£50 MILLION PLAN TO PRODUCE NEXT GENERATION
Press release
10 September 2003
Training and education package to include national network of film academies, 'kitemark' for film courses, and bursaries to attract Britain's
brightest and best into career in film
LONDON: A Bigger Future, a ground-breaking £10 million a year package of measures for at least five years, geared to attract Britain's brightest and best into a career in the film industry, was launched today by the UK Film Council and Skillset, the Sector Skills Council for the audio visual industries.
The Office of National Statistics estimates that the UK film and video industries employ around 50,000 people, with more than £500 million spent on film production in the UK last year. The success of the UK historically has derived from the high quality expertise and experience of its skillsbase. Ensuring that the UK film industry can compete on an international level in all skills areas - from script-writing to set construction, from marketing to make-up, and from directing to digital effects - is key to both making stronger British films that will achieve worldwide distribution as well as attracting international film production to the UK.
The first-ever comprehensive audit of the industry's workforce and future skills needs published earlier this year, identified a number of fundamental problems for the British film industry which if left untackled is likely to jeopardise the future growth and development of the industry.
Proposals in the skills strategy A Bigger Future, which were unveiled by Education Secretary Charles Clarke today at a conference in central London attended by more than 350 representatives of the film industry, training providers, public agencies and further and higher education, tackles these challenges by:
· creating centres of excellence for film in the form of a new national network of Screen Academies, based in existing further, higher and post-graduate educational institutions across the UK, to equip students with the commercial and creative skills demanded by the industry. The National Film and Television School (NFTS) will have a key role within this network;
· in parallel with the NFTS's expertise in film production, creating a new film business academy which will offer a complementary level of education and expertise to raise the level of business skills and the leadership and effective management of film production, distribution and exhibition companies throughout the UK;
· introducing a new industry approvals system for film courses in higher education to make it much easier for students to recognise which courses will give them the right mix of creative and practical skills to work in the film industry;
· improving the quality and availability of film-related careers advice (in a number of ways including an internet 'one-stop shop') for those wanting to join the industry from schools, colleges, etc, throughout the UK, as well as meeting the continuous professional development needs of those already working in the industry wishing to improve their expertise and marketability;
· establishing a 'time bank' of film industry professionals who will give up time for activities including speaking or lecturing at schools and universities, run training courses, and advise on careers information;
· improving access to trainees through increasing the take-up of modern apprenticeships, particularly in technical areas such as set crafts and construction and establishing the UK Film Trainee Network - to enable employers in production to easily find talented and committed trainees, and developing a generic induction course for new entrants into the industry;
· providing grants, bursaries and peripatetic training managers to help companies in the film industry to take on trainees, provide work placement, internships, mentoring and work-shadowing opportunities and equip new and existing staff with the skills they need to succeed in a fast-moving industry;
· providing access to training and education resources to film industry companies so that they can improve their productivity and competitiveness; and
· carrying out on-going detailed research programmes to provide information on emerging skills gaps, to enable the industry, all public film agencies and further and higher education to plan to meet future needs.
The plans in A Bigger Future were drawn up by an action group involving all sectors of the film industry including film producers, distributors, and cinema operators, following the industry audit earlier this year.
The strategy will be financed by a new Film Skills Fund, including contributions from the existing Skills Investment Fund levy on film production, which recently passed through the £2 million barrier; contributions from the industry for specific initiatives; Lottery funding from the UK Film Council; investment from the National and Regional Screen Agencies through the Regional Investment Fund for England, and match funding from other public sources, including Europe, for specific projects. It is anticipated that this combined investment will total around £10 million a year.
Unveiling the proposals, Stewart Till CBE, Head of the Skills Action Group and Deputy Chairman of both Skillset and the UK Film Council said: "A Bigger Future sets out a realistic training strategy, put together in response to the well-articulated needs of the UK film industry. It acknowledges the size of the industry, the wide range of skills that are required and the inherent lack of a normal industrial infrastructure. With the implementation of the strategy, the UK will lead the world in film training. No other national film industry has set in place such a comprehensive skills strategy. The impact on our competitiveness should be profound."
Speaking at the launch Education Secretary Charles Clarke said: "This is a ground-breaking initiative. The film industry, through Skillset and the UK Film Council, has produced a strategy which should really make a difference. It has the potential to provide exciting training and development opportunities to the many talented writers, directors, actors and producers in the UK's film community.
"What the industry has achieved in producing this strategy mirrors precisely the type of aspirations we set out in our recent National Skills Strategy White Paper. I'm confident that these proposals will benefit not only the film industry, but the wider economy. "
Minister for Skills and Vocational Education, Ivan Lewis said: "With its employment potential and capacity to entertain, educate and move the spirit we need to build on the strengths of the film industry to secure its long term success and sustainability.
This strategy for the film industry provides a framework to develop people's skills and talents and harness them to ensure the UK continues to thrive and compete in the global market."
