Applications for Trainee Finder 2026-27 are now closed
The Children’s TV Skills Fund, Film Skills Fund and High-end TV Skills Fund came together to deliver a single ScreenSkills Trainee Finder programme, creating access to a range of training opportunities across the UK.
The programme kicked off with a launch webinar, explaining the aim and structure of the programme as well as advising potential candidates on how to build a strong application.
Watch the webinar now or read the transcript below.
About the webinar
This webinar was led by Film Programmes and Placements Lead, Katie Cummings, and HETV Trainee Finder and Partners Outreach Manager, Dalia Kebire. They were joined by Trainee Finder alumni who share their experiences of the programme, production manager, Joanna Osborn, and Junior New Entrant Coordinator, Esther Rowland who lead the Q&A.
The webinar covered:
- What is Trainee Finder
- Who is the programme for?
- Eligibility criteria
- Top tips for your application, CV writing and interview techniques
- Meet past alumni
- Audience Q&A
This is a recording of an online event that took place on 8 October 2025 and was funded by the Film, Children's and High-end TV Skills Funds. The event was signed by a BSL interpreter and there are closed captions.
Katie Cummings, Film Programmes and Placements Lead
Hi everyone, and welcome to this year’s applications launch of ScreenSkills Trainee Finder 2026-27 for film, high-end and children’s TV. I hope you enjoyed our high-end TV show reel showing some of our fantastic productions that ScreenSkills have worked with over the years. As you'll have joined the webinar you might have also noticed some of the still images of the productions that we've worked on, everything from A Thousand Blows to the Thursday Murder Club.
My name is Katie Cummings. I am a white woman with long brown hair, and I am wearing, a blue collared shirt, and I am the Film Programmes and Placements Lead and it's amazing to see so many of you have been able to join despite the glitch. I think we have about 600 online, which is fantastic.
This event is being interpreted into British Sign Language and there's also Zoom captioning available, which you can turn on yourself just at the bottom of your Zoom bar. The session will run for about an hour and as we're using the webinar function, we won't be able to see or hear you. However, we will be opening the Q&A function, we’ll open that up about 15 minutes into the presentation so you can submit your questions there. And we've got an amazing team behind the scenes who will be answering all your questions as fast as possible, so do bear with them. But I do advise that you sit back and enjoy the presentation first, as it might be that we're answering some of your questions within this. Please note the webinar is being recorded and will be hosted on our website, as I say, in the next few days. At the end, we'll also be sharing a link to a Padlet, which will include all the resources that we chat about today. And over to Dalia.
Dalia Kebire, Trainee Finder and Partners Outreach Manager
So, my name is Dalia Kebire. I'm a brown skinned woman with brown eyes and braids, wearing a blue vest and cream top. I'm the Trainee Finder and Partners Outreach Manager in our high-end TV department.
So ScreenSkills Trainee Finder is a yearlong program that aims to find paid placements for around 250 people, and participants become part of an industry-recognized group of trainees, and become eligible to put their CV forward for training placements in the UK and across children's TV, film and high-end TV. During the year the program offers opportunities and training to start and develop your career with the support of ScreenSkills and the industry. Trainees will also receive pastoral support from the team to ensure you get the most out of your time in the program.
Over the next hour, we'll take you through how Trainee Finder is run, the eligibility criteria and tips on applications too. We'll be joined by a selection of panellists and speakers to talk about the program and how it can help launch your career in the screen industry. We have Nali and Anton, who were previously a part of our trainee cohort on the program, who will tell you a bit about their experiences and Joanna Osborn, a production manager across both film and HETV productions, who will provide some insight into what productions look for in a trainee, and also detail her own experience of using the Trainee Finder program. But first, I'm going to hand it back to Katie, who will be telling you a bit more about the film productions that work with us.
Katie Cummings
Thanks, Dalia.
So in our film department, we work with film productions right across the UK. This year so far we've already had trainees on productions that take place in Scotland and Wales, in Yorkshire, Northern Ireland, as well as some of the major studios across London and the South East. We work with all sizes of productions, so right from independents to big blockbusters. And each one does really bring its own value to trainees experience. On screen, you'll see a list of some of the productions we worked with in the last year. These include Snow White, Blitz, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, The Roses, The Running Man, which is coming out next month, I believe, and The Thursday Murder Club. And so Dalia is going to run through some of the high-end TV productions and children's TV.
Dalia Kebire
So we work closely with a range of high-end TV and children's productions across the UK, including Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, to provide them access to our trainees who join them for paid placements on some of the UK's biggest productions.
So, a high-end TV production is defined as being one with a budget of over a million pounds per hour episode. So it covers lots of high budget scripted dramas such as The Gentlemen, Adolescence, Black Doves, Gangs of London and also Outlander: Blood of My Blood, all of which our trainees have worked on previously. It also includes shows produced by streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, Sky and Apple TV.
We also support high-end unscripted productions such as Extreme Planet Earth, F1: The Academy, Astroworld and ABBA: Against the Odds. With our children's TV, we've got some opportunities for you also to work on productions like these too and some examples we have are Crookhaven, Blue Peter, Horrible Science and Saturday Mash Up. It's worth noting that although children's productions are predominantly scripted, there may be opportunity to work on some unscripted productions also.
Katie will be going through the eligibility criteria for the programme.
Katie Cummings
Thank you, Dalia. So to be eligible for the Trainee Finder program, you must meet all of the following criteria and your applications will be assessed against these points.
So, the first being you must be over 18 years old. There is absolutely no upper age limit and we actively encourage career changers and we've had a lot of those people in the past, and they've done really well on the program.
You must have completed full time education by the 31 March 2026. If you're currently a student, you must be graduated by April when you start the program and there are no exceptions to this. That doesn't mean there's an education requirement for Trainee Finder. There's absolutely not. But if you are enrolled in full time education, you won't be deemed eligible as we need you available for the placements.
