BCC(3) 21
Broadcasting Committee
Evidence from Skillset Cymru
Inquiry into Public Service Broadcasting
About Skillset and our work in Wales
Skills have been identified as a major element in increasing productivity across the economy - Sector Skills Councils are identified as key partners in raising industry support for skills and drive a demand-led agenda in the supply of education and training and their position is fully embedded in the Welsh Assembly Skills Policies, including the currently under consultation Skills that Work for Wales.
Skillset is the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for Creative Media. Skillset is owned and managed by the industries it serves and is licensed by Government to drive up competitiveness and productivity through skills. We are UK-wide bodies; Skillset Cymru’s remit covers our industries in Wales
Skillset Cymru’s Industry Skills Panel is made up of key industry representatives in Wales including the major broadcasters (BBC, S4C, ITV Wales), representatives of the independent sector and trade unions (a full membership list of the panel is available in Appendix 2). The aim of the panel is to guide and advise Skillset's work in Wales within the context of its UK wide remit as a Sector Skills Council. Our skills strategies reflect the commitment to quality, plurality and diverse content delivered through different platforms
Skillset works closely with leading employers and trade unions in all sectors in its footprint to develop strategies that will deliver on its vision. Skillset’s Sector Skills Agreement for Wales (SSA) is a strategic, industry driven singular action plan forging a partnership between our industries, training and education provision and public sector partners. Each provides the mechanism to deliver tailored solutions for our industries’ articulated needs in collaboration with Government and strategic partners.
Moreover, Skillset’s work is committed to plurality and development of the unique cultural identity of every citizen. Skillset Cymru was the first Sector Skills Councils in Wales to develop and have its Welsh Language Scheme approved by the Welsh Language Board. We have adopted the principle that, in the conduct of public business in Wales, we will treat Welsh and English on a basis of equality. Our Welsh Language Scheme sets out how we will implement that principle in the provision of services to the public in Wales (for more information see: http://www.skillset.org/uk/cymru/about_us/article_6212_1.asp )
Skillset was the first out of the 25 SSCs to publish its Sector Skills Agreement for Wales. The SSA demonstrates how Skillset Cymru and its industry (creative media) and public sector partners will deliver specific actions to meet priority needs that will in turn drive improved business performance throughout Wales. Below are the SSA themes and some of our actions:
Pre-Entry Provision
Skillset Cymru sits on Ofcom’s Media Literacy Advisory Board and is involved in the DCELLS consultation on 14-19 Diplomas and the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification - Creative and Media.
Informal and Community Learning
Further and Higher Education
Post Entry Training - entry-level training
The Skillset Media and Screen Academy Networks enable education and industry to work together to produce the innovators and leaders of the future in creative media.
The Skillset Screen Academy Wales - part of the network of institutions which the UK film industry has identified as those offering the highest quality of skills training for film - is advised by an industry panel on its course provision, and this continuous process of feedback produces more relevant provision and better employability prospects for graduates.
Working with industry, Skillset also accredits those practice-based courses that most effectively provide students with the skills and knowledge that employers need. Currently they are three accredited courses in Animation and one in Computer Games operating in Wales.
Skillset is also in the process of establishing a Skillset Media Academy in Wales.
Further information on CPD programmes and other forms of learning is available in Appendix 1.
Information, Advice and Guidance
See Appendix 1 for Skillset Careers in Wales
Business and Company Development
See Appendix 1 for Company Skills Development.
The Creative Media industries in Wales - profile, skills issues and future drivers for PSB
The Creative Media industries - Skillset’s footprint - comprise TV, film, radio, interactive media, animation, computer games, facilities, photo imaging and publishing. They are 550,000 people working in the Creative Media industries across the UK. Over 3% of the industry is situated in Wales.
The majority of the companies in the creative media industry in Wales are SMEs. Research carried out as part of the Sector Skills Agreement process identified the need for: targeted contextualised business support, a need for business, management and leadership training, and support for small businesses to develop higher level specialized skills.
