Written evidence submitted by ScreenSkills

Submission to DCMS Select Committee inquiry into British Film and High-End Television

About ScreenSkills

Created in 2018, ScreenSkills is the industry-led skills body for the UK screen industries – film, television (including children's, unscripted and high-end), VFX (visual effects), animation and games. An independent charity, industry funded and business-led, it helps to train people at every career stage who make the UK content that everyone loves and trusts.

ScreenSkills is evidence-based and data-informed, a respected thought-leader across the sector, and an agile delivery partner embedded throughout the entire cycle of content production. Our mission is to use our unique position to lead a single, unified and strategic approach for the screen industries to training and skills, ensuring that the workforce remains responsive to changes in technology and innovation – and that the industry can seize the opportunities for the future by:

• Building a more inclusive screen sector workforce by enabling access to careers for anyone regardless of background, prior educational or professional achievement, or where they live across the UK.
• Offering training and development programmes for people at every stage of their screen career, to enable them to do their best, most creative work; and to attract people from other sectors.

1. Introduction

ScreenSkills welcomes the Committee’s timely inquiry. Against a backdrop of production slowdown combined with current economic uncertainty, the industry is in need of a holistic and long-term growth strategy that acknowledges both the practical challenges being faced on the ground and the incentives and levers that could either drive or inhibit longer-term growth. As the Committee acknowledges, the UK screen industries are a great British success story, making a significant economic and cultural contribution regionally, nationally and globally. Building on this position of strength, Government and industry need to work together to identify how they want the sector to develop going forward – including whether growth should be predominantly driven by inward investment, the role of domestic and independent production and the subsector mix within this. This inquiry is well-placed to contribute to the development of this kind of holistic strategic approach. 

In considering the dynamics of the film and TV industry, it is important to understand the specific characteristics of the screen sector – it is project based, predominantly freelance, and SME-dominated. It includes a mix of large US-owned studios and SVoDs (subscription video-on-demand, e.g. Netflix, Amazon) alongside domestic players of different sizes and scales. It is also highly cyclical and shaped by a range of national and global trends – including technological and economic disruption.

The industry has many different subsectors and media forms but they each work to support each other – while we welcome the Committee’s interest in the challenges being faced by British independent feature film in particular, we encourage the Committee to consider the connections within the ecosystem as a whole: extending beyond film and high-end television (HETV) to include unscripted, children’s, animation, post-production, games and visual effects (VFX). With technological advancements in all sectors, transferrable digital skills will mean that this ecosystem will be ever more closely aligned. Even more so than when the Committee’s predecessor report in 2003 was written, the UK film and TV industry – alongside other parts of the creative and cultural industries, as well as the technological sector – are inextricably intertwined.

2. How ScreenSkills supports the UK screen sector

ScreenSkills was created by and for industry and works across the screen sector to commission industry directed training and skills support covering animation, children’s television, film, games, high-end television (HETV), unscripted television and visual effects (VFX). It also provides information of where to find training across sectors and hosts a wide array of e-learning modules on its website. ScreenSkills oversees five Skills Funds (Animation, Children’s TV, Film, High-End TV and Unscripted), which are paid for by industry from voluntary levy contributions, based on a percentage of production budgets. Four of the Funds – Animation, Children’s TV, Film and High-end TV – qualify for specific tax relief. These Funds directly support skills and investment programmes for people working in the sector at all stages of their career, from new entrants to programmes for mid-career professionals and executives and across the industry, from production accounting to 3D animators and grips to writers. ScreenSkills also delivers specific programmes on behalf of Arts Council England (ACE), the BFI and the Department for Education (DfE).

Investment decisions for the Funds are made by Skills Councils and working groups comprised of industry figures – around 250 industry practitioners sit across the ScreenSkills Board, Councils and working groups. Their work is informed by bespoke research identifying the key skills gaps and shortages across the industry, so that the training programmes supported by the Funds can be tailored to meet these gaps. 

Through the creation of high quality, accessible and standardised training and development programmes, ScreenSkills plays a leading role in creating and sustaining a skilled and inclusive workforce. In turn, this enables growth and future innovation and actively contributes to the future creativity, health and prosperity of the sector alongside the wider economy.