At the point of applying to Trainee Finder, you must live in the UK and have evidence of your right to work in the UK full time for the full duration of the program. We are not able to provide any visas or sponsorship and nor will the productions that you have placements on. So, if you are successful in getting an interview, it’s at that point we will ask for the evidence of your right to work and it must cover the full year, and please note there are absolutely no exceptions to this and if you're unable to provide it for the full year, we won't be able to accept you onto the course.
You must have less than 12 months paid relevant experience within your chosen department. So that means if you add up all of your paid experience, it must total less than 12 months. So, if you have a couple of months experience but it spans over two years, that's absolutely fine. and you're very much still eligible. But do know that industry experience isn't a requirement of Trainee Finder.
We also want you to have done adequate research into the program, and we need to be clear why you feel Trainee Finder is right for you and how it can benefit you. We want you to be committed to attending further training whilst on the program, and that will be offered to you within the next 12 months.
Finally, within your application, we want you to be able to show a commitment to your chosen department. So it's important to bear in mind that once you have applied to be on Trainee Finder, you will only get opportunities within that specific department. You won't be able to switch across departments afterwards, so it's really important to showcase in your application why you want to join this department and develop within that.
Dalia is now going to go through the specifics of the cohort for next year and the departments that we will be supporting.
Dalia Kebire
So, as mentioned, trainees who join the program will have the opportunity to work on children's TV, high-end TV and film, this is so trainees can build experience across multiple genres and develop broader skills. We feel that by working across all genres, we're aligning with industry needs and reflecting how the workforce is evolving with many crews now working across multiple genres.
This year, the program will look to recruit around 250 trainees in the following 11 departments. So, you've got accounts, art department and within art department we've got set dec, props and graphics, assistant director otherwise known as floor runner, camera, costume, edit, hair and make-up, locations, sound, production office and video assist/DIT.
These departments have been selected based on research and insight into current skills gaps within each industry. We work closely with the industry each year to establish where the needs of trainees to ensure we're proactively addressing this and give our trainees the best opportunities to secure placements while they're with us. These are the only departments that Trainee Finder will be supporting this year. We don't cover lighting or the grips department within Trainee Finder, and as you can see, the roles are mainly for during the shoot period of the production, except for the edit department, and we don't cover anything for the early development stages. So if you're interested in script editing or writing, you won't have an opportunity to do that on Trainee Finder. If you're interested in these genres, do explore the ScreenSkills website for programs and training that these departments run.
It's important to note that you'll only be able to apply to one department within the program. You can find more information about each training department via our website on our job profiles pages, and you can find more details about the specific responsibilities for each of them in our skills checklists.
Within your application, you'll need to highlight why you've applied to the specific department and show commitment to working and developing within it. We have industry professionals from each department who assess your applications, and they're looking for candidates who would fit well within their teams. If you're unsure about which departments to apply to, we'd recommend you avoid applying just for the sake of it and that's only because we get a majority of applications from assistant director and camera trainees, who are just hoping to get into the industry and trying to work out the route from there. However, this isn't the aim of Trainee Finder we want to take on and support trainees who know which departments they want to work in and develop their career within, and this is one of the assessment points for when industry professionals are reading your applications.
Katie will now be going through a few points to consider before you apply.
Katie Cummings
Okay, so before we go into the recruitment process for when you apply, I just want to talk to you about a few things that you might want to consider before you submit your application.
The first point is where can you work. Within TV and film, there isn't much opportunity to work from home and therefore location does matter. We work with productions all over the UK. However, we can't control where the productions are based and we don't necessarily have an overview of or an oversight of what is coming up in the year. So for example, one year we can have a lot of productions and be really busy in Wales, and the next year it may be quieter and within nations and regions equally, it might be busier within a major city, but remote areas might be a lot quieter. So if you're based in a remote area, you might need to consider if you're willing to relocate or if you're open to a longer commute. Although I would remind you that a typical set hours are at least 12 hours, so just bear that in mind.
The second point to consider is how do you get to work? It is not a requirement of Trainee Finder to drive, but it's important to think about. I want you to be aware that some productions might take place in remote locations, and they also might have multiple locations that aren't easily accessible via public transport, and for that reason, productions might often ask for trainees to be able to drive, or possibly even have access to their own car. We absolutely understand that driving isn't an option for everyone, and that's why it is not a requirement for Trainee Finder. But I do want you to think about your own situation and how you might get to work. For example, if you live in a city, there might be more options for you versus if you lived in a remote location. If you don't drive due to access requirements, please know you are absolutely eligible for Trainee Finder, and if you're accepted onto the program within our mandatory induction weekend, we'll have a section that focuses on access within the industry and that trainer will be able to provide further information around access to work access bursaries and they'll also be able to share specific advice to your situation. However, if you'd like more information before you apply to Trainee Finder, and more information on access to the industry, we'll pop a link in the chat, which links to a ScreenSkills website page, which discusses the TV access project, which is a great resource and we will include that on our Padlet at the end as well.
Finally, I'd like you to consider if freelancing is for you. So we understand that though you might be incredibly passionate about your chosen career, the reality of working as a freelancer can be incredibly challenging, both mentally and financially. Some people prefer the nature of freelance work. They like the challenge of getting the next job, the travel that comes with it, being able to have breaks in between. But some people prefer more steady employment with one company and less travel. If freelancing isn't for you, you might want to explore opportunities at bigger companies with more staff roles, but it's important to note that Trainee Finder will not offer these opportunities.
As we mentioned before, placements aren't guaranteed on Trainee Finder, but we would expect trainees to be available for multiple placements. So that doesn't mean you can't have a job alongside Trainee Finder and in fact, we absolutely do encourage it but I just want you to think about what this other job looks like. Is it flexible? Can you get time off for interviews? Would you be able to drop it and then come back? Placements often come up last minute, and productions can look for people as soon as the next day so it's important to consider your situation before applying. We have had trainees who unfortunately have had to leave the program because they weren't in the right situation to be able to freelance. We actually do have a resource on this if you'd like more information before applying, we'll drop a link to our website. We've got a page and quite a freelance in film and TV.
