In a fragmented industry where many key workers are freelance, we provide targeted, efficient interventions to retain and build the skilled workforce which underpins the UK’s screen success.
We are industry-led and work with our Skills Councils and working groups to identify skills gaps – current and future - to provide an evidence base for investment in training. We then work with training providers across the Nations and regions to deliver that training.
These guidelines outline how we tender for training providers and the process for working with ScreenSkills once a contract has been secured.
Setting the priorities
Our training, courses and events are funded through contributions paid by industry in the Film/High-end TV/Children’s/Unscripted TV/Animation Skills Funds and through other industry awards or partnerships.
Each Skills Fund is supported by a Skills Council and working groups made up of industry figures from broadcasters, streamers, independent production companies and other industry partners.
Each Fund identifies the skills shortages or gaps in their area and decides what the training priorities are. The ScreenSkills Fund teams then shape these priorities into training tenders.
We support development at every stage of a professional career in screen.
Our approach is:
- Industry-informed and owned: shaped by business intelligence and industry demands
- Efficient: direct industry input delivers skills and training to meet priority needs
- Partnership-led: harnessing the expertise of trade bodies, agencies, guilds, broadcasters, indies and others including the Royal Television Society, BAFTA and the BFI
- Inclusive and accessible: embedding diversity in the workforce we help build
Tender and application
We require all training providers to complete a series of professional development e-learning modules before they make tender application.
ScreenSkills advertises tenders on its website. These will include:
- Core objectives of the training
- Target roles of delegates/participants on the training
- Diversity and inclusion aims for the delegates/participants on the training
- Ideal timeframe for the delivery of the training
- The budget available to bid for
Training providers must submit an expression of interest. This should include a brief description of how the trainer would address the particular skills shortage in the tender and the key aspects of their delivery plan.
ScreenSkills Fund teams then assess expressions of interest and invite select training providers to submit full applications.
At this stage, training providers will be asked to complete a grant application form on our grant platform. As part of this, they’ll be asked to submit:
- A ScreenSkills project and budget document (template provided)
- A course outline (document generated by applicant)
- A course schedule (document generated by applicant)
- Tutor bios and CVs (document generated by applicant)
- Marketing plan (document generated by applicant)
Training provider selection
The industry working groups and Skills Councils will meet to assess the applications. The decision over who to award the tender to is the group’s alone. The ScreenSkills Fund teams do not determine this.
If any clarifications are needed, the training providers will be contacted by the ScreenSkills Fund teams to either submit revised documents or meet with the industry working groups and councils.
Training providers will be contacted with the outcome of their application by the date specified on the original tender page. Feedback is available upon request from unsuccessful applicants.
The successful applicant will be issued an offer letter with provisional delivery dates and the terms of the grant. Along with this, the training provider will be asked to submit a new working project budget.
Kick-off
The successful applicant will then be invited to a kick-off meeting with the relevant ScreenSkills Fund team and members of the ScreenSkills grants and marketing and communications team. The agenda for this meeting is usually:
- Confirming delivery dates
- Relay any conditions suggested by the industry working groups and councils (ahead of being listed in the full contract that will be issued after the meeting)
- The grants team will explain the process for releasing the grant funds
- The marketing and communications team will outline the support they can offer with promotion
- The relevant ScreenSkills Fund team will outline the website copy and application information needed to launch the programme on the ScreenSkills website
A contract will then be issued with an advance payment of 20% of the grant.
Finding and training beneficiaries
Once a tender has been confirmed, the relevant ScreenSkills Fund team will set up a register interest page on the website where potential beneficiaries can request to be informed when a programme is open for applications. The relevant Fund team will email everyone on this list at the appropriate time.
Participant applications are generally hosted on the ScreenSkills website. Training providers will receive an information pack following their kick-off meeting on how to use the application system.
At the halfway point of an application window, and a week before the application deadline, training providers can request from the relevant ScreenSkills Fund team an anonymised review of the diversity and inclusion profile of the applicants to date (this will consist of totals for each characteristic, not individual data) to guide where additional marketing efforts may be needed.
Once applications have been judged, applicants will be assigned a status, the most likely being: Accepted, Reserved, or Declined.
Accepted applicants will be emailed to confirm their attendance on the programme. They will then be added to a register so that ScreenSkills can monitor the diversity data of the final cohort.
Claims against the grant total can be made throughout this period. Evidence of spend may be required to release funds.
Final reporting and payment
At the end of the process, the training provider will be required to fill out a final narrative report. This will include the following questions:
- Diversity and inclusion stats and a commentary on the marketing process
- A breakdown of the Nations and regions covered
- The potential industry impact of the training
- The success of the beneficiaries
- Case studies and feedback
If a grant is for £50k or above, an independent audit will be required from a third party. This will need to be submitted along with (or after) the final narrative report in order to release the final 10% payment of the grant.