The broadcasting industry is heavily dependent on a freelance workforce, which does not have access to training and CPD support through a permanent employer.
Our research also shows that in our sectors 66% of the workforce is graduates and 24% hold postgraduate qualifications. Over 70% or employers see FE and HE as providing the potential to support pre entry skills and specialized knowledge.
The Welsh printed press lacks diversity, and therefore the news content of each station’s PSB remit remains extremely important for the dissemination of different political and social views. As a discipline, broadcast journalism is particularly demanding, and we must ensure that the skilled professionals required are developed and retained in Wales.
Increasingly, an element of interactive media will complement and support more traditional PSB output. The BBC has placed 360° Commissioning at the centre of its programming policy, and Channel 4 and ITV invest heavily on internet support material for their programming. The development of digital radio could also change further the industry landscape. Interactive Media is one of the highest growth sectors of the Creative Media industries. New technologies and convergence of platforms of distribution means that they can be delivered through web, interactive TV, CD Rom, mobile phone or a variety of alternative mechanisms. Each with these mediums requires specialised, high-level skills and subsequent training requirements.
The role of radio in supply of relevant PSB content in Wales should not be discounted - particularly with any plans to expand digital radio - as it is a valuable platform for diverse cultural offerings, most notable in the field of music, and for on-the-job training opportunities for new entrants.
Compared to size of the population, levels of production are low in Wales particularly indigenous production and commissions from the independent sector. In 2006, Wales accounted for approximately 4.9% of population of UK, but accounts for only 0.7 % of network production
Although Dr Who and Torchwood are important to the Welsh media economy, these productions still depend on considerable resources of staff and facilities that are sourced from outside of Wales. We must also be mindful not to become over-dependent on a few programmes from one broadcaster. It is essential to develop a plurality of supply, and the skilled workforce to supply this production, if we are to have a successful future when major projects come to an end.
The future sustainability of the sector in Wales depends not only on companies having access to the best creative talent, but also in developing their financial, business and leadership skills. Regardless of whether programming is commissioned under a public service or commercial remit, it is important that companies are best placed to retain and exploit their intellectual property. The Welsh media industry is largely comprised of SMEs, who may not be able to fund the development of business skills for their staff.
Skillset supports the need to increase network production to a level more closely aligned to the proportion of the UK population living in Wales, and is actively seeking to boost network production through schemes like: Series Producers Scheme, Company Skills Development and the Skillset Talent Attraction Scheme (details of these schemes are outlined in Appendix 1).
But if future growth aspirations are to be met, it is important that funding is available for these requirements.
Current support for skills development
Following the 2003 Communications Act, the Framework Agreements that DCMS Secretary of State has with BBC and S4C and the Memorandum of Understanding between Ofcom, Skillset and Broadcasters, the Broadcast Training and Skills Regulator body (BTSR - www.btsr.org.uk) was established with a remit to help ensure that the broadcasting industry is providing training and development opportunities that are relevant, inclusive and cost-effective to the thousands of people it employs. This co-regulatory framework on training helps support also the training needs of the independent sector and the large freelance workforce that it engages.
Public Service Broadcasting has always been central to the media landscape of Wales, and the presence of S4C has ensured that PSB had great resonance and importance in the growth and spread of the Welsh language. S4C is particularly involved in the skills agenda in Wales, and is well embedded with Skillset’s commitment to provide targeted, industry led provision. The CEO of S4C chairs the Skillset Industry Skills Panel in Wales, and the Director of Business Affairs sits on the Skillset Training Taskforce. S4C are routing part of their annual training budget through the taskforce, as they see the scheme as the most suitable mechanism to provide targeted and strategic skills provision.
In July 2007, Skillset and the BBC signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote education and learning across the creative media industries in order to stimulate creativity and cultural excellence. Within this MoU there is a firm commitment for the BBC and Skillset to work together through Industry Skills Panels and local partnerships to realise local strategies and deliver Action Plans throughout the Nations of the UK.
