Television/film/video producer : Training

The structure of the television, film and video industries has changed rapidly in the past decade and programme/filmmakers have to react to these changes. Producers, for example, now take a more directorial role in programme making. New developments and changes in working practices have created more mobility and increased entry into the industry, but have also resulted in less job security. Staff need to be flexible, increasingly multi-skilled and able to move across traditional jobs, so it is advisable to develop as many skills in as many different environments as possible.

Training is provided mainly on the job by employers and a range of short courses is also available.

Skillset: The Sector Skills Council for Creative Media is the government and industry-funded organisation responsible for ensuring that workers in the audio-visual industries are appropriately trained. In conjunction with industry employers and training providers, it runs free and subsidised training for those with some experience. The Advanced Apprenticeship Programme in Digital and Creative Media is being developed and expanded by Skillset and is supported by BBC Bristol and the media company Twofour who take on apprentices and offer work experience placements. Skillset also provide links to other training programmes run by broadcasting and independent production companies, as well as other schemes such as the BBC Face to Face Scheme and the TV Futures Placement Scheme. See the Skillset website for further details.

Some independent television companies have graduate training schemes which operate on an individual company basis. These are likely to be advertised on the companies' websites, in the local and national press and on Broadcast .