But none of these points are to put you off applying. I just really want you to consider your own situation and make sure you've thought about all the possibilities before you submit your application. Do remember Trainee Finder is here every year. So, if you're not in the position to put your best foot forward this year, we will be back next year. After all that doom and gloom, if you are still, keen to apply, Dalia is now going to chat to you about what you can expect as a trainee.
Dalia Kebire
So for the program, dates we’ll be running them from next year and it is 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. So we ask that when you are accepted on it, you're committed to the year to get the most out of it and if you know you won't be able to commit to the entire year, we recommend trying to apply for the following year just so that you can make the most out of it and get as much as you can.
Within that, we have an induction weekend, which we host on 14, 15, 21, 22 March, which is mandatory to attend. Don't worry about noting these dates down, as they will have them all on the application as well. If you can't make all the days, unfortunately, we won't be able to allow you to continue onto the program. During the weekend, you'll be able to attend an array of workshops, such as finance for freelancers, CV writing, and how to find work. Throughout the year we also aim to run additional development opportunities responding to industry needs. These do change year to year, and this just depends on what productions require trainees to be trained and upskilled on in terms of placement opportunities.
Once we have the information of what productions require, we’ll then do what we call a call out, which is an email to the trainees in the departments needed. So if we have a call out for the camera trainees and we have 20, the call out will go to all 20 individuals. It is then up to the individual trainees to respond if they're keen and let us know if you are available to be considered for the role. We then pass those CV's back to the production and then it's down to the production, not ScreenSkills to make the hiring decisions, whether that's inviting a trainee for an interview, or for offering the placement to them. Once accepted on to a placement, trainees will be part of the production like any other crew member, so the production will be your employer and ScreenSkills will be there to support you and make sure you get the most out of the training opportunity.
Whilst you're on a placement, we ask the trainees complete a progression plan, which is a great tool to set goals for yourself and track your development whilst working on a production. It's worth noting that although, these trainee placements are an entry-level role and offer the opportunity to learn and develop within it they are not work experience placements, so you are expected to work within them. They are full time paid positions five days a week and they usually average around 11 hours per day. If you do secure placement while on the program, you'll be required to work in the production office or shoot location and just to know there rarely is the option to work from home. When it comes to pay, this can also differ from placement to placement and overall will be determined by the production and also what their budget is. So we ask productions to make sure that at the very least, it is the national minimum wage.
We work with productions filming all over the UK, and trainees are welcome to apply for jobs where they live and across the country if they can relocate for them. There isn't an obligation to relocate for jobs, but being open to them will give you an access to higher number of opportunities which you'll notice if you do progress in the industry. It's important to state that at this point during your time on Trainee Finder we will aim to give you opportunities for placements but we can't guarantee them. The demand for trainees does come from productions, and it is hard to predict when and where those productions will take place. So the program does not provide you with a yearlong full time job, and during your time on the program, you will be encouraged to still find your own work outside of this, to be the biggest advocate for yourself, and do your own networking within the industry to help support you find more jobs. It is therefore very important that before applying you think carefully if the format for Trainee Finder suits you at the current point of your life, and if it's something you'll be able to commit to for the full year.
In terms of pastoral support, the high-end TV and film team will offer and provide support in the form of booking in one to ones to go over your CV, interview advice and to do check ins with trainees to see how placements are going so you don't feel like you're making it on your own during the early stage of your career. But more importantly, you'll also get to be part of a very well-established program within the industry. So, productions want to work with us and hire ScreenSkills trainees, as they know you would have gone through a rigorous application process to be on the program. Productions know that we recruit committed and passionate trainees so, whilst on the program you'll become part of the whole cohort, not just your department, and we encourage you to engage and network with your peers, which I'm sure you'll hear about with WhatsApp groups that other cohorts have done. When your time comes to finish in March 2027, you'll then become part of the ScreenSkills Training Alumni group that we aim to still work with and sign-post other relevant ScreenSkills training to.
Katie will now be going through the recruitment process and share some key dates with you.
Katie Cummings
Thank you, Dalia.
We thought it'd be really helpful to give you a bit of an overview of the full recruitment process and the dates that you're working towards. So firstly, we ask for people to research the program, and the best way you can do that is by attending today's webinar. So congratulations to all of you who have tuned in. You've done the first hurdle. Applicants will submit their applications online, which will open as of tonight. So, after this webinar, applications will be live and they will be open until 22 October at 2pm. Any applications submitted after this date will not be processed.
All applications are read by up to three industry readers. So those are people part of your actual industry. Then the ScreenSkills team will review all the scores and collate those. We aim to get back to everyone by 5 January at the absolute latest. At that point, if you are successful in being invited to interview, you'll be shortlisted and given information about this interview in the next few months. You'll be interviewed by an industry professional over Zoom. Everyone will be asked the same series of questions, and will all relate to the interest of your department and your commitment to the industry, and don't worry, we'll be going through some interview advice shortly. At the end of the interview process, all trainees will be selected based on the initial criteria that we spoke about, and your suitability and potential to succeed and demonstrate how you'll make the most out of this course. Finally, if you are successful, you'll be invited to join Trainee Finder and we have a mandatory induction weekend in March, and that will just get you prepared to start the program in April.
So now Dalia is going to give you some useful tips for when applying.
Dalia Kebire
So we've got five top tips for you.
First one is do your research. It sounds simple, but we want to see why you want to work specifically in your chosen department. So reference the sort of tasks someone in the department does and explain how you might be qualified. There are plenty of online resources to check out, including our e-learning modules on finding the right role for you, job profiles and skills checklists for an overview of each position, as well as other industry resources like Play Your Way into Production, a game which simulates a day on an unscripted production set. So the idea is look around. There's plenty to find. Ask people.