Further support for freelancers:
Wales freelancers are supported through the UK-wide Skillset TV Freelance Fund, made by contributions from all major broadcasters. (See also http://www.skillset.org/tv/funding/ )
The PACT indie levy and TAC (Teledwyr Annibynnol Cymru) are both contributing to professional training programmes targeted for freelancers.
Cyfle currently provides various forms of industry specific training for freelancers in Wales, primarily financed by Skillset UK, European Social Fund and S4C (the Skills Wales Fund).
Five unions in Wales, under the banner of the Federation of Entertainment Unions (FEU,), representing workers in the media and entertainment industries, are working together on a new lifelong learning and skills initiative targeted at freelancers.
All of the above projects and funds complement each other and protocol agreements are in place to avoid duplication and ensure that the impact of the investment is maximized.
Future of Public Service Broadcasting in Wales
We welcome the Broadcasting Committee’s current inquiry into public service broadcasting. As an organisation with interest in this field, Skillset Cymru was invited to contribute. We are the Sector Skills Council for Creative Media industries, owned and managed by our industries and recognised by the UK government and the Devolved Administrations as central partners in driving up competitiveness and productivity through skills.
The Committee has identified some key issues around the rapidly changing nature of the media market, which could have potentially challenging implications at the national and local level. We understand that the Committee is particularly keen to consider how the changing market is impacting on citizen engagement in Wales, and the opportunities for protecting the essential elements of public service broadcasting across a number of platforms, in order to enable a healthy plural media market in Wales, that is able to engage fully with the people of Wales, and is accountable to the people of Wales. The Committee has been asked to report on:
The future of public service broadcasting in Wales in the English and Welsh languages; and
The impact of digital switchover and the creation of new delivery platforms, on the production and availability of programming and digital content from Wales and in Wales.
Ofcom recognised the important role that Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) plays in the devolved Nations in its last review. Moreover, in OFCOM’s public value tests/ audience research reports, there is a strong level of support from UK audiences for high quality UK originated content which is relevant to their lives and experiences.
We also agree that TV and Interactive Media both have a role in contributing to Public Service Content in the future. Audiences in OFCOM’s reports also suggest that they would like to see more content from the Nations and Regions and in home grown children’s programming in the future.
PSB purposes are stated by OFCOM to include enabling audiences to understand the world through news and analysis; stimulating knowledge and learning; reflecting UK cultural identity and making audiences aware of different cultures and viewpoints - this implies the requirement for a wide range of genre provision - news, factual, drama, and entertainment.
All of the above can only be underpinned and supported by high-level creative and specialist content creation skills in the UK production industry. The future of PSB is dependent on the quality of the people working within the medium - and talent must be identified, attracted and retained. Therefore, PSBs have an important role in supporting and developing the skills and talent base, and a range of well funded PSB broadcasters in turn are needed to continue to support a range of initiatives throughout the UK.
Broadcasters with a PSB remit have been and remain vital supporters of Skillset’s work - further in this document we mention the current arrangements and level of support, which we hope to be increased through the new PSB settlement.
The PSB Broadcasters represented in Skillset Cymru’s Industry Skills Panel are co-signatories to the Broadcast Training and Skills Regulator (BTSR) and contribute to the UK-wide Freelance Training Fund; S4C and BBC in particular, have each signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Skillset to work together on developing our industries.
What actions should the committee recommend to the National Assembly for Wales take to strengthen and stimulate the media production base in Wales.
In the sections below we elaborate on how skills are essential in strengthening and stimulating creative media production in Wales in order to address the principles of plurality, diversity and deliver high quality accessible content. We feel it is important that training and skills remain a vital part of Public Service Broadcasting. Public Service Broadcasting should continue to support the training needs of the broadcast sector, including the independent production sector and the large freelance workforce that it engages.
