ScreenSkills, the U.K.‘s screen industry skills body, has unveiled an ambitious five-year strategy aimed toward developing a strong workforce to support the nation’s £13.48 billion ($17.4 billion) screen sector.
The organization’s blueprint, which follows recommendations from the Screen Sectors Skills Task Force in 2023, emphasizes data-driven decision making and strategic partnerships with industry heavyweights including the BBC and Channel 4.
The strategy addresses five core areas: skills needs identification, access to training, strategic partnerships, equity and variety initiatives, and future-proofing the workforce. Special attention can be paid to emerging technologies and the games industry, with ScreenSkills partnering with U.K. Interactive Entertainment (Ukie) to construct crossover skills between gaming, digital media, and TV.
Within the West Midlands, ScreenSkills has partnered with the BBC and Create Central on a Skills Accelerator cluster program, now entering its second 12 months. The BBC can also be collaborating with ScreenSkills on research to raised understand industry entry points and profession pathways.
Dawn Beresford, director of talent and skills, BBC Commissioning, said: “The brand new strategy gives each ScreenSkills and the broader screen sector a shared blueprint to deal with the structural issues around access to the industry, profession opportunities and reskilling, and to play a key role in growing the creative industries.”
Key components of the strategy include expanding the ScreenSkills Training Passport program and establishing partnerships with regional bodies like Create Central within the West Midlands. The organization has also commissioned Ampere Evaluation, in collaboration with Channel 4, to conduct a comprehensive study of the U.K.’s film and TV workforce.
“This strategy is built on partnership and collaboration, bringing together industry, wider stakeholders, and government to construct a workforce expert for today and agile, adaptable, and resilient for tomorrow’s challenges,” said Laura Mansfield, CEO of ScreenSkills.
The initiative arrives as ScreenSkills transitions into its latest role because the sector’s strategic skills body, with plans to streamline its board structure while maintaining representation across the industry and throughout the U.K.
Georgia Brown, chair of the Skills Task Force, emphasized the importance of the organization’s transformation, noting that “to stay competitive on the worldwide stage, we must provide a clearer roadmap for skills development and spend money on sustainable and structured pathways for our workforce.”
“Establishing a clearer picture of the individuals who work in our industry – who they’re, where they’re and what they do – will enable 4Skills and ScreenSkills to proceed to make far more meaningful and impactful interventions,” added Kevin Blacoe, head of partnerships at 4Skills.
The BFI, a key stakeholder within the U.K. screen sector, has thrown its support behind the initiative. Harriet Finney, BFI’s deputy CEO, highlighted the strategy’s potential to “deliver a highly expert and sustainable workforce, which is actually representative and accessible to all.”
Lisa Opie, chair of ScreenSkills, said the strategy “reinforces our commitment to developing a future-ready workforce for the U.K. screen industries,” emphasizing that the governance changes will enable quicker responses to industry needs and growth opportunities.
