BFI invests £900,000 National Lottery funding over two years to create a BFI Skills Cluster for Wales

Sgil Cymru, Creative Wales and Screen Alliance Wales (SAW) partner to launch the ‘One Stop Shop’, a BFI Skills Cluster for Wales supporting workforce development of the nation’s screen production sector

The BFI is investing £900,000 in a BFI Skills Cluster in Wales, which will see Sgil Cymru, in close partnership with Creative Wales and Screen Alliance Wales (SAW), launch the new ‘One Stop Shop’ thanks to National Lottery good cause funding. It becomes one of seven BFI Skills Cluster across UK nations and regions which seek to work collaboratively with local industry, education, and training providers to develop clearer pathways to long-term employment in film and TV production.

The One Stop Shop will receive additional funding from Creative Wales and BBC Studios, and work as a collaborative partnership of training providers, further and higher educators, and industry, working together to provide clear, coherent and transparent pathways to enter or progress within the screen industry. It will focus on providing opportunities for all those currently under-represented in the sector, and in its initial two year phase will seek to benefit and engage with over 2000 workers.

The new service will include four key strands:

• ‘The One Stop Shop’ will include an online resource with a calendar of training and work experience opportunities, job postings and links to crew databases, making it much easier for people to access opportunities.
• The Start of the Journey – will focus on entry level training, community and educational outreach, and an ‘Opportunities for All’ bursary fund.
• Bridging the Gap – will work to bring further and higher education and industry closer together by providing coordinated work experience placements and a series of ‘Educating the Educators’ sessions.
• Continuing the Journey – will provide further training and upskilling opportunities to those already working in the industry.

The One Stop Shop will be the place to visit when looking to forge or further a career in the screen sector. It will include bursaries to overcome barriers to entry, coordinated work experience placements, a full-time trained mentor on hand to provide advice to both new entrants and the existing workforce, and practical, newly imagined training schemes.

The programme will be strengthened by key delivery partners BBC Studios, NFTS Cymru, Ffilm Cymru Wales, Into Film, Culture Connect Wales, TAPE, Cardiff & Vale College, Coleg y Cymoedd; University of South Wales, Bangor University & Aberystwyth University who will lead the way with wider partners and ensure that One Stop Shop works for people in every region of Wales.

A team working on behalf of the skills cluster in Wales, will be employed to drive and deliver activity across the first two years to ensure a cohesive and impactful start for the cluster. Sue Jeffries, MD of Sgil Cymru, will be the overall lead for the project, with experienced Location and Production Manager, Lowri Thomas leading the team day to day.

Sara Whybrew, BFI’s Director of Skills and Workforce Development, said: “Wales is a key nation for the screen sector in the UK, home to large scale productions which are distributed across the globe, as well as content in the Welsh language. The partnership in place led by Sgil Cymru, will be building on vital work that has been started and we hope the Skills Cluster will provide a strong foundation on which to further build game changing training and work-based learning opportunities for diverse and representative talent across the nation. I am delighted to welcome Sgil Cymru, Screen Alliance Wales, Creative Wales, and their myriad industry partners into the BFI’s Skills Cluster portfolio, and can’t wait to meet some of the new talent they will support to get in, and get on, in a career in screen production.”

Sue Jeffries, Managing Director of Sgil Cymru, said: “It is with pride that Sgil Cymru takes on the leadership role in this partnership.  The fact that the BFI, Creative Wales, and BBC Studios has shown its confidence in the nation and the sector by committing two years of funding for training in Wales is enormous.

“As a company we cannot wait to get started on this exciting new project.  The One Stop Shop will bring together all the wonderful training projects already happening in Wales as well as see some great new initiatives, which will all help the sector grow for the future.”

Welsh Government Minister for Creative Industries, Hannah Blythyn said: “Our Creative Industries continue to be a real success story for Wales. In screen production alone, the Welsh economy sees an elevenfold return on every pound spent.

“The cornerstone of our work to develop and grow our creative industries depends on us successfully nurturing and harnessing the wide range of creative talent we have here in Wales. We are already working to provide this support through our Creative Wales Skills Fund, and I am very pleased to see us working with key providers to attract nearly £1million of additional funding into Wales to further improve our capacity to match talent with the growing opportunities we have across the sector.”

Allison Dowzell, MD Screen Alliance Wales, said: “Screen Alliance Wales is thrilled to join forces with Sgil Cymru and Creative Wales in this pivotal project for Wales, as we embark on a journey towards a more inclusive and representative screen industry. The ‘One Stop Shop’ stands as a beacon of opportunity, guiding both newcomers and seasoned professionals towards fulfilling careers in the dynamic world of screen. Together with our partners, we’re committed to breaking barriers, nurturing talent, and shaping a workforce that mirrors the diversity of our communities.”

Kris Green, Training Executive, BBC Studios Drama Productions, said: “BBC Studios’ base in Roath Lock, Cardiff is the home of drama and screen talent in Wales. This perfectly-timed collaboration with Sgil Cymru and Creative Wales comes as the world’s only Welsh-language soap Pobol y Cwm celebrates its landmark 50^th anniversary in October.

“During the show’s golden anniversary year, this partnership will enable us to bring to life the first ever Pobol Academy; a wholesale training initiative which will secure the pipeline of Welsh-speaking production and editorial talent for the future of Pobol and the wider industry, while also creating upskill opportunities for a cohort of incredible creatives via the second series of our Welsh-language comedy Anfamol. The joint enterprise will also help create exciting new trainee roles on BBC Studios’ award-winning, primetime medical show Casualty which continues to entertain millions.”