Skills and diversity front and centre at IBC2024

Taking place yesterday, the inaugural World Skills Café united executives from Netflix, Digital TV Group, Sky, ITV, Microsoft, Vizrt, Moov, and numerous other players and vendors to take action.

Carrie Wootten, CEO, Global Media & Entertainment Talent Manifesto, said: “This idea has been in the making for seven months, and I’m really excited that we could all come together to spend a whole afternoon talking about skills, education and diversity. The World Skills Café aims to provide a focal point for sharing first-hand experiences while also incubating tangible solutions to workplace and diversity challenges.”

The M&E and broadcast technology sectors remain populated by a disproportionately ageing white male workforce. For example, across the UK’s wider creative industries, only a third of managerial and director roles are held by women, while over 90% of professionals in these sectors are white.

Women and people of colour are even more likely to feel pushed out from this environment, suggesting a step backwards in industry diversity.

“We’ve done a lot of work around gender diversity over the last few years and that has changed things significantly, but we are nowhere near where we need to be,” Wootten said.

“We also know there’s a pattern between those who are neurodiverse and those who are in engineering and technology roles across M&E. That’s why we are delivering programmes of work to support the neurodiverse community and their neurotypical colleagues.’’

Round table discussions themed by education, recruitment, transferable skills, retention, diversity and future technology were facilitated by a dozen executives with diverse backgrounds. The emphasis was on looking for talent outside the traditional routes into media.

Mark Coleman, Account Manager for Pixitmedia, spent time in Afghanistan on military deployment. “I was 15 years in the army, I learned some fantastic skills like weapons, tactics demolitions,” he said. “Now you’re thinking, why am I here? I am passionate about demonstrating how people with diverse backgrounds have valuable transferable skills.”

Jazz Singh, Founder of EmpowerAbility, is an advocate for social ability and mobility. “Today, I am giving a voice to the hidden talent behind bars. The millions whose criminal records obscure their unseen brilliance. For too long, society has chosen to see conviction first, talent second. I live and breathe to reverse that.”

IBC’s drive to unite the industry to devise and act on skills initiatives runs throughout the weekend culminating in the IBC Talent Programme on Monday in the IBC Showcase Theatre in Hall 8. The programme begins with a free breakfast meet supported by Beamr and attended by inspirational leaders such as Renard T Jenkins, Polly Hickling, Deepali Narskier, Amy DeLouise, and Tamar Shoham. BBC journalist Omar Mehtab is the host for the morning.