It is important for this Committee to continue to advocate the importance of the sector in the Welsh Assembly and recommend that it continues to be considered as a priority sector for economic development and in relation to skills and education
We also believe that investment should be made available for developing sectors and emergent technologies. As new technologies develop so new opportunities emerge- for instance in multi platform development and hi-definition production. If a skilled workforce can be developed in these areas, then Wales will be at a strategic advantage in seizing new opportunities as they arise. Wales needs to develop the necessary business framework, innovation support and research links to grasp new opportunities to take high quality Welsh PSB content onto new and emerging digital platforms with global reach.
We would advise the Committee to refer to the work of Enterprise and Learning Committee - currently conducting an inquiry on the economic contribution of Higher Education in Wales - as well as with the Welsh Assembly Government’s Education and Skills Strategy, Skills that Work for Wales. The Strategy (currently under consultation) signals the direction towards "encouraging higher-level education across all subjects to develop skills that will enhance graduate employability”. The consultation document had also set targets for increasing high level skills for priority key industry sectors - we believe that Creative Media industries should remain as one of these sectors, and would look to the Committee to support this view in its recommendations.
A degree of flexibility on spending would allow skills requirements in the creative media industries to be accurately targeted and responsive to new requirements - a necessity in a dynamic and specialised sector. Available funding should be targeted in the correct places, and funding structures should be adapted to operate effectively in the specific environment of the Creative Media industry.
The format for funding for Further and Higher education currently works on a payment per student principle for the institution - so Universities are encouraged to run popular courses, which may not serve the needs of the industry. With a wide range of FE/HE provision available of varying quality and relevance, industry has indicated to us that it wishes to see resources targeted to develop centres and courses of excellence to better assist students and funding bodies make more informed decision about programmes of study and their careers. If the current Welsh Assembly Government inquiry into the economic contribution of Higher Education is to properly address our sector’s need, then our concern is that the existing funding formula delivers quantity not quality
The Creative Media industries are Wales’ largest arts and cultural sector and the TV production sector in Wales is one of the largest in the UK. The sector is already a great contributor to the Welsh economy, but as the Committee has identified, within the new digital market place, there is greater potential for economic growth in the future.
Skills are key factors in delivering on this growth potential. In order for the Welsh industry to expand on a national and international level, there must be a significant investment in high level skills. The media industry is reliant on high level skills, a number of which are highly specialised.
Appendix 1: Further examples of Skillset Cymru’s work on skills development
Freelancer Skills Development
This Freelance Fund and Scheme is managed by Skillset Cymru and aims to support the skills and training needs of freelancers within the creative media industries in Wales, by offering bursaries to attend training courses and individual training advice and guidance by a professional Human Resource Development Advisor if requested. It is informed and endorsed by Skillset in partnership with the broadcaster S4C and the Skillset Cymru Industry Skills Panel.
The Freelance Fund and Scheme form part of the government’s commitment to deliver its strategy for the creative industries in Wales and addresses freelance skills issues identified in Skillset Cymru’s Sector Skills Agreement with the Welsh Assembly Government. The main barriers to training for freelancers in the creative media industries are cost, time and the choice of training available. This scheme aims to break down these barriers by providing the individual with more accessible financial assistance, better choice and more flexibility. We wish to invest in people by providing support for individuals wishing to learn new skills or update the ones they already have. The outcome will be an easy and cost effective way of fulfilling training needs which will lead to an increase in work quality and career employability.
Information gained from freelancers involved with the Freelance Fund and Scheme will be used to inform investment into training for the creative media industries in Wales - these will include funding such as Skillset’s own UK-wide funds; funding from Skillset Cymru via the Welsh Assembly Government or any other source; S4C’s own investment into training for the sector and the TAC Levy. In this way, available funding is targeted and provision is industry led.
Company Skills Development
The Company Development Scheme is a joint approach by Skillset Cymru, the Welsh Assembly Government, S4C and TAC to support the skills and training needs of production companies within the creative media industries in Wales. It offers a more collaborative and strategic approach to identifying training needs, gathering data and intelligence from the sector in Wales, and using it to fund training provision and develop skills in the sector in future.