Number two, talk about your transferable skills. It's fine if you haven't had that much experience before. We just want to see how you can apply the experience you do have to the role you're looking to get into. The job profile pages, the skills checklists on our website can help you find the specific trainee role for you and align the skills that you have already.
Three, why Trainee Finder? It's a simple one but show how you'd benefit specifically from getting on to this experience. This can include barriers that you're already facing with your career progression,
Four, use examples. So trying to avoid making generalized statements like “I'm really organized”, maybe try and apply that and say “I'm really organized, I was able to develop this skill whilst working on a short film with a small crew, where I was solely responsible for the costume department.” It's interesting, it contextualizes your experience and helps us see where you've applied yourself.
Number five is show us that you're really passionate and dedicated and that this is what you want to do. We want to see that you can benefit from the program. So tell us all the things you have been doing to try and get into the industry already. This can be working on short films, personal projects, watching YouTube videos about the department you want to get into, sending your CV to productions, honing your craft and simply attending networking events.
So via the application form which we'll share at the end of the session, you'll be able to submit your answers either through written form or through a link if you want to take a video instead. At ScreenSkills, while we're looking for your own approach and style, we do understand that tools like ChatGPT exist and if used in the correct way, can be useful to help you write your personal statements and applications so you can use these tools to help inspire and clarify your own ideas. But it's also really important to make clear that this is to generate text. It's not a substitute for your own thoughts and experiences. So we want to hear from you and not an AI Bot.
Finally, keep your answers to the point and concise. Think of your reader when you're completing the application form. I'm sure Katie mentioned earlier, we have a lot of applications to get through. So bring as much of yourself as you can. We also ask you to upload your CV, so Katie is going to talk you through some ideas to help you get through.
Katie Cummings
Thanks, Dalia.
So you'll notice when you submit your application, we will ask for a copy of your CV as well. So we thought it'd be helpful to give you a few tips. This is very specific to the Trainee Finder application so it's not necessarily for industry jobs, but this is how we would like you to format your CV.
So firstly we would like you to submit as a one page, one A4 page please in a PDF format. This is an example layout that you could use. We'd like your name very clearly stated at the top. Please state the role and department you're applying for. Don't simply say film maker or student. If you're applying to be a camera trainee, please state that you're a camera trainee and pop in your contact details, any bases where you live if you're willing to relocate. If you would like to include a link to your showreel or portfolio, it's just putting it at the top under a link and do make sure you test it out. But please, it's not mandatory to submit a portfolio and it's not requirement at all. But if you'd like to submit one, please just check that the link works. Also useful to know whether or not you drive at the top.
Then you can go to see lines about yourself. Just to give us a little bit about who you are and why you're applying. Then you should list your work history in reverse order. So start with the most recent at the top and work down. We would ask you to make it really clear what has been paid experience and what hasn't, and if you make it really clear about the length of time. So the month and the year and if it was any dailies work just literally write “dailies” beside the line so we can assess, because as I said you have to have had less than 12 months paid experience. So just make that really clear on your CV. Equally, if you've had any work outside of the screen industry, please do include this and just be sure to note any transferable skills.
Then you can list your education and qualifications, any interests and languages. Please, please pop a GDPR statement at the bottom. Just so we are allowed to share it amongst the team. Sounds very obvious but please make sure you get someone to check your CV. Get a few people to check it. Check the spelling. You can obviously use tools like Grammarly.
And then just lastly, when you are saving your CV, if you could just save it with your name and the department that you are applying to. So as I mentioned before, there will be an interview process if you are shortlisted. So Dalia is going to talk you through some ways you can prepare for the interview.
Dalia Kebire
So how you prepare to make the best impression possible is… so these Zoom calls will last around 20 minutes. They'll be with two industry professionals who work within your chosen department. Therefore, it's worth thinking about how to tick the boxes from both an industry perspective, but also demonstrate how a program like Trainee Finder can benefit you.
So the interview advice here will be split into three. So before the interview, preparation is everything. Make sure you research your specific role. So again, the job profiles, the skills checklist. You can find so much on our website already about what the roles entail. So make sure to have a look and have those even in front of you whilst you're in the interview to remind yourself. Research more about your department and how it fits within the wider productions in other departments. If you can find a way to link them, that's extra brownie points.
You'll be interviewed by someone who works within your department. So, for example, if you're a location trainee, you might be interviewed by location manager or a location supervisor. So maybe prepare a couple of questions specific to that department. It's another chance to gain some valuable insight into the job you're aspiring for. Even if you don't get the job, you found out something extra that you can use for another interview.
During the interview, you can answer all the questions to the best of your ability. Use examples when talking about skills, and if you don't have production experience, talk about your transferable skills that relate to your trainee role. Something that I spoke with, a couple of alumni before was sit down and look at your CV and pinpoint exactly the kinds of experiences and skills you've gained, and apply it in your interview. There is so much that you can get from your CV and your experiences. So dumb it down so that you can explain as much as you can about the great things that you are capable of and can do on the program and ask questions. It's your opportunity to ask questions to someone who is working in the department, so you can find out more about how it's more tailored to you.
After the interview, if you're accepted onto the program, you'll receive a confirmation email from us that details the next steps and induction days. If you're not offered a place, please don't be deterred. We have had a couple of people who've applied in previous years and come back with a stronger application. So, again, don't be deterred. Do the best that you can. And due to the high volume of applications and interviews, we aren't able to give targeted individual feedback. However, we do try and signpost you to other areas for new entrant support.
Katie Cummings
Thanks Dalia. So, I can see we have loads of questions coming in which is amazing, and our team behind the scenes are working really hard to get back to you with everything. However, now we are going to invite some of our lovely alumni in and we're going to be asking them some questions about their time on Trainee Finder.