3. Current issues facing the British film and HETV sector

Film and HETV production in the UK has been steadily climbing since tax credits were introduced in 2007 and, following the easing of the production hiatus during the Covid-19 pandemic, the film and TV industry then witnessed growth at an unprecedented rate. Between 2018-2022, the year before Covid and the year following the easing of lockdowns, film and HETV production in the UK grew 76%, at a value of £2.7bn with total spend in 2022 of £6.27bn in film and HETV.[1] This also generated an increase in direct employment within the sector – from 39,180 FTEs in 2018 to 58,100 FTEs in 2021.[2] HETV has been a particular success story over the past decade. Since 2014, production spend on HETV in the UK has risen from £640m to £4.3bn in 2022.[3] In 2021, for the first time, the number of HETV productions (211) overtook the number of film productions (209) in a given year.[4] The success of the HETV sector has been supported by the HETV Skills Fund which, over the past ten years, has invested £36m in skills and training, with over 1,090 productions contributing to it. This demonstrates the potential of the sector: the economic value the industry can generate; the jobs it can create; and the cultural value it brings to audiences across the globe. However, underneath this overarching success story, there is a more complex picture.

British independent film

Despite the production boom following the pandemic, independent film has failed to reap the same benefits as larger inward investment productions. Indeed, independent British film had shown a decline long before the pandemic – evidenced by the fact that inflation-adjusted revenue for independent British film has consistently declined over the past decade which has led to reduced levels of investment in safer projects. This has been consolidated by cost inflation across the value chain in scripted production (crew, cast, studio space, P&A (prints and advertising)) which has primarily been driven by inward investment – accelerating the demand for labour and infrastructure, putting further pressure on independent British production.

As detailed in the next section, the imbalance of inward investment and domestic production has impacted UK independent film. This is in part due to rising demand – and therefore cost – of talent which has been identified by industry stakeholders as a ‘core challenge for the ongoing sustainability of independent filmmaking in the UK.’[5] There has also been pressure on funding for independent film. The key streams of investment in British independent film include: public funds, via the UK Global Screen Fund, National Lottery Funds administered by the BFI, PSBs’ film arms (e.g. BBC Film, Film4), alongside private investment. However, there has been a reduction of funds in recent years – for example, BFI National Lottery funding has been reduced, to around £45m a year, approximately 10% lower than the previous three-year period (adjusted for inflation, this will be lower still)[6]. Analysis conducted by the British Screen Forum has also concluded that the number of films financed by PSBs is also at half its 2017 peak.

The challenges for British independent film extend beyond financing and development – it has also faced skills pressures. Many research reports, including ScreenSkills’ ‘Scripted Production in the Nations and Regions’, have noted that the better rates of pay and longer-term contracts in HETV have made it more attractive, often leading to crew leaving smaller film productions.[7] To mitigate this issue, producers have said that they often hire individuals who do not have enough experience by stepping-up too soon which, as the Economic Review of UK Independent film suggests, are ‘issues which may be disproportionately more difficult for smaller producers to absorb’[8]. This has created a destabilising and precarious production landscape in which smaller productions are struggling to hire the necessary talent to make a successful production.

ScreenSkills supports the film industry through the delivery of the Film Skills Fund, which has invested more than £15 million in industry contributions since its launch for skills and training for UK film production, distribution and exhibition. This includes new entrant schemes, placements, bursaries, and professional development courses.

To better incentivise investment in independent British feature film, ScreenSkills would support the introduction of tax relief targeted at lower-budget independent British feature film. We note that this proposal has wide support across the sector, including from the British Screen Forum and the BFI in their submissions to this inquiry. We refer the Committee to these submissions for more detail on how this could work in practice. ScreenSkills strongly believes that a more sustainable independent film sector will help provide a stronger training and development ground for whole of the sector, as well as strengthening UK plc more widely.