Films Minister Estelle Morris said: "Our film industry is a major cultural and industrial asset to the UK. And like any industry, its workforce is its lifeblood. A structured and coherent strategy for developing careers in film is long overdue. That's why these proposals are so welcome.
"They are an excellent example of how Lottery, industry and other public funding can help to produce lasting benefits, both in people's careers, our culture, and our economy."
For further information please contact:
Eve Ragout
020 7520 5752
07968 010 325
eve@skillset.org
Notes to Editors:
1. A Bigger Future is a joint strategy developed by the UK Film Council and Skillset with the support of the Northern Ireland Film & Television Commission, Scottish Screen and Sgrin Cymru Wales. The Film Skills Action Group included representatives of all sections of the UK film industry.
2. The Film Skills Strategy Committee will be established to oversee the management and implementation of A Bigger Future. The committee comprises: Chair Stewart Till CBE - United International Pictures/Skillset/UK Film Council; Members: Steve Abbott - Prominent Pictures; Dinah Caine, Kate O'Connor - Skillset; Eric Fellner Working Title; Susan Finlayson-Sitch - UK Film Council LA; Steve Knibb, Exhibition; Michael O'Sullivan - Paramount Pictures/The Production Guild/Motion Picture Association of America; Iain Smith - Applecross Films; John McVay - Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television; William Sargent - Framestore/CFC; Martin Spence - BECTU; and Marcia Williams, John Woodward, Robert Jones - UK Film Council.
3. Skillset is the Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries. Audio visual industries in this context means, the Broadcast, Film, Video and Interactive Media Industries. Skillset was the first Sector Skills Council to be licensed by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills and by Ministers in the devolved administrations in 2002 to tackle the skills and productivity challenge. Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) are independent, UK wide organisations developed by groups of influential employers in industry or business sectors of economic or strategic significance. SSCs are employer-led and actively involve trade unions, professional bodies and other stakeholders in the sector.
4. The UK Film Council is the lead agency for film in the UK ensuring that the economic, cultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented at home and abroad. We invest Government grant-in-aid and Lottery money in film development and production; training; international development, export promotion; distribution and exhibition; and education. Our aim is to deliver lasting benefits to the industry and the public alike through:
· creativity - encouraging the development of new talent, skills, and creative and technological innovation in UK film and assisting new and established film-makers to produce successful and distinctive British films;
· enterprise - supporting the creation and growth of sustainable businesses in the film sector, providing access to finance and helping the UK film industry compete successfully in the domestic and global marketplace;
· imagination - promoting education and an appreciation and enjoyment of cinema by giving UK audiences access to the widest range of UK and international cinema, and by supporting film culture and heritage.
10 September 2003
Training and education package to include national network of film academies, 'kitemark' for film courses, and bursaries to attract Britain's
brightest and best into career in film
LONDON: A Bigger Future, a ground-breaking £10 million a year package of measures for at least five years, geared to attract Britain's brightest and best into a career in the film industry, was launched today by the UK Film Council and Skillset, the Sector Skills Council for the audio visual industries.
The Office of National Statistics estimates that the UK film and video industries employ around 50,000 people, with more than £500 million spent on film production in the UK last year. The success of the UK historically has derived from the high quality expertise and experience of its skillsbase. Ensuring that the UK film industry can compete on an international level in all skills areas - from script-writing to set construction, from marketing to make-up, and from directing to digital effects - is key to both making stronger British films that will achieve worldwide distribution as well as attracting international film production to the UK.
The first-ever comprehensive audit of the industry's workforce and future skills needs published earlier this year, identified a number of fundamental problems for the British film industry which if left untackled is likely to jeopardise the future growth and development of the industry.
Proposals in the skills strategy A Bigger Future, which were unveiled by Education Secretary Charles Clarke today at a conference in central London attended by more than 350 representatives of the film industry, training providers, public agencies and further and higher education, tackles these challenges by:
· creating centres of excellence for film in the form of a new national network of Screen Academies, based in existing further, higher and post-graduate educational institutions across the UK, to equip students with the commercial and creative skills demanded by the industry. The National Film and Television School (NFTS) will have a key role within this network;
· in parallel with the NFTS's expertise in film production, creating a new film business academy which will offer a complementary level of education and expertise to raise the level of business skills and the leadership and effective management of film production, distribution and exhibition companies throughout the UK;
· introducing a new industry approvals system for film courses in higher education to make it much easier for students to recognise which courses will give them the right mix of creative and practical skills to work in the film industry;
· improving the quality and availability of film-related careers advice (in a number of ways including an internet 'one-stop shop') for those wanting to join the industry from schools, colleges, etc, throughout the UK, as well as meeting the continuous professional development needs of those already working in the industry wishing to improve their expertise and marketability;
· establishing a 'time bank' of film industry professionals who will give up time for activities including speaking or lecturing at schools and universities, run training courses, and advise on careers information;
· improving access to trainees through increasing the take-up of modern apprenticeships, particularly in technical areas such as set crafts and construction and establishing the UK Film Trainee Network - to enable employers in production to easily find talented and committed trainees, and developing a generic induction course for new entrants into the industry;
· providing grants, bursaries and peripatetic training managers to help companies in the film industry to take on trainees, provide work placement, internships, mentoring and work-shadowing opportunities and equip new and existing staff with the skills they need to succeed in a fast-moving industry;
· providing access to training and education resources to film industry companies so that they can improve their productivity and competitiveness; and
· carrying out on-going detailed research programmes to provide information on emerging skills gaps, to enable the industry, all public film agencies and further and higher education to plan to meet future needs.
