Georgia Brown, the former head of Amazon Studios Europe, is to chair the Skills Task Force, an industry-led group that aims to tackle labour shortages in the UK’s production screen sectors.
The Task Force will comprise senior representatives from all the major broadcasters, studios and streamers, as well as organisations including ScreenSkills, PACT and national screen agencies. It has been convened by the BFI in response to the BFI Skills Review commissioned by the DCMS.
The Task Force will build on the BFI Skills Review and aims to produce and support the delivery of a plan of action to grow, train and retain the largely freelance screen sector workforce.
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Brown left Amazon in August last year. She previously held senior leadership roles at Fremantle Media, BBC Worldwide and Shine International.
In a statement, the Task Force members said that “intrinsic” to all its work on skills “is a commitment to delivering a significant improvement in equity, diversity and inclusion, tackling mental health and retention issues, as well as having a UK-wide perspective.”
The BFI Skills Review – which the BFI undertook at the request of the DCMS – provided a number of key recommendations: an industry-led and localised approach to investment in training; a more formalised approach to hiring, workplace management and professional development; stronger bridges into industry from education and other sectors; more comprehensive careers information, profiles and pathways; and better data to support policy and action.
Ben Roberts, BFI CEO, said: “In order to implement the step change needed to address the skills gap and ensure our workforce can meet the demands of our growing industry, the Skills Review made it very clear that an industry-led response was fundamental. We are therefore really pleased with the commitment and dedication of these key industry players, and with an executive of Georgia’s calibre and experience at the helm, we believe industry working with key partners such as ScreenSkills, can come together to drive this work forward and help ensure sustainable change.”
Brown added: “The UK has an important and well-earned reputation for being the centre of creative excellence, however if we want to accelerate growth and build a sustainable industry, we must accelerate change by creating a robust framework to develop, support, train and ignite the next generation of talent.
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