Initiative to provide production staff and freelancers with standardised level of training
BBC Studios, ITV Studios and Sky are backing a ScreenSkills ‘training passport’ initative that aims to ensure a consistent, high-quality standard of training for production staff and freelancers.
The ScreenSkills Training Passport is a pilot programme which will provide a record of standardised and industry-approved training that people can take from one production to the next. The pilot, developed in consultation with Pact, will launch later this month and run for six months.
For employers such as broadcasters, studios and indies the passport should ensure high-quality training is built into productions from the start, enabling them to hire future crew with confidence and move more quickly into production.
Production staff and freelancers will be able to complete the necessary training through the ScreenSkills website, receiving a completion certificate which they can then use when applying for roles.
Laura Mansfield, chief exec of ScreenSkills, said the programme aims to support workers’ ongoing training needs as well as helping to further develop their careers.
“The passport will also enable our partners to streamline their own onboarding processes, making the process simpler and more efficient for employer and employee alike,“ she added.
As part of the training passport, production staff and freelancers for BBCS, ITVS and Sky will be required to complete two ScreenSkills e-learning modules: tackling harassment and bullying at work and an introduction to safeguarding for those working in the screen industries.
The first productions that will be using the training include The One Show, Casualty and the next series of Strictly Come Dancing, as well as Tonight and The Martin Lewis Show Live Summer Special. The pilot will be rolled out across a number of Sky Original productions this summer.
Martyn Freeman, chief operating officer at BBC Studios, said: “We’re very pleased to have initiated this work with ScreenSkills and our production partners to trial what we hope will make important industry training less complicated for our freelance colleagues and more efficient for us as employers when recruiting.
“The modules chosen represent areas of particular importance to BBC Studios from a cultural and behavioural point of view. Our business and industry thrives on freelance engagement, so the introduction of the ScreenSkills Training Passport, enabling smoother transition from company to company, should be welcomed all round.”
David Osborn, chief people officer at ITV, said: ” Along with our partners, we are passionate about equipping our freelancers with the resources they need to develop their careers and we hope that the ScreenSkills Training Passport will be a welcome addition.”
Caroline Cooper, chief operating officer at Sky Studios, said the initiative would ensure there is “standardised, recognisable training across the industry” and allow the freelance community to “work across projects with ease”.
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