Britain’s growing film and TV industry must spend 1% of production on training to deal with ‘critical’ staff shortage, urges BFI

The UK has seen record and unprecedented growth in high-quality film and TV production that threatens to hit a wall if the industry does not address the expected, and more often than not, existing skills shortage.

This is echoed by the British Film Institute, which, as part of a new Skills Review looking at scripted productions, has called for significant internal investment in training to ensure that an additional 20,770 full-time employees work in the industry to meet the expected level of demand. 2025 year.

Total spending on next-gen movies and TVs will exceed 645.64 billion ($7.67 billion) in 2021, a new record and well ahead of the production level already on the rise due to the pandemic. A study published last week by ScreenSkills in the UK predicts that figure will rise to £7.66 billion ($9.37 billion) by 2025.

This growth is clearly something the local industry is proud of, with Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Warner Bros. and many other major studios spending billions and helping to make the UK the biggest manufacturing area outside the UK. USA, home to many . carp movies (jurassic world domination, bat Man, Barbie) and large series (Გ crown, The Lord of the Rings Season 2). But here’s what the BFI says in its skills review, which has led to “increasing, and often critical, staff shortages at all levels, which is starting to negatively impact the industry and contribute to low-income jobs.” income”. ”. The review also notes that the equipment shortage “poses a particular threat to the UK independent film industry, which is struggling to compete for equipment, as well as putting further pressure on already very tight budgets”.

As Neil Peplow, Director of Industry and International Relations at the BFI explains, “deficiencies are starting to affect the quality of production.”

The key solution to solving the problem and ensuring that 20,770 additional teams are working by 2025, according to an analysis by the BFI, is to invest 0.4104.4 million (US$127.6 million) annually in training to attract people to the sector and strengthen the workforce. . In all sectors, this figure is equivalent to around 1.4 percent of the projected level of production costs in 2025. And most of this investment, it is said, should come from the industry itself, which led the BFI to conclude that the sector should aim to “invest 1% of all production budgets in training”.

That 1% is just a recommendation for implementation without any considerations or parameters, but Peplow said it’s a recommendation that provides the “resources needed to invest in skills”, a de facto common objective that the industry can address. And this can include existing funding such as contributions tracked by ScreenSkills, the UK government learning fee or in-house initiatives. Peplow acknowledges that the industry is “not idly by” and takes aim at Amazon’s recently announced $10 million ($12.2 million) Prime Video Pathway program, initiated by the National Film and Television School and the Grow Creative initiative. UK from Netflix for 2021.

Alongside this investment in training, another major concern of the report is industry retention figures, with a recommendation to establish a “more formalized approach to recruiting, workplace management and career development” that can help address issues such as long hours. Along with bullying and harassment, and the factors that negatively affect diversity.

As Skills Review acknowledges, the UK product is a “recognition” five years ago when the BFI delved so deeply into the subject with its 2017 Future Film Skills strategy.

“I could use a variety of clichés: we are victims of our own success, the project is a wonderful problem, the place is in part clear, but not addressing these problems puts at risk the continuous growth of the sector and its important contribution to the economy of the sector. UK. says Ben Roberts, CEO of BFI, adding that the latest review supports the idea of ​​’resetting the workplace’, which he says is long overdue.

“If we can achieve this, in addition to investing in our team and taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the growth of our industry, we can accelerate the creation of a workforce that truly reflects our community.” In doing so, we must also urgently address negative work practices and culture, including the long hours normally expected from crew.