme from thecallsheet.co.uk, up to 50 up-and-coming TV production professionals selected from around the UK were chosen to meet and network regularly with the UK's leading TV drama production companies to develop new business relationships and opportunities. The ambition is to tackle the barriers created by producers and directors working only with the crew and talent they already know.
Line producer training, from Indie Training Fund
This programme from Indie Training Fund was for aspiring line producers (eg first assistant directors, production managers, production co-ordinators) and working line producers in high-end TV or children's TV drama. The free skills-based five-day programme included workshops, masterclasses, networking opportunities and mentoring sessions. It was delivered in London and Manchester in June 2018.
Support for social enterprise organisations
Five social enterprise organisations were selected to receive specific project funding to support and inspire young people in filmmaking and production skills.
Mastering for broadcast and online, from the Digital Production Partnership
This sold-out one-day training and awareness day delivered by DPP in March 2018 helped heads of production and post-production professionals understand the impact of broadcasters' requirements for commissioning and programme deliverables. The day included live demonstrations of mastering tools and the opportunity to meet some of the companies developing them.
RED camera workshops, from the Guild of British Camera Technicians
This one-day course from the Guild of British Camera Technicians introduced participants to the RED WEAPON 8K S35 (which has the new HELIUM sensor). It offered a series of demonstrations, discussions and practical shooting exercises.
Production accounting training, from the Production Guild
The Production Guild ran an intensive five-day course in Salford and at Pinewood Studios to help those working as assistant production accountants move up to the position of production accountant.
Line producer training, with TRC Media
TRC Media delivered this course for production managers, first assistant directors and production accountants with a minimum of three years’ experience in drama or feature film production and based in the nations and regions of the UK. It offered the essential training required to become a line producer as well as the opportunity to experience the role first-hand on a drama production.
Advanced writing for TV drama, with MediaXchange
Designed to build the professional writing skills and collaborative principles necessary for writers to succeed at the highest level in the competitive genre of primetime TV drama.
The TCN Incubator, with Triforce Creative Network
Over 12 months, participants in the Triforce Creative Network Writers Incubator engaged in a hands-on writer’s initiative to hone their talents and develop their professional practice. It aimed to change the usual routes of access and mitigate industry's perceptions of the risk attached to using new talent.
Shadow Writers Scheme, with Big Light Productions
This programme from Big Light Productions enabled intermediate TV writers to gain more experience in writing for long-running TV series and to develop the art of collaborating with other writers.