So I'm going to pass over to Dalia and Nali.
Dalia Kabire
So first I'd like to welcome Nali, who is on the program in the art department during 2023-24 and worked on a few different productions, starting as a trainee on Black Cake and Lost Boys and Fairies to working as an assistant art director on Hostage, and is now a lead graphic designer on an ITV drama called Believe Me. Thank you, Nali, for coming on. Could you tell us what made you apply to ScreenSkills Trainee Finder in the first place, and were you struggling to access the industry prior to joining?
Nali Ikachana, ScreenSkills art trainee, Trainee Finder 2023-24 alum
Yeah, so I think with me I had less than twelve [months] experience in the industry. I had a taste of the industry and I wanted more. So when I heard about ScreenSkills it was just like everything I needed, because I had that experience, but then I was just like, I want to keep going. Like, what's next?
When I read about ScreenSkills, I think it was actually just by chance as well. It was just everything that I needed because I think when you're starting off all you really kind of need is that support because it's just it's a world that no one really speaks about. But then when you do know what's going on, it's like a really amazing, thing to be a part of.
So, yeah, I applied to ScreenSkills because I fell in love with the art department, and I just needed more because for me, it was a career change. I was actually a youth worker before, and I just wanted something that was different. But I'm also very creative and an artist as well. So when I joined the art department, I just thought ScreenSkills could just build upon my natural abilities, but I could also get trained in film. So I had a bit more structure.
Access is hard in the industry, but I think ScreenSkills was just that bridge, that I needed, which just provided like such a good framework and such a good support for me to just navigate this world that was so unknown for me. But it became… now, like, everything, it's just so, you know, film and TV is just so much a part of my world right now. So, yeah, that's my answer to that.
Dalia Kebire
I know you've had some great credits as well, and something actually, that we wanted to take a look at is, you're based in Wales. Have you predominantly work there with you found yourself having to move around to get onto the kinds of jobs that you have already?
Nali Ikachana
Yeah. So, initially I did start in Wales. It was Black Cake. And then when I did ScreenSkills, I did Lost Boys and Fairies. But then, I actually got offered a feature film in Kent, and that's when I just passed my test as well, my driving test. So I just had to be brave and go straight on the motorway because I just knew, like, this was just an opportunity.
So I've done some work in England. Hostage was in England. But that was with actually a Welsh based designer. So I found, while working in the industry… Yeah, so a lot of work I do is in Wales. Sometimes if you do build relationships with designers, you will just travel with them. So I, for example, Hostage was filmed in Hemel Hempstead, close to like Hertfordshire. So I was gone for six months last year while planning a wedding and moving house. So that was like… that does come with its challenges. But then also straight after Hostage, I got offered a job in Bristol, which is an hour away from Wales, so I had to commute, every day, which, you know it is difficult.
So, yes, working in Wales… I love working in Wales because it's home and the commute is shorter, and it's a really great team. But I also find in this industry, if you do want to progress, if you do want to just build your network and have different exposure to things, I think you just have to be willing to, put yourself in just, different situations and even if it means traveling.
Dalia Kebire
Yeah, I'm really glad you mentioned that you built your network in Wales. And that also led to other jobs as well, because that shows that no matter where you are, the network you have is great. So, what is your day-to-day look like now versus being a trainee? Have there been any changes in the work environment and tasks? Because lots of people ask, am I working on set, am I working in the office?
Nali Ikachana
So for me it's, because I'm… I now work in the world of graphics. So, mainly office based. So I'm mainly in the office, but when I was a trainee, in the art department, my role was to support the department. So it was a lot of like, I was in the office, but also, like, running around a lot doing pickups or, just sometimes being on set to deliver stuff. So as a trainee, I was just there to like, support people, and that meant me being in the office or out of the office. Like every day is kind of different when you're a trainee.
But now I'm just predominantly in the office, with much more responsibility. And it’s so, so different. But I found that being when I started as a trainee to where I am now it's, you know, you just put up with every job. It's like a new skill, and you know, you’re progressing, a different way. So yeah, that's how it's been. The biggest difference, I think, is responsibility. When you're not a trainee anymore, there's definitely a level of expectation and trust that is placed upon you now because you have more experience. So as a trainee, I really encourage everyone, really utilize if you get on this trainee scheme to, like, be a trainee in the sense of you are literally learning and have fun with it. But also just be super available and have a really good attitude and build that trust with your colleagues. And you can just find yourself as a trainee… I was doing so many different things, whether I was helping graphics, being in set dec, I was on set doing sometimes… I ended up in construction at one point, just because I wanted, you know, to give a hand in within the art department. So, yeah, training and where I am now is actually very different, but it's all been so led to something.
Dalia Kebire
So you spoke a bit about how you moved from job to job, but I'd love for you to sort of pinpoint what would you say your progression has... how have you been able to go from job to job? What would you say is the main thing that's helped you sustain a career in the industry?
Nali Ikachana
I think that's a question to ask all the people hiring me, why me? I think something people have given me feedback about, just to be honest, is attitude to work is really big. In the industry, you can be the best graphic designer or best at drawing or have, the best skills, but having a good attitude and just willing to work and willing to, be a team player takes you really far because in departments you spend so many hours with people. Literally, I see people in my, you know, workplace more than I see my family. So it's really important that you can work really well in the team. So just come into work with a positive attitude and just really work hard as a trainee, I really threw myself in.
