Screen industry skills boost for the North

Over 6,000 people across the North of England have benefitted from Screen Alliance North activity during their second year of funding.

In their latest figures just released, the northern skills cluster, supported by the BFI awarding National Lottery funding, the partnership has continued to make an impact attracting almost 10,000 people to their events throughout the year and have supported trainees from a range of marginalised backgrounds (48% of trainees have a disability, 28% of trainees identify as LGBTQ+ and 24% of trainees are from low socio-economic backgrounds).

Screen Alliance North, a partnership formed by Liverpool Film Office, North East Screen, Screen Manchester and Screen Yorkshire in April 2023, has delivered through each agency nearly 400 activities this year, from bootcamps to bespoke training sessions, shadowing placements to on the job training.

Formed to address the skills gap in the industry and to level out opportunities in the northern region, the partnership is strongly focused on equal access within the industry and increasing accessibility to the industry.

Alison Gwynn, Chief Executive of North East Screen said on behalf of the Executive Team: “We’re committed to ensuring that opportunity is not determined by postcode or class, and that the north is not just a place where productions are made, but where careers are built and sustained. This year we’ve built strong new connections and developed existing relationships, working with stakeholders and collaborating with employers, to create 100’s of meaningful opportunities for people across the North and are proud of what we have achieved.”

Penny Hall, Skills Cluster Lead added: “This review outlines the impact of our second year. We have delivered targeted training in high-demand areas, shaped by direct engagement with productions and crew. We’ve piloted new approaches to inclusive leadership and worked with a range of partners on access, sustainability and good working practice, because we believe real change must start at the top and be embedded into everyday working practices.”

Screen Alliance North are already delivering year three of their planned activity which focuses on five core objectives and are in the planning stages for future funding possibilities. The four northern agencies now work closely together for skills work, industry mapping and data collection, with the film offices closely linked to support major productions.

Alison continued: “As the agencies have worked more strongly together, the cluster has evolved and we feel the strength of our partnership is benefitting productions and crew as well as making the industry more accessible for new entrants from all backgrounds. We know what’s happening in our individual regions so together we have a very strong position and can support each other. We want to make a big difference to the industry and collectively we can achieve that in a sustainable way that grows production in the North.”

For details of Screen Alliance North’s impact in Year 2 read the full report here www.screenalliancenorth.co.uk