Inward investment

Of the £6.27bn of production spend on film and HETV in 2022, 86% of this was delivered from inward investment.[9] This investment has undoubtedly driven much of the sector’s growth over the last ten years. In the past year, however, there have been emergent signs of slowdown in production in both film and HETV due to changing fortunes and business models of major global players. Many SVoDs have undergone structural adjustments (e.g. introducing advertising subscription tiers) in a response to stagnating growth, while increased debt caused by consolidation in the sector has also led to a reduction in production spend. These factors have been compounded by the WGA (Writers Guild of America) and SAG-AFTRA (The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) strikes in America which have caused many major productions, particularly those funded by US production companies and produced in the UK (including large-scale productions such as Wicked, How To Train Your Dragon, Andor, The Sandman and Silo), to be put on hold.

These dynamics have demonstrated the risks of becoming too reliant on inward investment – whilst this slowdown in production may not be permanent, it highlights how British industry’s dependency on other economies can, in turn, affect our own economy, workforce and creativity.

It is vital that both industry and Government proactively consider the desired mix of inward investment and domestic production within the screen sector. This is not an either/or paradigm – across both film and TV, inward and domestic investment are virtuous circles that support and reinforce the other. Domestic TV production and independent film is typically the training ground for crew and talent to cut their teeth before they go on and work with international productions, and there is a regular flow of talent and crew between the two. Indigenous production then needs to succeed in order for the ecosystem to flourish and the talent pipeline to remain robust. On top of this, domestic production also acts as a soft power resource for the UK – promoting our heritage and culture – while, at the same time, bringing additional GVA and other spillover benefits (e.g. tourism), and building and exporting UK-owned intellectual property.

ScreenSkills is therefore supportive of any measures which could further champion and support the development of UK domestic production alongside inward investment. This includes measures to support the UK public service broadcasters, who are  responsible for the largest proportion of investment in first-run original UK content, as well as the introduction of tax relief targeted at lower-budget independent British feature film, as noted above.

4. Beyond film and HETV

ScreenSkills encourages the Committee to consider the connections within the ecosystem of the screen sector as a whole: extending beyond film and high-end television (HETV) to include unscripted, animation and post-production, games, visual effects (VFX), Extended Reality (XR), Virtual Production (VP) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). With technological advancements in all sectors, transferrable digital skills will be ever more pertinent – meaning that this ecosystem will be ever closer aligned. It is vital that the industry unites behind a unified approach to skills that looks across the pipeline, which must be informed by a clear and sustainable growth strategy.

Children’s

The children’s sector is facing a complex set of market dynamics. Children’s viewing habits are changing, with fewer watching traditional linear television and more engaging with short-form video content, such as TikTok or YouTube[10]. First-run originated children’s programming on Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs) had, in 2022, fallen to its lowest level – with 518 hours compared to 640 in 2019.[11] The decline in children’s television in the UK was also affected by the closure of the BFI’s Young Audiences Content (YAC) Fund in 2022, which was worth £44m and set-up to create innovative children's content by new and diverse creators which supported 144 development projects between 2019 and 2022.

The lack of investment and production has caused difficulties for the children’s sector both in terms of getting projects off the ground and then being able to successfully crew a production. The high wages being offered from HETV productions means it is harder than ever to retain crew on a children’s production, presenting challenges when in production, too. In addition, children’s television, like UK independent film, struggles to afford studio space in a highly competitive market.

The industry is a complex ecosystem in which all sectors need to thrive in order to maintain a functioning talent pipeline. Traditionally, many entrants to the screen industries have begun their careers in the children’s sector meaning that, with less opportunity, it can be harder for entrants to make their first move in the industry. If we want to maintain the significant economic benefits the industry as a whole has achieved, via our world-class crew, then we would welcome further investment in sectors such as children’s.

ScreenSkills manages the Children’s Television Skills Fund, which was created in 2015 to invest in skills for in children’s live-action television and has collected more than £2 million from over 200 productions since launch to invest in training and skills for those in the sector, from new entrants to senior leaders.

