Yesterday (Thursday 10 April 2025) the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee published its report into British film and high-end television. The screen industries have been identified as one of the Government’s priority growth areas in Invest 2035 and are a major contributor to the UK’s soft power credentials.
We are pleased to see recognition from both the Minister and the DCMS Director of the progress ScreenSkills is making, including our leadership of the Discover! Creative Careers programme. We are also fully committed to a data-led approach for skills delivery across the UK, with clear KPIs to be measured and published annually.
Since giving evidence to the Committee in May 2024, ScreenSkills has published a new five-year strategy, Powering Skills. Developed through consultation with more than 1,600 industry practitioners - broadcasters, streamers, independent producers, studios, freelancers and sector bodies - the strategy sets out a plan for long-term, sustainable and equitable workforce development. It was formally endorsed by the Screen Sector Skills Task Force at the end of 2024 and includes year-on-year targets to track progress and impact.
ScreenSkills is industry-led and funded by all the major streamers, broadcasters, independent producers and production companies across genres. We work UK-wide to support a principally freelance workforce. In the last year, the five Skills Funds - Animation, Children’s TV, Film, High-end TV and Unscripted Television - received record contributions from across the sector, reinvested in training and development programmes in every nation and region. In 2024/25, our programmes supported almost 30,000 people at every career stage - 67% of them based outside London.
In 2024 we successfully launched a training passport with BBC Studios, Sky, ITV Studios and with support from Pact. It has been completed by more than 7,000 professionals, with uptake increasing week by week.
Annually, we commission over 200 training providers across the UK to deliver programmes that help individuals progress their careers and enable productions to find the skilled people they need.
In November 2023, the Screen Sector Skills Task Force’s report A Sustainable Future for Skills showed that more than £100 million was invested in skills overall by its members in 2022 alone - exceeding the 1% of production budgets recommended in the BFI Skills Review in the same year.
We agree that consistent, reliable data is essential to ensure investment in training meets the needs of industry today and in the future. The High-end TV Skills Fund has commissioned and published research on skills shortages every year for the past seven years to guide training investment. Building on that foundation, ScreenSkills - in partnership with 4Skills and Ampere Analysis - will shortly publish new research identifying the size and profile of the UK screen workforce by department, seniority and demographics. The data will help pinpoint where further information is needed and enable the sector to better focus training and build a pipeline of talent with the right skills for the years ahead.
As recommended by the Task Force, we have begun work on a new data-informed Workforce Plan. This will be developed together with industry and education partners to coordinate action and support career progression across the UK.
ScreenSkills is an independent charity. We are proud of our staff and of the many industry professionals who contribute their time and expertise to the board, councils, working groups, and steering groups. Their support helps ensure that the training and development opportunities we offer respond to real needs in agile and effective ways.
We remain committed to working in partnership to meet the sector’s skills challenges and ensure the UK continues to be one of the best places in the world to make film and television.