Nine industry hopefuls get lucky TV break as Trainee Researchers
22 November 2007: Nine talented people are getting a lucky break as TV researchers with leading independent production companies thanks to a new scheme launched by Skillset and the Top TV Academy.
The £150K scheme pairs the trainees with industry mentors in some of the biggest names in independent television production: Endemol, Reef, Mentorn, Tiger Aspect, Objective, Maverick/Real Life, & Princess.
The trainees are offered year-long paid placements with independent production companies including short placements at the BBC and ITN. The scheme also provides opportunities to learn interactive skills as well as a range of structured training in key areas such as copyright.
Fiona Chesterton, Skillset Director of TV, said: "Skillset is delighted to support the careers of nine very talented men and women who are being given this chance via the TV Freelance Fund which is backed by BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Five, The Indie Training Fund, and cable and satellite broadcasters."
She added: "This scheme will provide the trainees with skills to equip them for a fast-changing digital world."
Liz Mills, Managing Director of leading industry training provider Top TV Academy, said, "We are thrilled to be running this scheme for Skillset. It will give carefully structured training to new talent drawn from a wide range of backgrounds."
The trainees are from all over the country - from Leeds to Leicester, Yorkshire, East Anglia, Bournemouth and Sunderland. They include a Cambridge University graduate, a receptionist, a newspaper journalist and a retail manager.
One trainee, Sophie Oxman, 23, from Sunderland said she had a pile of rejection letters from production companies.
"I wrote to all of the companies I could think of and each time it was the same - ‘thanks, but no thanks'. I always had the belief that if I kept trying I'd make a breakthrough and then I saw the advertisement for this scheme. It's the lucky break people wanting to get into the industry wait a lifetime for," she said.
Pia Talbot, 23, a former newspaper journalist, said she was looking forward to using her journalism skills in a new medium.
"I worked in newspapers and I am looking to further develop research and story-telling skills in a more visual medium," she said.
The trainees are: Sophie Oxman (Endemol), Carol Baffour (Princess), Nastasia Matatesta (Love), Will Nichols (Reef), Natalie McArdle (Tiger Aspect), Neil Hunter (Objective), Pia Talbot (Mentorn), Robert Gerrie-Smith (Endemol) and Toral Davda (Maverick/Real Life).
Notes to editors
1. Skillset is the Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries covering Broadcast, Film, Video, Interactive Media and Photo Imaging. Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) are licensed by the UK Government and by Ministers in the devolved administrations to tackle the skills and productivity challenge by sector. 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, Higher Education Institutions and other stakeholders in the sector.