ScreenSkills launch second ‘Find Your Future’ cinema campaign

ScreenSkills will launch its second cinema advertising campaign seeking to introduce cinema audiences to the broad range of roles and career opportunities available in the UK’s booming production industries. Reaching a diverse and representative audience, the campaign targets those with existing skills, who could transfer into the film and television sector, focusing on roles which prove to be challenging to recruit, and mid to senior grades.

The campaign is made up of seven short films featuring recent beneficiaries supported by ScreenSkills programmes delivered as part of the BFI Future Film Skills strategy supported by National Lottery funding. The films chart their successful progression within the industry, or their transition from different vocations. The ‘Find Your Future with ScreenSkills’ campaign will run in national cinemas, social media and online from September 23^rd for three weeks. It will run in all DCM cinemas across the UK including Odeon, Vue and Cineworld.

The ’Find Your Future with ScreenSkills’ campaign (#FindYourFuture) will focus on those in hard to recruit roles and mid to senior grades, with the aim to inspire people to explore the opportunities that are available and consider using their skills to transfer into the UK’s booming film and television sector.

Featured trainees include Dave Jones from Maidstone who spent nine years as a Royal Marine commando before discovering that his organisational and logistics training from the military made him an ideal fit for screen, and now works as a Unit Manager. Also, from running her parents’ car MOT testing company to becoming an assistant accountant on the Netflix hit The Crown, Sharon Soor from Slough, is a prime example of how ScreenSkills’ is helping people transfer into film and television.

ScreenSkills chief executive Seetha Kumar said: “UK screen is a growth industry so there is plenty of work available – but we can’t recruit people to jobs they don’t know exist. People might think that unless you start your career in screen, it’s probably too late. However, the reality is that many people have joined the screen industries at a later stage in their careers using skills they have acquired elsewhere.

We hope this campaign will help to showcase the vast array available of roles available and inspire people to consider using their skills to work in the UK’s booming film and television sector.”

Neil Peplow, BFI’s director of industry & international affairs, said: “We recently conducted research which highlights a large percentage of young people are not aware of the vast number and range of career opportunities available in the film and television production sector. Therefore, we welcome the return of this campaign to help communicate that message to young people, but also those who can transfer into the industry, using their existing skills and experience.”