I'm doing graphics now, but when I started, as a trainee, I had no Photoshop, no Adobe skills, I had nothing. I was just honest and the graphic designer on a job, he was like, I’ll just train you. So, I just learned everything, on the job, but I did my own personal learning. And then through every job I've just built and built skills to the point that I'm now leading a team. So it's just, whatever department you go into just really throw yourself in because a lot of people apply and it's such an amazing opportunity to be on this scheme. So it's like, I just really fully dived into it. I learned everything I needed to do. I asked all these questions, and I think I just constantly made myself available to everyone in the team because even with hiring, I found that it wasn't just, like, designers who hired me. I had people from production give me cause to be like, there's a trainee [role]… like do you want to be a trainee in this job? I've had people from accounts be like, oh, they're looking for people. So it's just having a good attitude with it.
Just everyone in the production, I feel like has really benefited me because I've not always just had jobs from designers. It's a lot has come from like Set Dec, even like production managers. So yeah, I think attitude is a really big thing to have.
Dalia Kebire
Yeah, definitely. Outside of the placements during Trainee Finder, was there anything that you learned on the programme that helped you navigate life as a freelancer in the industry? Just because there's so much that happens on it and everyone has such different experiences. What was that like for you and what did you learn?
Nali Ikachana
Yeah, I think outside of the Trainee Finder, it's just I think… you know, we touched upon… it's just like the life of freelancing just how to just like, you know, it's not a full-time yearly job. And I think one thing that ScreenSkills was really good at is like, yes, they want to, you know, get you on productions. But I learned how to just navigate like the life of freelancing and, yes, it's important to like get the next job, but also not placing my whole identity in like the work that I do. I think this has been so key for my own personal, mental health. All I can say is, I can only do my best and the right jobs will come. I think having that mentality has really helped me and just managing expectations because I think it's really a lot of people do make this industry a big part of their identity, and it's amazing and it's great. We work on really cool things. But I think, outside of the placement, just putting less pressure on myself and really just letting the work speak for myself and not making it so part of my identity that if I don't get the next job, I don't want to then be like depressed and really sad and be like, oh, my worth is really low. But really just, yeah, do my best. But not putting too much pressure that it crushes me. I don't know if I'm making sense there.
Dalia Kebire
Yeah, that makes absolute sense. Thank you so much, Nali. I'm sure everyone really benefited from the honesty you have given. We're going to move on to Katie now, who'll be speaking to Anton. Thanks again, Nali.
Katie Cummings
Thank you. Hello, Anton. Welcome.
Anton Arenko, ScreenSkills locations trainee, Trainee Finder 2023-24 alum
Hi, everyone. Thank you.
Katie Cummings
Anton was a location's trainee with us. He's worked on some incredible films, including, Venom: The Last Dance, Good Boy, Silo and Bridget Jones: Mad about the Boy, which I was watching last night.
So, Anton, thank you for taking the time to chat to us today. First of all, I'd love to start with, when were you on Trainee Finder and what was it that made you apply in the first place?
Anton Arenko
Yes. So I was on, the ScreenSkills Trainee Finder between 2023-24. This ended up getting impacted, through the SAG actors strike. So that was quite interesting to go through. But my journey to get onto the Trainee Finder was quite an interesting one.
So firstly, to say I don't live in a production hub, I live in Blackpool. So, basically I'm, It was a bit of a challenge getting in and everything like that. But what happened was the previous year I had took an opportunity to go down to London to take a job as a production coordinator at a live streaming company, and I didn't feel that the position there and the job role, great experience as it was, it didn't suit my- it didn't suit me. But it was my first job outside university in a production environment so equipped me some really good skills.
What happened was someone messaged me from, my old university course and said – I was still living in London at the time – Oh, there's a horror film shooting nearby campus. I was like, okay. So I managed to get in touch with the production through a friend of a friend, and they basically were looking for runners. So I got there and there were too many runners, so they basically kind of redrafted me to the locations department, which I had never heard of. You don't really get an introduction to the locations department at university. So it was my first time getting into it, and I got really interested in it because it felt like it bridged the gap that I had a university where I wasn't as technically minded… I could be creative to a degree, but my biggest skill and I would encourage everyone who thinks of Trainee Finder and the role they want to do to think about this, what fits your skill set? And I'm a very good organizer, planner and I don't mind getting stuck in and hands on.
So when I got into the locations department on that film, I got speaking to location assistant Christian, who had done the Trainee Finder and he said it really helped him get into the industry. So after that experience, I filled in an application and, was very surprised to get an interview and then even more shocked to get a place on it and it really gave me the start I needed.
So my placement was on Venom: The Last Dance, and it really helped me set me up. But as I say, it did get impacted. But then I got on another, another production, Good Boy. So that wasn't affected by the strikes so I was very grateful to get on that other one, and that was shot up in Leeds and it was a few other places as well. So yeah, really good.
Katie Cummings
That's brilliant, and I really like how you say you worked out what your skills are and how you applied those. So just drawing on that a little bit more, could you explain what it is about the locations department that you're really drawn to, and what key skills you feel like are needed for a location trainee?
Anton Arenko
I feel locations… It's the thing that gets me up in the morning, it gets me out of bed. My office is a different, can be a different location every week or even every day, depending on the scale of the production and everything. I think the thing is, it's just the challenge of it. Like I say, you need to you need to be a people person. I think because you're speaking to owners, you're speaking to businesses, councils, other departments as well, finding out what you can and can't do on a particular location and what's been agreed. So it's balancing all that, and it's also just setting it up and facilitating moves and everything.
So you just need to be due diligent. You need to basically have good people skills and, what Nali said, I think you really do need to have a really good attitude and good head on the shoulders. Because unfortunately I've seen people with poor attitude on set and they don't get hired again. They don't. So it's really just to be, accept the fact that you're going to be the first on set, you're going to be the last to leave. While everyone's eating their lunch, you'll still be doing your job. Your lunch will get to you, it'll be cold, accept that. It's just about being able to do hard graft, get stuck in and do a job that needs to be done. People recognize things as well, just all those kind of, you know, if you are willing to stay later and stuff, people recognize that and hence why I've helped to get jobs afterwards and stuff. So it's all about the work you put in basically.
