A Bigger Future report - BFI - British Film Institute

• Collecting and analysing information - the establishment of a system to
provide accurate and up to date intelligence on the film industry’s workforce
to help plan future skills, talent and company development support;
• Careers information, advice and guidance at all levels – the need to provide
film-specific careers advice, both for new entrants to the industry and those
already working within it;
• Pre-entry to the film industry – the need to work in partnership to resolve
any mismatch between industry skills needs and provision in
further and higher education, including postgraduate film schools, to
achieve the best balance between the commercial, creative and technical
content in film courses;
• Post entry to the film industry – the need to ensure that both new entrants
training and continuing professional development meets the changing needs
of the industry;
• Business skills – the need to ensure that those just starting out and those
already working in the industry, often in ‘micro-businesses’ or selfemployed,
have the necessary business and management skills to make
the most of their creative and technical expertise;
• Improving diversity in the workforce – the need to ensure that all sections of
the population have equal access to becoming involved in the film industry,
and that the industry is actively making the most of potential talents available;
• Digital and new technologies – the need to keep pace with new
technologies is a major retraining issue affecting all sectors of the film
industry;
• Nations and regions – the need to retain and sustain creative and technical
talent at a regional and national (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) level
once it has been trained and developed, and to build indigenous production
and regions’ reputations as prime locations for filming; and,
• Investment – the need to improve the film industry’s understanding of the
Government’s skills agenda, what it is prepared to invest in and why.
In January 2003 Stewart Till convened the Film Skills Action Group of leading
industry figures, supported by the UK Film Council and Skillset staff, to take
forward the areas for consideration identified in Developing UK Film Talent, into
this implementation strategy, A Bigger Future. The work was supported and
guided by a Communications Advisory Group (see acknowledgements).
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