Recruitment & Retention: Navigating the Skills Shortfall

The growing skills crisis in various areas of broadcast & media production has been a recurring theme of IBC365 articles in recent years – both in terms of a general shortfall in engineering & technical talent, and the difficulties surrounding recruitment into specific sectors (virtual production being an obvious example). But like so many aspects of the industry, it’s one that has arguably come into even sharper focus because of the pandemic.

Many companies had to part with permanent staff and/or reduce their use of freelancers during the crisis period, and the uncertainty of the entire period undoubtedly led to something of a freelancer exodus. In an industry that has always been hugely reliant on freelancers, this constitutes a major existential challenge – and inevitably compounds the existing challenges brought about by PAYE personnel leaving the industry, which in many cases will be the result of...