The plans in A Bigger Future were drawn up by an action group involving all sectors of the film industry including film producers, distributors, and cinema operators, following the industry audit earlier this year.
The strategy will be financed by a new Film Skills Fund, including contributions from the existing Skills Investment Fund levy on film production, which recently passed through the £2 million barrier; contributions from the industry for specific initiatives; Lottery funding from the UK Film Council; investment from the National and Regional Screen Agencies through the Regional Investment Fund for England, and match funding from other public sources, including Europe, for specific projects. It is anticipated that this combined investment will total around £10 million a year.
Unveiling the proposals, Stewart Till CBE, Head of the Skills Action Group and Deputy Chairman of both Skillset and the UK Film Council said: "A Bigger Future sets out a realistic training strategy, put together in response to the well-articulated needs of the UK film industry. It acknowledges the size of the industry, the wide range of skills that are required and the inherent lack of a normal industrial infrastructure. With the implementation of the strategy, the UK will lead the world in film training. No other national film industry has set in place such a comprehensive skills strategy. The impact on our competitiveness should be profound."
Speaking at the launch Education Secretary Charles Clarke said: "This is a ground-breaking initiative. The film industry, through Skillset and the UK Film Council, has produced a strategy which should really make a difference. It has the potential to provide exciting training and development opportunities to the many talented writers, directors, actors and producers in the UK's film community.
"What the industry has achieved in producing this strategy mirrors precisely the type of aspirations we set out in our recent National Skills Strategy White Paper. I'm confident that these proposals will benefit not only the film industry, but the wider economy. "
Minister for Skills and Vocational Education, Ivan Lewis said: "With its employment potential and capacity to entertain, educate and move the spirit we need to build on the strengths of the film industry to secure its long term success and sustainability.
This strategy for the film industry provides a framework to develop people's skills and talents and harness them to ensure the UK continues to thrive and compete in the global market."
Films Minister Estelle Morris said: "Our film industry is a major cultural and industrial asset to the UK. And like any industry, its workforce is its lifeblood. A structured and coherent strategy for developing careers in film is long overdue. That's why these proposals are so welcome.
"They are an excellent example of how Lottery, industry and other public funding can help to produce lasting benefits, both in people's careers, our culture, and our economy."
For further information please contact:
Eve Ragout
020 7520 5752
07968 010 325
eve@skillset.org
Notes to Editors:
1. A Bigger Future is a joint strategy developed by the UK Film Council and Skillset with the support of the Northern Ireland Film & Television Commission, Scottish Screen and Sgrin Cymru Wales. The Film Skills Action Group included representatives of all sections of the UK film industry.
2. The Film Skills Strategy Committee will be established to oversee the management and implementation of A Bigger Future. The committee comprises: Chair Stewart Till CBE - United International Pictures/Skillset/UK Film Council; Members: Steve Abbott - Prominent Pictures; Dinah Caine, Kate O'Connor - Skillset; Eric Fellner Working Title; Susan Finlayson-Sitch - UK Film Council LA; Steve Knibb, Exhibition; Michael O'Sullivan - Paramount Pictures/The Production Guild/Motion Picture Association of America; Iain Smith - Applecross Films; John McVay - Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television; William Sargent - Framestore/CFC; Martin Spence - BECTU; and Marcia Williams, John Woodward, Robert Jones - UK Film Council.
3. Skillset is the Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries. Audio visual industries in this context means, the Broadcast, Film, Video and Interactive Media Industries. Skillset was the first Sector Skills Council to be licensed by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills and by Ministers in the devolved administrations in 2002 to tackle the skills and productivity challenge. Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) are independent, UK wide organisations developed by groups of influential employers in industry or business sectors of economic or strategic significance. SSCs are employer-led and actively involve trade unions, professional bodies and other stakeholders in the sector.
4. The UK Film Council is the lead agency for film in the UK ensuring that the economic, cultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented at home and abroad. We invest Government grant-in-aid and Lottery money in film development and production; training; international development, export promotion; distribution and exhibition; and education. Our aim is to deliver lasting benefits to the industry and the public alike through:
· creativity - encouraging the development of new talent, skills, and creative and technological innovation in UK film and assisting new and established film-makers to produce successful and distinctive British films;
· enterprise - supporting the creation and growth of sustainable businesses in the film sector, providing access to finance and helping the UK film industry compete successfully in the domestic and global marketplace;
· imagination - promoting education and an appreciation and enjoyment of cinema by giving UK audiences access to the widest range of UK and international cinema, and by supporting film culture and heritage.