House of the Dragon returns to our screens this summer for a hotly anticipated second installment of the Game of Thrones spin-off. The HBO production was a contributor to the High-end TV Skills Fund and, by supporting programmes developed by the Fund, provided vital pathways to progression for those at every stage of their screen career.
A series of new entrant initiatives in partnership with HBO offered valuable training and placement opportunities for those in North Wales looking to join the industry. Sitting under the HETV Fund’s First Break banner, they provided paid production placements across a range of roles, including costume, VFX, props, locations and production office, and enabled candidates to pair practical training with hands-in experience of working production life.
Hannah Roose, local project manager, said: “It’s been a privilege to represent, encourage and introduce people from under-represented backgrounds in North Wales to HETV, on one of the biggest shows in the world. It provided inspiration, optimism and tangible experiences - not only for those on the First Break programme but also the whole community. North Wales has an abundance of talent and interest - so it was so rewarding to connect my local community to the industry I’ve proudly worked in for the past 20 years as the Project Manager for ScreenSkills.”
In addition, the production welcomed two costume trainees onto set from the Fund’s flagship new entrant programme, HETV Trainee Finder. The initiative provides paid production placements alongside tailored training, masterclasses and networking opportunities.
It wasn’t purely new entrants who received opportunities to work on the show either as a candidate from the industry accounts transfer programme also received a placement on the production. Developed by the Fund to meet industry demand, the transfer programme is part of the Make a Move Plus suite of grade specific training programmes created as a direct response to areas of shortage as identified by industry.
With a total of nine placements for participants from HETV Skills Funded training programmes, House of the Dragon became an example of how the Fund works in partnership with industry to grow the workforce, provide new opportunities to those across the nations and support the next generation of screen talent. We thank them or their contribution to the Fund and look forward to catching all episodes of the second series on Sky Atlantic/Now TV this summer.
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