The Company Development Scheme is consistent with the government’s commitment to deliver its strategy for the creative industries in Wales. In this respect, Skillset Cymru will be collaborating closely with the Welsh Assembly’s Department for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills and the Creative Business Wales division. Creative Media employers will access the services of a Human Resource Advisor free of charge, to develop Business Learning and Development Plans. If the company qualifies, there will also offer the opportunity to gain direct company funding to implement these plans.
The information provided by employers in this form will be used to inform investment into training for the audio visual industries in Wales - these will include funding such as Skillset’s own UK-wide funds; funding from Skillset Cymru via the Welsh Assembly Government or any other source; S4C’s own investment into training for the sector and the TAC industry levy. This will ensure that any investment into training for the sector in Wales is industry relevant.
Skillset Cymru Training Taskforce
To facilitate industry relevant provision we recently launched the Skillset Cymru Training Taskforce. The Taskforce is a joint approach by Skillset Cymru, S4/C, the Welsh Assembly Government and TAC to support the skills and training needs of production companies within the Creative Media. The Taskforce’s remit will be to discuss the skills and training needs of the sector identified from available LMI and to inform decisions on how industry funding that is available for training and skills development within the sector should be spent.
Doctor Who Diversity Scheme (WAG Sector Equality Fund)
This was a gender specific training course for three females in under represented roles within the following creative media industries sub-sectors in Wales: set crafts, sound production and post production (editing), all of which were identified as priority areas by both Skillset and ConstructionSkills.
The purpose of the course was to provide high level skills, within a structured format, on the highly acclaimed BBC Wales Drama production of Doctor Who. The beneficiaries will also gain experience of working alongside highly experienced practitioners, within a totally professional environment.
Skillset’s research shows that women make up 33% of this sector’s workforce, 35% of women earn less than £20,000pa compared to 18% of men, and in the higher salary brackets 30% of men earn £50k+ compared with 16% of women. This is despite women being more likely to be qualified to graduate level than men (60% compared with 39%). There were almost no women in the Sound, Electrical, Editing and Construction departments, while the majority of those working in Make-up and Hairdressing were women.
First Post Wales
This was a unified, modular traineeship designed to help standardise the type, scope and quality of training offered to trainees in the Post Production sector in Wales based on a curriculum devised by an industry training committee, UK Post and Skillset and Skillset’s National Occupational Standards. Skills that the industry partners recognised as "missing” from new recruits were concentrated on, such as: basic technical skills, craft skills (dependent on which area the individual is progressing towards), customer care skills and commercial awareness.
Post production is seen as being a very important sector to the UK, employing an estimated 10,000 people with a turnover of close to £1.4 billion per annum. The SSA for Wales specifies that a structured new entrants training scheme is essential for the future of the post-production sector in Wales. By focusing not only on the technical aspects but also customer management and commercial knowledge, the trainees had an opportunity to gain invaluable cross-sectoral employability skills - essential in the fast-changing work environment of today.
Skillset’s SSA for Wales stresses that stronger links must be established between the education and training providers and companies that operate within the facilities sector. As the average size of companies within the sector is 16 people, the benefit of a dedicated HR and/or training department is not possible. The size, as well as the niche focus of many of these cottage companies is also creating a generation of specialist workers - a trend at odds with convergence and multi-skilling.
Careers Information, Advice and Guidance
High Quality, relevant information advice and guidance is vital if people are to make informed choices about their learning or career path, Publicly provided IAG (such as Careers Wales) is limited in its scope to support specific sectoral needs and therefore it is essential that support is available to support broadcasting and production from professionals who already work in the sector. The continuation of a valued PSB output is dependent on attracting and developing the right people to the industry.
