​IWD 2022: Encouraging more women into live production roles

“I got into the industry completely by accident. The broadcast industry was not one I was aware of, and I certainly wasn’t familiar with any roles that contribute to making ‘telly’.

After graduating from university as a Bachelor of Electronics Engineering, I moved to London and got a job as a media assistant in a small OB company called Racetech.

There I got exposed to the TV and the outside broadcast industry. But my career began when I took my first steps as a trainee broadcast engineer, working across vision, sound, and RF fields.

Within a year I had finished my traineeship and started life on the road as a broadcast engineer. I then quickly progressed to guaranteeing OB trucks.

As a guarantee broadcast engineer, I am responsible for all technical aspects of a production. At the early stages of a project, I plan and decide on the equipment and kit based on the technical requirements of a production. The next stage is to prep and test the kit in base before it leaves for location. On site with the help of the team we rig, set up and install the equipment and then proceed to configure it to each productions’ needs. I’m there to make sure the technical solution works, fix, resolve the issue or provide a different solution when it doesn’t. As well as support the client to achieve their vision and technical requirements.

Live production is a very exciting part of the industry. When a program is live, there are always risks of things going wrong with a limited time to resolve them. It’s intense, it’s fast-paced and thrilling.  There’s a huge satisfaction being part of a team that creates and broadcasts content that millions of people watch. In TV your team becomes almost like a family. Travelling together, making telly, socialising. You get to travel around the world with amazing people sharing the same goal.

My advice to anyone wanting to get into the live production industry is to be keen, enthusiastic, and passionate. Always be available to help, be inquisitive always ask questions, be original - your personality matters.

You can train for a qualification in media and production from Solent and Ravensbourne. However, many people join the industry, gaining direct experience and developing their skills, by getting exposure to Engineering like transmission working for an organisation. An interest in technology is a good start.

Inclusivity and Diversity is very important to the future of our Industry. Attracting different people, whether this is gender of culture, can enhance the dynamic of a team so it doesn’t have a single point of view.

Networking is so important. Go to the events, listen to the panels, sign up to webinars, follow people on LinkedIn and connect with people who will be happy to give you advice.

I started with Rise as a mentee in 2019 and then became a mentor for their Rise Up program which targets year 11-12 in 2020 and as a mentor for their Rise program in 2021. Also, I signed up to the NEP student mentoring program, offering help to university student mentees with their future career in the Broadcast Industry. These initiatives allow me to give back to and support the industry with potential new talent.

Through Rise, I leaned about all the initiatives and what is out there in the industry, which I didn’t know about before.

If you have the right attitude, people will be willing to help and take a chance on you.”