Unscripted

In 2023, the unscripted television sector has seen a slowdown of production due to the supply chain being disrupted following Covid-19, worsened by a broadcast backlog, with many series having been produced that have not yet been broadcast. Other factors have also shaped this: commercial broadcasters have been impacted by a challenging advertising market; subscribers to SVoDs are stagnant; Channel 4 was destabilised by privatisation proposals and the BBC has had its license fee frozen. Indeed, the unscripted lifecycle is typically shorter than scripted production – with faster turnaround and tighter schedules – which make it more vulnerable to downturns. A variety of interlinked factors have created a perfect storm, meaning many freelancers are currently facing hardship – with nearly half of unscripted freelancers becoming out of work and three-quarters are reportedly struggling financially.[12]

These current challenges put further pressure on the skills pipeline. In response to the downturn, some senior freelancers in the unscripted sector may move away from the sector and not return – which risks creating longer-term shortages that will need filling in the long-term. It may also disproportionately impact the workforce in the UK’s nations and regions – as the unscripted sector typically makes up the majority of production commissions in these areas, and therefore provides the backbone of the workforce and hubs outside of London. Supporting a stable unscripted sector is therefore vital for the wider health of the UK screen industries.

As the vast majority of unscripted content is not in scope for tax credits, it is down to industry to commit to skills training and development – which is why many major broadcasters, streamers and production companies pay into the Unscripted TV Skills Fund (USF), demonstrating a pan-industry commitment to skills training. Launched in 2021, the Unscripted TV Skills Fund is focused on supporting unscripted production in the nations and regions and improving inclusion and diversity. Contributing partners are BBC, Channel 4, Sky, A+E Networks UK, Discovery UK, Channel 5, Netflix, ITV, Amazon, UKTV and S4C.

Animation/VFX/Post/Games

As well as other production sectors, there is increasing convergence between film, HETV and other sectors, including animation, VFX, post-production games and Virtual Production. For example, virtual production emerged from real time game engine technology used in the games industry and live events (demonstrating the fluidity not only between screen sectors but also the wider creative and cultural industries). Therefore, these media forms increasingly have inextricably linked skills needs – often utilizing a range of digital skills including: programming languages, Games engine software, real-time software and computer-aided design (CAD) software. They are also becoming more porous in terms of where technical creatives can find work. For example, as the current strikes in the US impact some sectors in the UK more aligned with scripted production (e.g. VFX and post-production), we may well see some of these workers shifting into the development of games. Meanwhile, as with other screen sectors, there is a similar lack of mid/senior creatives with the necessary people skills to become managers – and thus train the next generation of talent. Therefore, the industry needs a portfolio approach to these sectors to better understand skills needs, training and development issues.

The distinction between technological and creative skills in current education is also a particular challenge for this sector. Currently, technological and creative training diverge as early as Key Stage 3 (Years, 7, 8 and 9) but for the screen sectors – particularly the animation, VFX, post-production and games sectors – developing a talent base that has a blend of these skills is imperative. The curriculum therefore needs to recognise this and be more proactive in developing the digital creative skillset needed for future careers, bringing creative and digital skills together rather than separating them. As outlined in more detail below (in the ‘Education’ section), Higher Education (HE) and Further Education (FE) institutions should also be more agile in their approach to technical and creative skills training and to be responsive to innovation in the screen sectors. Finally, careers advisors need to be better able to signpost CreaTech pathways to their students, in order for the next generation to be fully aware and equipped with the appropriate skillset to thrive in these sectors. 

The UK also needs to ensure that the fiscal environment and the skills that underpin these sectors remain competitive as other nations are beginning to understand the attraction of these sectors and may begin to replicate or exceed the UK’s offer. In particular, Film and HETV tax relief is currently capped at a maximum of 80% of the total core expenditure incurred in the UK by production companies. As a result, VFX work for UK films, which is not tied to where filming takes place is often moved abroad to jurisdictions that will make further tax relief available. As the 80% cap was originally introduced because of EU State aid rules, the UK has an opportunity to remove this while retaining the same rate of relief. This would help to secure as much investment into UK VFX as possible, while supporting the development of a highly-skilled, highly mobile workforce which will prove evermore valuable to ‘UK plc’ as screen technologies continue to converge. We welcome UK Government’s recent confirmation that they are open to considering amendments to the UK tax reliefs to potentially support the VFX sector in response to HMT’s recent consultation. If the 80% were to be increased, this must not be at the expense of the overall rate.

