Jessica Gow turned to ScreenSkills when she moved to Cardiff and was looking to reignite her career in unscripted TV. She had previously worked as a planning manager for Discovery in London and then left the TV industry to raise her children. Although originally from Newport in South Wales, she didn’t have the network or contacts in Cardiff to find work as a production coordinator so when she saw that ScreenSkills was running a production coordinator programme, she applied straight away.
Jess said: “Wales and the South West have a lot of opportunities for production coordinators and there’s a shortage in the area so I wanted in! I applied for the ScreenSkills’ production coordinator programme as it included a three-month work placement. I was really pleased when I got accepted and was super excited when I got a placement on BBC Wales consumer programme X-Ray. That started the ball rolling. The placement made a big difference. It’s a great way of people getting to know you as that’s how the industry works. As a result of the placement and the contacts I made there, I was asked to work on Bargain Hunt which is really exciting.”
On why she would recommend the Unscripted TV Skills Fund production coordinator programme, Jess continued: “I would absolutely recommend the programme. There is a skill shortage for this role and huge demand. ScreenSkills as an organisation is really important and provides a bridge between industry and people like me through training.”
For more information on ScreenSkills’ Unscripted TV Skills Fund and the programmes and training available, please visit https://www.screenskills.com/industry-partners/unscripted-tv-skills-fund/