The bilingual Skillset Careers service in Wales was re-launched in July 2006. Skillset Careers provides the UK’s only specialist media careers information and advice service: clients are offered advice and guidance about careers in the audio visual industries either by telephone, e-mail or face-to-face sessions with a Skillset trained industry professional.
The advice and guidance given in Wales is provided by freelance Careers Advisors who have extensive experience in the industry, and are therefore able to provide accurate and up to date information about the sector to the clients who access the service. The service in Wales also has access to specialist advisors who work from throughout the UK in a number of different sectors.
As well as the core service, Skillset Careers Wales has provided numerous workshops and events for careers advisors, such as Careers Wales or advisors at Further and Higher Education Institutions, students and tutors and new entrants.
The service has so far provided specialist advice to over 300 clients through the core service, and provided 30 careers events and workshops in Wales since 2006.
Series Producer Scheme
Skillset Cymru is running a number of schemes looking at developing senior production talent in Wales. We have secured placements for junior Welsh producers on prestigious schemes run by the Research Centre in Glasgow and DV Talent in London. These schemes will upskill and develop existing talent to producer and series producer level, to ensure that the creative talent base exists in Wales to create informative and high-quality PSB output. The scheme also dove-tails with the Talent Attraction Scheme, and will create the next wave of senior producers capable of attracting network commissions.
Talent Attraction Scheme
Skillset are operating the Talent Attraction Scheme with in partnership with Creative Business Wales and support from Pact, BBC, Channel 4 and ITV. The scheme aims to attract senior executive/series producers with a track record of network production to Welsh production companies for a period of three years. During this time they would use their existing reputation and connections to bring significant network commissions to Wales, but also to train and mentor the next wave of senior production talent within the successful company. This would boost the whole of the Welsh broadcast sector, making Wales recognised as a serious creator of network output. However, attraction schemes of this type can never work in a vacuum, and it is vital that resources and structure exist to provide suitably skilled workforce and capacity to service major productions. This would cover the full gamut of the industry - technical and craft skills, production skills, management and leadership and business skills to ensure resultant IP was successfully exploited.
Craft and Technical Base
Undoubtedly major productions such as Dr Who and Torchwood have put Wales firmly on the map as a realistic destination for major network series. However, a significant (though decreasing) level of talent is still 'shipped in’ for these productions.
Wales has a rapidly maturing freelance sector that responds to the demand of regional output and occasional network productions. However, if Wales is going to meet its aspirations for a level of production in line with its population levels, the freelance market muse be adequately trained, and attract suitably skilled new entrants. In order to create a sustainable foundation, we need to both grow indigenous production and also to be able to attract production from outside Wales. Television production, particularly the independent sector, is highly mobile and will transfer activity to wherever they can best find crew, locations and facilities. If Wales is to compete with the rest of the UK, and to maximise the potential of our natural resources, then we must ensure our freelance base is trained to the highest standards.
Appendix 2: Current Membership of the Skillset Cymru Industry Skills Panel
Basham, Matthew, Skillset Cymru
Burt, Pauline, Film Agency for Wales
Caine, Dinah, Skillset
Carroll, Brian, Eclipse Creative
Carter, Roger, HEFCW (Higher Education Funding Council for Wales)
Davies, Aled Glynne, Goriad.com
Davies, Huw Eurig, Boomerang
Hughes, Gwawr, Skillset Cymru
Huws, Dylan, Cwmni Da Cyf
Jones, Iona (Chair), S4C
Kelly, Brian, BECTU
Lyons, Robin, Calon TV
Mackie, David, BBC Cymru Wales
Oppe, Fizzy, Fragrant Films
Owain, Gwion, Teledwyr Annibynnol Cymru (TAC) - Welsh Independent Producers
Owen, Elis, ITV Wales
Roberts, Bryn, Barcud Derwen Ltd
Roberts, Jayne, Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (DCELLS)
Simpson, Dawn, Pact
Thomas, Rob, Creative Business Wales
Wynne-Griffiths, Delyth, S4C