5. Skills challenges in the UK screen industries

As an industry-led, data informed organisation dedicated to developing the skills of the UK’s screen sector, ScreenSkills is well placed to understand the challenges facing the workforce and the barriers to progression. ScreenSkills’ recent research on placements in British film and children’s television demonstrates the value of work-based learning and development across both entry level roles and those in mid/senior positions – particularly within the parts of the industry (e.g. independent film, childrens, low cost unscripted ) that are useful incubators for training talent.[13]

ScreenSkills’ own insights show that across the screen sectors it represents, the talent pipeline is bottle-necked in mid-career progression which could circumvent the progression and skills needed to maintain a prospering industry. In qualitative interviews ScreenSkills have conducted, as well as on-the-ground reports, there are repeated mentions of crew stepping-up too soon to counter the lack of adept mid/senior freelancers which not only creates a difficult working environment, hindering the quality of productions, but also knocks confidence and morale. Individuals are also stepping up early because of the scale of innovation and the ambition of productions themselves – meaning productions need more crew in hard-to-fill roles. For example, in research conducted by ScreenSkills in 2021-22, it was reported that, across the nations and regions, there were severe shortages across many, if not all, departments across all areas of scripted production. This picture is likely to be less pressured now due to the current production slowdown – but it is clear that in the context of both ‘feast’ and ‘famine’ industry cycles, skills need more sustained support.

To address these issues, ScreenSkills has developed a series of programmes aimed at addressing mid to senior career progression and professional leadership development. This includes: ‘Make A Move’, which enables on-the-job training of crew members ready to move up into a more senior role; Leaders of Tomorrow, Film Forward, which supports experienced professionals from minority ethnic groups to progress into more senior roles; Step Up, which offers targeted training courses on leadership skills and one to one spot coaching; and Series Producer, which helps producers and directors in unscripted television develop the skills required to move into series producer roles. For HETV and film in particular, mid-career development is a key priority for the Funds.

In order to maintain this country’s recent success in the sector, despite a global downturn in production, and to remain an attractive hub for inward investment, the UK needs need long-term strategic approach and stable investment in skills and training that can be delivered across the screen industry as a whole. Skills development is a long-term process – and yet, skills initiatives from across the sector are too often short-term and reactive in their focus. There has recently been much investment in physical infrastructure (i.e. studio space) but if this is not matched by an investment in skills, then there will not be ample talent to service the new studios – industry therefore needs logical alignment between different points of investment. In order to have a proactive approach to skills and talent, ScreenSkills would support a long-term skills programme led by industry supported by stable funding, precluding the current stop-start approach towards initiatives and funding which can undermine real change across the pipeline.

ScreenSkills also strongly believes in the importance of a unified, pan-UK approach to skills training. The UK has a number of different industry and publicly-funded organisations working in the screen sector with overlapping remits and goals, as well as a significant number of companies each developing their own skills and development initiatives. While any investment in training is welcome, this has led to a skills landscape that is at risk of fragmentation and duplication. It is therefore vital to build a closer alignment between these organisations, so they can all work towards a unified skills strategy. ScreenSkills is committed to working collaboratively and in partnership with the wider network of screen bodies, particularly the new UK Skills Clusters based across the Nations and regions of the UK.

In addition to this, ScreenSkills also believes that there must be a more closely aligned growth strategy across the screen sector which extends beyond skills to other inextricably linked factors, including: inward and domestic investment, Government policy, changing technology, education, and the alignment of public and industry investment to ensure that the levers and structures we have are optimised for the future landscape. The Government set out its ambitions for the wider creative industries in the Creative Industries Sector Vision, in June 2023, in which it announced its intention to grow the sector by £50 billion by 2030 and for the sector to support one million additional jobs. There is now an opportunity to develop a more granular strategic plan for the screen industries specifically on how it can deliver to this ambition.

As part of this, ScreenSkills is keen to ensure that screen sector bodies work in closer alignment and partnership: to ensure clearer messaging between industry, Government and education; to ensure greater value for money; and have a results-driven approach which benefits the UK as a whole.

