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The HETV Skills Fund continues to respond and evolve to industry needs to create focused training for career progression for those seeking to transfer into, or remain within, HETV
Creating pathways to career progression has been a central pillar of the HETV Skills Fund since its launch in 2014. By investing funds from contributing productions into tailored training, the Fund supports those looking to begin or take their next step within high-end television.
Developing opportunities designed to both attract and retain talent, the Fund invests in targeted areas to meet the needs of both workforce and industry. Programmes are designed to address areas of skills shortage by providing training in departments where it is needed, and create pathways for skilled crew to have real impact.
Hannah Green was recently named Interim Head of HETV at ScreenSkills. She says: “Skills are the foundations for the great production landscape we have in the UK. They bring work to life and visions to screens. That’s why the Fund strives to ensure that those with the skills to succeed in HETV are working in departments identifi ed as needing attention.
“Our range of transferers programmes helps those with adaptable skills develop the tools to succeed in areas where they’re most needed, while a job-share initiative ensures we retain key talent and offer greater fl exibility to suit their lifestyle and provide productions with experienced talent in crucial roles.”
Through collaboration with industry, the Fund, guided by its working groups, has responded to the need for increased attention in identifi ed areas and developed bespoke initiatives tailored to help those transferring into HETV roles from different industries or departments.
“Job-sharing is a practical way for HoDs to retain valued people and have double the creativity, problem-solving and energy that comes with a job-share pair”
Michelle Reynolds, Reel-Time
A hair and make-up course for those with experience of working with textured hair and different skin tones opened doors into the industry for skilled practitioners looking to start a career in screen. After a successful pilot, the training has since expanded and taken place all over the UK, providing productions with new talent in an area it was increasingly required.
Joy Djadi, director, Afro Hair Academy Wales, provided the training in Cardiff. She says: “The support from the HETV Skills Fund provided access to resources, industry insights and a structured framework that enriched the training experience. Delivering this programme has been a rewarding experience: participants expressed increased confi dence in their abilities, and several have begun securing industry opportunities and paid placements.”
Meanwhile, the Start a career in the art department programme, delivered by Talking Point Film, gave people a chance to explore these roles through classroom training and paid placements. Candidates from a range of backgrounds – from handymen to patisserie chefs – discovered how existing skills can adapt to new environments and help shape routes into HETV.
The Fund has responded to the creation of new roles in the industry to create training for access and sustainability co-ordinators. Programmes developed by the Fund have helped those with backgrounds in the production offi ce, graphic design, locations and assistant directing to learn new skills and adapt to new positions within productions to make them truly accessible workplaces.
A job-share initiative, launched in 2021, aims to retain experienced talent while offering greater flexibility to crew, allowing those with caring responsibilities, new parents or those returning to work to split their time more evenly.
Michelle Reynolds, co-director of ReelTime Media, founded the initiative. She says: “We have been thrilled to find that job-sharing benefits both productions and the job-sharers. It is a practical way for HoDs to retain valued people, and have double the creativity, problem-solving capacity and energy that comes with a job-share pair. For the jobsharers, this flexible way of working is allowing them to have a sustainable career that works with whatever else is going on in their lives.”
By putting the workforce and the industry at the centre of considerations, the HETV Skills Fund’s investments enable people to develop the skills that support the productions we love.
