What are the main skills issues and concerns in the Television industry?
Life in TV changes fast, and the skills issues and concerns of the industry have evolved with the advent of new technologies, platforms and formats and the more challenging commercial climate.
Only half of employers put on training for their permanent staff and only a fifth carry out training for freelancers.
So there is increasing pressure on professionals to adopt a long-term approach to ensuring their skills are as up to date as possible.
There is an abundance of talent in the labour pool in many areas. However, there are some skills areas, broadcast technology for example, where TV employers struggle to recruit. Increasingly there are reports of skills needs around management and leadership throughout the industry.
Other issues include:
- Helping professionals to understand and adapt to changing technologies and new platforms for content; there is a particular need for executives, producers and senior staff to identify and exploit the opportunities presented by this new landscape.
- With the majority of the workforce in London, the UK's nations and regions have provided fewer opportunities for training and development in recent years. But there is significant investment being made in the nations and regions, especially in Wales, Scotland and the North of England where the BBC's planned move to Salford is prompting substantial growth.
- While many employers increasingly need multi-skilled staff and freelancers as production budgets tighten, there is still a need for specific and sometimes very specialised craft skills, for example in drama. Writing talent and new voices are also still highly prized.
Skillset is addressing these skills needs via its TV Skills Strategy and Action plan, and via the Skillset TV Freelance Fund which reduces the costs of training for freelancers.
For more information on our research work, please visit Skillset's Research pages.