6. Inclusivity and sustainability

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is of paramount importance to the screen industries. ScreenSkills supports current and future generations of talent to flourish in the screen industries and is committed to embedding diversity in all its forms, including geographic representation, in the workforce it helps to build. ScreenSkills analyses data, tracks the labour force demographics over time and uses research to inform government and industry. ScreenSkills also use this data to report to our funders on targets and to inform decisions on which services we develop. The organisation works closely with wider industry initiatives such as the Creative Diversity Network’s Project Diamond in order to make its approach as inclusive as possible – ensuring current talent are not facing barriers based on their gender, sexuality, ethnicity, class or where they come from. Not only do ScreenSkills want to attract talent from all communities in order to ensure we have the broadest talent base entering the industry, but ScreenSkills also believes that a plurality of voices and views behind the camera can positively shape the stories that get made. The British screen sector can be proud of its programme of broadening representation of minority groups and its impact on social cohesion. And greater diversity is something ScreenSkills believes can shape society as a whole – ensuring everyone is able to feel a part of society by seeing people like themselves on screen.

The industry, with great efforts from ScreenSkills, partner organisations, and industry itself, is making progress in these areas but there is still much more room for improvement. According to ScreenSkills’ provisional internal analysis of the 2021 Census data, we understand that in order to make the industry reflective of the national population there needs to be a concerted effort to recruit, retain and/or support: those from Asian backgrounds; women; and older people aged 50-64. There are a number of ways in which ScreenSkills believes the industry can achieve greater inclusion: firstly, there is a need to broaden access through providing a variety of different entry points and pathways throughout the sector to ensure it is as inclusive as possible to people from all backgrounds; and, secondly, addressing the cultural and behavioural barriers an individual may face when they are trying to progress in the industry. 

Education and vocational training

There is a need to broaden access through providing a variety of different entry points and pathways throughout the sector to ensure it is as inclusive as possible. This includes championing creative education in the curriculum to ensure that all young people are capable of attaining the skills needed to enter the industry. For example, there are limited pathways in Key Stages 3 & 4 to obtain the (creative) digital skills which are now intrinsic to much of the industry. ScreenSkills would welcome, for example, consideration of a Creative Digital Skills qualification (e.g. vocational Level 2 such as BTECs, or the development of a GCSE) which would ensure that those interested in working in the sector – from games to animation to roles within film and HETV – can nurture their own passions and gain the skills needed to work in the industry.

ScreenSkills strongly advocates reform to the current apprenticeships system which is a potential key driver for diversity in the industry (and has been noted by industry figures in research by ScreenSkills due to be published later in 2023), and for skills and technical training more broadly. ScreenSkills has led on two pilots with industry partners aimed at introducing greater flexibility into the apprenticeship levy system – the first pilot, from 2020 to 2023, was funded by the then Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with industry partners, Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery. The second pilot started in 2022 and will end in January 2024. Funded by the Department for Education and five employers, the lead partner is Amazon Prime Video, with apprentices also being hosted by Sky (with APX Content Ventures), Banijay, Lime Pictures and Fremantle. The learnings from these pilots to date suggest that there is a desire to make apprenticeships work better for the industry and can be a key way to improve diversity within the industry. Key recommendations from the first pilot were to:

• Extend the scope of the Apprenticeship Levy so that it can provide support to a broader range and diversity of vocational training options (which would continue to be quality-assured).
• Make the levy more flexible to allow money to be used to cover the additional costs that are incurred by employers when taking on apprentices. This includes paying apprenticeship wages when undertaking off-the-job training or on leave, or funding means-tested bursaries to increase the diversity of new entrants.
• Remove the fixed minimum-length requirements for apprenticeship standards which would enable them to be better aligned with the specific requirements of roles in film and TV production and deliver training that is more effective and relevant.

As well as reforms to the curriculum and apprenticeships, ScreenSkills is acutely aware of the impact of outreach to schools and supporting careers guidance in fostering a more diverse and inclusive industry. It is important to reach younger students from communities that are frequently identified as feeling that working in screen is not for them. This can be delivered via schools – and more can be done to support this. ScreenSkills is currently the lead delivery partner for Discover Creative Careers, supported by the DCMS and Arts Council England, and would support enhanced outreach and a willingness for careers advisors to fully comprehend the range of creative careers on offer, and how to enter the industry.

