Report – Roundtable 2: Skilling Up
A roundtable discussion about how education and training providers are supporting the industry to improve recruitment.
Top Takeaways
Katie Lander – Brown Bag Films
- Brown Bag Films doubled their workforce this year with 70 new staff members – 45 per cent of new recruits are on short-term contracts and from the EU.
- The industry is facing a staggering issue around talent and we need to future-proof the problem.
- Employers need to take responsibility and help to shape apprenticeships as there is no consistency between each company and each apprenticeship scheme.
- There are no animation apprenticeships offered in the North West.
- Apprenticeships are not just for people looking for their first jobs. They are also for individuals already within their career.
- The focus needs to be finding assessors who understand the industry.
- ScreenSkills can bring HE and apprenticeships together.
Carl Sargeson – Arch Apprentices
- There have recently been big improvements on the standard of apprenticeships as they are now designed by people in industry and look at competence of individuals in the workplace.
- People in their 20 and 30s are now completing apprenticeships.
- Assessors are sector specific and from a variety of backgrounds.
Gareth Ellis-Unwin – ScreenSkills
- Tasked with recruiting 10,000 people to the industry over next four years.
- There is a new focus on connectivity between employers, what education is offering and the different stages of people’s careers.
- There are four barriers to entering the sector: geography, contacts, ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’ and maturity to go into a company. All these are a shared responsibility.
- Mentoring is crucial.
- We need to help employers, employ!
- The industry is lots more than just flashy jobs.
Ben Elson – The Manchester College
- FE/HE are working hard to get students work ready.
- For far too many students FE is their first encounter with animation – they do not think of it as a job, it is more something to do.
- There is an awareness that what other companies are doing is essential.
- The college has created a bootcamp where it pairs companies with students.
- Mentoring is the single most effective thing Ben has ever seen and it should be part of the system.
- HEs/FEs can offer apprenticeships. The college is starting a Level 4 animation course in 2019.
- The college has worked as a mini-agency helping the industry find staff from within the classroom.
- It is essential to offer courses in association with companies as it opens industry doors into classrooms and potential employees.
Related Profiles

Host/Moderator
Katie Lander
Brown Bag Films/Workforce Development and Apprenticeship Consultant
UK Head of Learning & Development, Brown Bag Films

Speaker
Gareth Ellis-Unwin
ScreenSkills
Head of Film

Speaker
Ben Elson
The Manchester College
Tutor

Speaker
Carl Sargeson
Arch Apprentices
Senior Business Development Manager

Speaker
Peter Yates
Access Creative College
Course Lead

Producer
Belinda Peach
Peachy
Director