Katie Cummings
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's brilliant advice. You've painted a great picture there, and you did slightly allude to it when you first talked about your first placement, but you've obviously, before you came to Trainee Finder, you were in sort of full time, steady employment, and then you made the leap to freelancing.
Anton Arenko
Yes.
Katie Cummings
So how did you find that while navigating that, was there anything you really struggled with?
Anton Arenko
Yes. So obviously you have to take stock of the situation. What had happened, it was a big upending of my life because I went from being based down London, taking that job, freelancing that little bit, and then going back up to, living my parents again. So I was like, okay, I really want to commit to this. I've got a place on this Trainee Finder, I have to adapt.
So it's very fortunate in Blackpool, there's a lot of hospitality venues. So I got with a hospitality agency. This allowed me to balance my experience on the Trainee Finder as well as obviously, you know, earning a living as well. So I'd recommend, I mean, that was really good for myself.
I'd say, for example, if say, for example, you're a costume designer, if you do maybe… like if you've got like your own little business and do custom tailoring and stuff like that, you could do that outside to support yourself when you're not doing that kind of work. So it's finding a kind of a balance that can fit something that fit’s round that you can kind of pick up and do again when you're not doing the film. It's just about managing your money, your time and everything. Accepting you might not… you might be really busy, for example, I've just been in the southeast, on a production and I stayed, I didn't go back up. I stayed the entire month or whatever. And it's just about that thing. Like you say, in the introduction, you’re either for that or you’re not. And it's something that you can adapt to but it takes a certain character to do it. It's not easy. It’s just an adjustment thing, I think.
Katie Cummings
Absolutely. I think that's a really honest answer so thank you.
I'm very conscious of time, but I know you have some fabulous advice for anyone who would like to be a trainee on securing jobs, so I'd love for you to share it with everyone listening as your last piece of advice.
Anton Arenko
My last piece of advice would be pick up the phone. I know this is maybe old school advice. But basically I have got thousands of pounds worth of jobs by picking up the phone, and I'll tell you why.
So I'll give you a good example. So when I was on Trainee Finder, I just applied for anything locations that came my way, because I just wanted to take every opportunity that I could do, and basically, a location manager got in touch with me and wanted me for a series, but Venom I had already agreed to and it was slightly longer. I mean, the strike was not known to have happened yet. So I had to unfortunately decline him. I saw he posted for a job on a Facebook group, and I still had his number from his email signature. The thing to think of is that if you see a phone number, an email signature, there's a way to contact that person. So I picked up the phone and said, “Hi Joel, how you doing? It's Anton. I applied last year.” “Oh, hi Anton, how are you doing?” “I just wanted to… basically, I saw you posted, for location marshal position for a couple of weeks on Missing You. I'd be available.” He said, let me get back to you, and within two hours, I had the job. It's 3,000 pounds worth of work there.
So I'd say that if you have those kind of things or literally if you've worked with someone before and again, you see them post a job, just phone them. The worst thing they can say is I cannot talk to you right now, I'm really busy, you know? But people like initiative taking and it's also… I would hire that person because basically that kind of person is the person that basically when they get on set and they see an issue, are you going to sit back and let someone else deal with that? Or you can take initiative, take responsibility. It's the difference between you getting your next job or not working at all. So choice is yours. Pick up the phone.
Katie Cummings
I think that's brilliant, Anton, and a great note to end on. So, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.
We're going to move on quite quickly. I'm going to pass over to Dalia and Joanna.
Dalia Kebire
Hi, Joanna. So, Joanna is a production manager at UPM, she started in the industry in 2007 at the age of 17 and worked in live TV, fashion, documentaries and commercials before settling in scripted. She's been working on HETV and features since 2018, working on shows such as Bridgerton, Black Doves and most recently, House of the Dragon before going on maternity leave in June. So, we've worked very closely with Joanna on placing loads of trainees so the first and most important question is why is it that you work with ScreenSkills to get trainees?
Joanna Osborn, production manager
So I think the main reason for us going to ScreenSkills is you have a great pool of trainees that are genuinely motivated to build a proper career in the industry, and they have a real interest in the departments that they have been placed in. The cohort of trainees, they've already demonstrated a certain level of initiative by getting themselves actually onto the scheme, and it does a great job of preparing people, before they start their placement. So when they arrive to set, they've already got a basic understanding of, you know, how things work, what's expected, and I think the support structure that you offer with Trainee Finder makes a huge difference, both for the trainees but also for us the production team.
Along with all of those things, we also, we get funding, on the production for having trainees from Trainee Finder. So typically it's our first port of call for trainees because of that reason. So that has a huge impact as well for us from a budget point of view.
Dalia Kebire
So what top qualities do you look for when taking on a trainee?
Joanna Osborn
A lot of them, I think, have been touched upon already. So the two that we just spoke to, kind of touched upon a bit. Attitude is really everything. You don't have to know it all. Not everybody knows it all when they start. I certainly didn't when I was 17. But we like seeing enthusiasm, people showing initiative, reliability, and curiosity, a real willingness to, to kind of muck in, and it's that understanding that everyone and everything, no matter how small it is, contributes to the bigger picture. So, you know, don't think that something is kind of beneath you. Show good communication, positive mindset. Those things go really long way and, you know, show up on time and pay attention, and have a real genuine enthusiasm that you want to learn. Those, those sorts of traits really stand out with the trainees.
Dalia Kebire
So, for someone who's never worked in the industry, is there anything a trainee should expect around working on a production or mainly as a freelancer that they might not know? Or you've encountered trainees not knowing that you wish that they did?