It is also critical for industry to be able to inform and shape Tertiary/FE and HE courses and for industry skills to be more strongly embedded within FE/HE courses – so that, where students decide to pursue creative and media courses at university and college, they emerge with the right skills and experience to successfully get into industry. Furthermore, vocational courses within FE or via specialist providers, where they are placement-based and closely focused on the workplace, have great potential if structured and delivered correctly to allow students to benefit from hands-on experience – making them set-ready and better-equipped to enter industry. ScreenSkills’ own research has found that there is a strong ‘desire for a greater level of interaction between education providers and industry to help build bridges into work’ across the UK. Interviewees have also suggested that, across the UK, students need to have a better understanding of roles, departments, career progression routes and set etiquette before entering industry.[14]

It may also be beneficial for young people to be signposted more clearly how formal qualifications might or might not be relevant for progression into the industry, depending on the nature of the role, and the specialist or transferable skills that are most important to learn. Many graduates still have to begin work in the industry at entry-level positions because qualifications, particularly lengthy three-year degree courses, are not considered essential for employers who typically prioritise practical experience and knowledge over qualifications. However, particular roles with a high degree of technical knowledge can benefit from specific qualifications. Industry, Government, education institutions and careers advisors should signal more clearly that there is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach and that there are a multiplicity of pathways into the industry. FE and HE institutions should also become more agile with their curriculum given the rapid pace of change within the screen sector.  For example, when it comes to CreaTech roles – particularly across animation, VFX, post-production and games – it is imperative that new innovations and skills needs are catered for quickly within FE and HE institutions, to ensure students have knowledge of the skills needed to succeed in the industry.

Cultural barriers to progression

One of the most commonly reported barriers to creating a more diverse industry, both in terms of entry level and progression, is the extent of informal recruitment. ScreenSkills’ research demonstrates that this is not conducive to increasing access, as these practices rely on candidates knowing where and how to find recruitment opportunities. Word-of-mouth hiring is often driven by the need for speed in recruitment, as well as trust.[15] Productions typically only have a short gap between a production being commissioned and starting which makes it harder for employers to look more broadly for crew. To help address these challenges, ScreenSkills has published an ‘HR Toolkit’, which provides advice and resources for employers and hirers in film and TV on fair and transparent recruitment processes, including how and where to advertise roles openly. ScreenSkills is keen to continue to work with industry partners on how to help employers more easily access a pool of available, skilled talent quickly, without having to depend on their existing word of mouth networks.

In order to see a more diverse age demographic – the industry currently skews very young – ScreenSkills recommends that the industry promotes a more flexible working culture which will help with retention of crew members of all ages. Although difficult with the nature of production schedules, there are initiatives the industry could undertake to improve work/life balance: job sharing, greater help for carers and more flexible working hours – for example, Screen Scotland recently published research on how to make flexible working viable for the production sector.[16] ScreenSkills has developed job-sharing programmes with Share My Telly Job and is developing a number of return-to-work initiatives, aimed at supporting older people, particularly women, who may have left the industry for different reasons (such as carer responsibilities) to re-enter, through one to one mentoring, networking and coaching.

There are also further barriers to fostering a truly equitable and inclusive workforce. There have been recent and high-profile reports of, for example, racism and sexism within the screen industry. Employers and leaders within the sector must be more robust in addressing these incidents and work to ensure that film and TV’s working culture prevents rather than enables them. ScreenSkills runs a number of eLearning modules available to industry, including on unconscious bias, bullying and harassment. ScreenSkills is keen to play its part in this important conversation about the screen sector’s working culture and practices and hopes that by promoting the EDI practices referenced above, and improving diversity among all groups, the industry may begin to see incremental change.

Alongside a commitment to EDI, ScreenSkills is highly supportive of ensuring the industry is committed to net zero, sustainable policies. ScreenSkills supports initiatives like the Albert consortium to continue to be bolstered – helping to inform the industry of good practice – alongside the continuing development of green studios such as VECTAR in Stockport. ScreenSkills also plays a key role in providing a number of sustainable training programmes and courses on sustainable production and this is a key pillar of its Future Skills programme.

