ScreenSkills’ flagship trainee finder programme launches

Trainee Finder, ScreenSkills’ flagship programme of paid placements for new entrants into film and children’s and high-end television, will open recruitment on October 24^th with at least 250 places across HETV and Film available.

The initiative, supported by the Film, High-end TV and Children’s Skills Funds, is a year-long paid placement programme that places entry-level trainees with productions across a range of roles. It has run since 2013 in its current form with notable success in matching participants on productions including Silent Witness, Sex Education, Bridgerton and Call the Midwife, as well as films including The Batman, Matilda, Jurassic World Dominion, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, After Love, Empire of Light and MEN.

ScreenSkills CEO Seetha Kumar said: “We are delighted to be announcing the launch of the next Trainee Finder programme. Our flagship initiative, supported by the Film, High-end TV and Children’s Skills Funds, has proved highly successful in placing entry-level trainees with productions across a range of behind-the-camera roles identified by the sector as areas of skills shortage.

We continue to work in identifying those areas of skills gaps and this programme ensures a continued supply of a new generation of talent, capable of world-class creative content. We are dedicated to supporting inclusion in the screen industries and encourage applications from diverse backgrounds and regions and from the deaf and disabled community.”

Trainee Finder is an entry-level placement scheme which places trainees on film, children’s live-action TV, high-end TV and animation productions. Trainees become part of an industry-recognised group of trainees, receiving exclusive access to training placements. The programme is funded by contributions from productions to the ScreenSkills Skills Funds in children’s TV, film and high-end TV. Productions that contribute to the funds are encouraged to offer training opportunities to the trainees and receive a subsidy to support their salary.

The programme will be opening for applications for our HETV/Children’s and film programmes on 24 October and close on 28th November 2022. There will be a Zoom webinar hosted on the ScreenSkills website detailing how the programme works and answering any questions prospective candidates may have.