Joanna Osborn
I think, if you've never worked in the industry, it's not 9-to-5. That's like one of the biggest things, which, again, has been touched upon. I feel like we do hammer it, make quite a point of making that known. It's not a 9-to-5, the days are long. There's lots of early starts, late finishes, night shoots, maybe split days. It can be kind of anti-social, sometimes weekend work. You may have to relocate for jobs – they can really be anywhere – if you're willing to. And then maybe travel because the shoot… there's various studios in all different parts of London, so you're going to have to travel to get to work. Or we might be shooting on location a different day every day, different place, every day. So I think those are the kind of the big things.
Also, you have periods of intense work, where you might have projects back-to-back, but then you have quiet periods where you're looking for work. I think that kind of peak and trough of the workflow can be difficult to manage. So, it's important, you know, plan your finances and your mental approach to that carefully to handle the ebb and flow of freelance life. You know, you could be rushed off your feet one week and then not working the next, and that can be quite jarring. I think if you thrive on routine and predictability, it might take some adjusting to get used to the freelance world. But if you're adaptable, you like variety and teamwork, it can be really rewarding.
Dalia Kebire
And last question, seeing as you've worked on both film and high-end TV, what's the main thing that you'd say is the biggest difference between working on both of those?
Joanna Osborne
I think with features – feature films – you typically will have a shorter shoot than high-end TV, and you've got one script so that allows more time for getting into the creative detail and logistical planning, and it can, be a different kind of pace. With high-end TV, they are typically longer shoots, and we shoot in blocks. So, you have blocks of episodes, and each block may have a different director, DP and first AD. So you're almost in the different stages of production at all time. So you could be shooting one episode whilst prepping for the next, and wrapping the previous. So it's very much kind of fast paced and lots of things all going on at once. And that's kind of the big differences.
With a feature we might have… the scripts you typically will have the script up front because that's just one. And that gets, you know, tweaked as you go. Whereas with episodic TV, you might start shooting the series and you've only got episodes one and two, and there's another six episodes that you haven't even got the scripts for yet. So you've got no real understanding of what's coming. It could be episode one and two are all daytime, and then the rest are shot at night and you've got all these night shoots coming that you had no idea about at the start. You’re kind of at the will of the writer really. So, it can be a bit more chaotic. There's a lot of emphasis on collaboration, and the tone with high-end TV, because you've got multiple creative heads all feeding into the same project, whereas with a feature, you typically have that one, you know, “the director is king” person who is kind of leading the charge. Whereas with high-end TV, it’s much more collaborative with lots of creative influence from above. They're both demanding, in very different ways, and both require a strong production team. That's not just the production office, but, you know, all the departments, who can kind of, stay calm and organized and, and be supportive under pressure.
Dalia Kebire
That was a great answer because, people don't realize with the whole blocks and shorter time. So that makes a big difference. Thank you so much, Joanna, for coming on and answering those questions.
On to the Q&A with Esther.
Esther Rowland, Junior New Entrant Coordinator
Hi everyone. I'm Esther, I'm the Junior New Entrant Coordinator in the HETV department.
We asked you to put forward some questions when you signed up to this webinar, but I'm just going to keep it down to two just because we're running out of time. So the first question is for Dalia, will trainees be expected to relocate for work?
Dalia Kebire
So, as you guys would have heard before, you don't have to relocate. But you'll often find that we can't guarantee where productions will be happening. So often you might be encouraged to try going to different places, opening up a new network. We do understand the course is difficult to relocate for work, whether that's due to access, finance. So, the idea is we encourage being open to relocation, but if you do find work in your local area, that's great.
Esther Rowland
Thanks, Dalia, for that.
The next question is for Katie. Do I need to have a driving license?
Katie Cummings
I will answer this quickly. I know we have addressed, the driving issue, and the answer is no. You do not need to have a license in order to apply for Trainee Finder or to be eligible. But as we touched upon earlier and you'll have heard from our fabulous alumni, you may have to work in remote locations that are quite difficult to access by public transport. So it's just really important to think before you apply how you can get to work and what you're willing to do. Are you open to relocating nearer a studio? We've had trainees that have done that before. Or have you got alternatives of getting to work? So it's not a requirement, but it can be a reality of the industry and it might rule you out of certain jobs just because of the production location.
Esther Rowland
Thanks, Katie.
Katie Cummings
I'll just add sorry very quickly, if you are concerned about if you don't currently drive and we know it's a very and big financial barrier, ScreenSkills do you have bursaries to help you driving, once you've chosen your department and you're classified as early careers.
Esther Rowland
Thanks so much for that.
So if there were questions that we weren't able to answer, the team will put the contact information in the chat so that you can put those questions forward to us and that they will be answered.
So Katie's now going to talk about, what to do next if you're keen to apply.
Katie Cummings
Yes. Thank you very much, Esther.
We are very much out of time, so I'm just going to do a very quick wrap up. So you've had all of the information from us today and hopefully you find it really useful, but, applications will open once we are finished this webinar and we will pop the link in here.
So just a quick little summary of what we expect from you. First of all, you should be researching the trainee job roles by using our website, research the department. We've got some fantastic resources including job profiles and skills checklists. Please do use them. They're really helpful. And prepare your CV, again, as I mentioned using a PDF format.
And we advise you to do some online e-learning, which is free via our website. So there's certain modules we really feel like would benefit you. And we've listed these here. One is Getting Into the Screen Industries, which is about five modules. And we'll link these as well. They give really great tips about what the screen industries are like as well as interview techniques and the other four listed are part of our Work Well series and these are just great to do generally for all crew, and they also look great on your CV as well. So we really advise you to do these.
We will also link a Padlet with various resources that we've talked about today and please do utilize this. It also has some career resources for anyone who is maybe feeling Trainee Finder is not the right option for them. And those resources include ones all over the UK and some very great local resources. So please do read up on that.
I'm sorry, I'm speaking very fast because I'm very aware we're out of time. Applications will be open this evening and they will be open until 2pm on Wednesday 29 October. Unfortunately, any applications beyond that time will not be accepted. We'll aim to get back to everyone at the latest on 5 January.