Mark Heholt, Head of Policy, ScreenSkills
The screen industry is in hiatus with studios sitting empty, productions postponed, and tens of thousands of often freelance workers worried about how they will pay their bills. Getting back to anything like normality will require a strategic and concerted effort by a partnership of industry and government. Industry is already coming together and engaging with DCMS, BEIS and Treasury through forums convened by the BFI and British Film Commission. Collaboration and coordination will need to be sustained as we move into recovery which will need investment and policy support. Some of this may be to address short-term needs, whilst others will require longer-term support to deliver effective change. Addressing the immediate crisis is critical, but so is preparing the ground for recovery. The time to start planning is now.
Before the Covid-19 crisis, one of the biggest challenges to continuing the phenomenal growth of the film, TV, video games, visual effects and animation sectors was the acute and accelerating skills shortages. The screen industry is a people business, with talent both in front of and behind the camera being the lifeblood of the sector. When we eventually get to the point where productions can start up again, it will be vital that productions have access to the people it needs from carpenters and electricians, to hair and make-up artists, to camera crew and the myriad highly-skilled personnel who drive the industry.
That is why ScreenSkills, the industry-led body for skills in the screen sector, is redoubling its efforts to support the screen workforce with practical guidance and training which can be accessed online and for free, ranging from how to access financial support and maintaining mental health, to training courses in production management and line-producing, to sessions with industry leaders such as commissioners, producers, heads of development and talent managers. In short, we believe supporting freelancers so they can stay connected is vital and an important step to preparing for a return to work when the lockdown finally comes to an end.
The immediate practical online support and events we are providing offer knowledge and insight to individuals as well as helping to build a sense of community for people who might be feeling isolated at this difficult time. This includes moving as much training online as can be delivered effectively. We want to be swift and responsive and the recent survey we put out to the freelancer community, which had nearly 700 responses, is helping us further tailor what we do. We are also looking to the medium term to see what will be necessary when production ramps back up and to the longer term to identify what learnings can be incorporated into how we work in future, including how online learning can support the workforce wherever they are based.
Of course, we don’t know what the new normal will look like. But we do know we will need to pick up the reins again of a long-term strategy and coordinated investment to increase opportunities for individuals to enter the industry and progress their careers, especially those from poorer backgrounds and beyond the M25. Without that action, we will not be able to achieve a creative, effective and longer-term recovery. Film and television are a major UK success story and we were the sector that kept the economy from falling into recession in the latter part of last year. To get this hugely important and vibrant industry back on its feet and start telling new stories makes social, cultural and economic sense.
Government and industry were already showing commitment to skills in screen before the crisis: the film and TV companies paid nearly £4.5 million between them into the ScreenSkills skills funds last year; DCMS invested £2 million in the Creative Careers Programme to improve careers advice in schools; and the BFI awarded ScreenSkills £19 million of National Lottery funds over five years to deliver most of its Future Film Skills programme with the aim of increasing the screen workforce by 10,000 by 2022. But all of this need to be maintained and grown in future years to capitalise on the UK’s undoubted strength in this area and to make sure the country retains its place as the second leading country for production after the United States.
What has been striking in recent weeks is how the entire industry has come together. There is a sense of collective endeavour amidst the crisis, and even though not all the new support mechanisms work for our sector, we recognise that government is playing its part too. We will need that collective spirit to endure and help ensure the recovery is as strong as possible.