7. Future Skills

The screen sector is constantly seeing new innovations and technologies which disrupt traditional methods of production. These have the potential to make the sector more efficient, green and accessible. Technological innovation in the sector has further benefits, as the Creative Industries Sector Vision notes: ‘creative businesses that are developing new technologies or adapting existing technologies in novel ways (‘CreaTech’ businesses) have seen similar upwards growth trajectories to other tech companies.’[17] Furthermore, increasing innovation will lead not only to growth in the sector, but also provides spillover benefits to the wider economy – increasing innovation in other industries too. It is therefore paramount that the screen sectors gain the right skills and investment in order to capitalise on R&D and innovation within the industry.

Over the past few years, for example, Virtual Production has been developing rapidly. According to estimates, the global VP sector will rise in value to $5.1bn (USD) in 2027 from an estimated $2.6bn in 2022. In order to capitalise on global growth, and for the UK to be a key player in the sector, the UK industry needs to invest in skills – not just physical infrastructure such as studios and stages. Key skills gaps currently include: art department and games engines, coding and engineering, asset building and optimisation, senior team and business development and film-games culture integration.[18]

ScreenSkills is currently offering many training courses related to VP and is partnering with universities to ensure that graduates are better-equipped to keep up with technological change within the industry. Despite these efforts, parts of the skills pipeline struggle to keep up with developments. With constant and rapid change, FE and HE educators will need to be more responsive to the industry’s needs, ensuring that students are work-ready once they have completed courses. Therefore, in order for the UK to capitalise on global developments in the industry, ScreenSkills would encourage a more joined-up approach between industry, educators, and DfE – to recognise emerging digital skills and to be more responsive to innovation.

This should include a concerted effort to continue to invest in CreaTech and digital skills more broadly to ensure the UK remains a competitive player in a developing landscape. ScreenSkills strongly welcomes the commitment from industry and Government to the Convergent Screen Technologies and Performance in Realtime (CoSTAR) programme, which formed part of the Creative Industries Sector Vision. There has been some funding allocated specifically to skills as part of this programme, such as through UKRI initiative XRtists, which is aimed at supporting training programmes and funding opportunities in immersive content production for artists and cultural organisations. However, UKRI funding requires this initiative to be led by academic institutions (in consortium with other partners), which may mean it skews to developing more academic than practical skills. ScreenSkills also welcomes the initiative under CoSTAR of network labs in West Yorkshire, Dundee and Belfast. Indeed, further effort could be made for similar investment in R&D and CreaTech clusters across the sector as new technology emerges – this will encourage regional growth and skills development in the UK’s nations and regions, ensuring an equitable industry across the UK. As such, ScreenSkills also welcomes the AHRC and DCMS’ plans to expand this R&D model further, alongside Innovate UK’s Creative Catalyst project which will provide creative innovation funding across the UK.

More broadly, unless there is stronger investment in skills across the sector, there is a risk of building infrastructure without a robust talent base to service it. ScreenSkills would encourage investment in skills as a key component alongside any broader investment in innovation to ensure a holistic approach to infrastructure and talent.

It remains uncertain as to whether the opportunities of AI will off-set potential job losses caused by automation. There are, for example, arguments that human creativity cannot be replicated. On the other hand, some jobs through which low-paid creative workers supplement their income may already be disappearing due to technological advancement – which is rapidly accelerating.

Rapid change can also affect diversity within the workforce. During Covid-19, many from working-class backgrounds had to drop-out of the industry, if temporarily, whereas those who could afford to work in more financially precarious circumstances could continue. Therefore, if the sector does undergo quick material change due to AI or other forms of innovation, there needs to be support and initiatives to help the workforce stay in the industry whilst it adapts.

One of the biggest material challenges associated with the rise of AI is intellectual property (IP) rights, which is the bedrock on which creative businesses are built. Those developing and using AI should be compliant with all relevant UK laws at all stages, including copyright, performers’ rights, database rights and all other intellectual property rights, including training of AI models and output of material by them. It is particularly important that when striking new trade deals, IP rights are not further watered down – we need to protect IP at all costs, otherwise we may see an existential threat to the creative industries.

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