Channel 4 and the National Film and Television School (NFTS) agree new three-year partnership to boost training & development across the Nations & Regions

9 February 2023

Channel 4 and the National Film and Television School (NFTS) today announced a new three-year partnership to provide practical training and development for the independent production sector across the Nations and Regions.

Over the next three years, this partnership will develop and deliver a range of free face-to-face and online training sessions targeting specific industry skills gaps. Produced and co-ordinated by the NFTS and Channel 4’s Leeds-based 4Skills* team, the sessions will offer training for people looking to kickstart or enhance their careers. Starting in February, the new partnership kicks off with three specialist programmes led by NFTS Scotland, NFTS Cymru Wales and NFTS Leeds:

• a five-day factual editing training course led by NFTS Scotland helping edit assistants develop their skills through practice.
• a six-day practical self-shooting training programme for female producers, led by NFTS Leeds and NFTS Cymru Wales, ran in partnership with the BBC.
• a series of online masterclasses to be held at the end of February, focused on business leadership and management in TV production.

As the partnership continues, further training priorities will be identified and announced. In addition, the NFTS and 4Skills will provide opportunities for those looking to kickstart their careers in the sector through a programme of careers events and scholarships.

Sinéad Rocks, Managing Director Nations and Regions at Channel 4 said: “It’s great to be building on our long-standing relationship with the NFTS to support the independent production sector by growing the industry’s skills base and nurturing new talent. Since 4Skills launched in October 2021, the NFTS has been one of our most valued partners in our aim to support the creative industries by generating opportunities for thousands of people regardless of their background, and tackle skills gaps across the whole of the UK.”

Jon Wardle, National Film and Television School Director, added: “We are incredibly proud of our on-going relationship with 4Skills and our joint commitment to developing talent at all levels within the industry. Plugging the gaps in skills provision and sustaining the ever-increasing requirements of production companies across the UK remains vital. This joined up partnership has already achieved so much and we look forward to another three years of working together to provide world class training and even more inspiring opportunities for the creative industries.”

In 2022, NFTS and 4Skills delivered two weeks of free online training sessions and masterclasses featuring insights from industry professionals. They also delivered two separate face-to-face courses on self-shooting and drama writing, as well as providing a series of UK wider taster days and bursary opportunities. The NFTS also managed industry placements for ten Leeds-based trainees with no previous broadcast experience, alongside Channel 4 drama commission Dance School from Duck Soup Films as part of a 4Skills training scheme.

Ends

For further information:

Hope Hamilton/Corporate Press Officer/ HHamilton@Channel4.co.uk / 07759 702359

Notes to Editors

For more information about how to apply to the courses, visit: https://careers.channel4.com/4skills

 

*About 4Skills

Based in Channel 4’s national HQ in Leeds, 4Skills aims to introduce the media industry to thousands of people in the UK as well as help develop the careers of those already working in broadcasting and production. Last year 4Skills reached more than 23,000 people by investing £5 million in training, development and learning opportunities across the UK.

This included: 4Schools, a major project to engage 11-14-year-olds with the television and creative industries, reaching 19,000 pupils in West Yorkshire, the North-East, the North-West, the West and the West Midlands; 40 apprenticeship placements in Channel 4’s offices in Leeds, London, Manchester and Glasgow; 51 Production Trainees, 75% of which were based in the Nations and Regions and 47 Content Creative placements as part of a 14-week programme in Leeds and Manchester.

4Skills also helped develop the careers of those already in the creative industries through the Momentum Project with We Are Parable for 60 black filmmakers, and content creators in Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow and London; the Factual Fast Track Scheme that helps ambitious Producers and Series Producers work on larger scale productions in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and the West; the Nations and Regions based SuperSizer development programme, supporting the growth of Development Executives to win high value commissions, the TV Drama New Writers Scheme based in the West and South-West, NFTS free online training sessions and masterclasses, and The Talent Development Partnership with New Writing North supporting new television writers in the North of England.

In January 2023, it was announced that Channel 4 would double its annual £5m investment in training and development budget from 2025.

https://careers.channel4.com/4skills

 

About Channel 4

Channel 4 exists to create change through entertainment. Publicly owned yet commercially funded, Channel 4 generates significant and sustainable cultural, economic and social impact across the UK – at no cost to the taxpayer.

The broadcaster’s distinctive remit is set by Parliament, and it has a role to represent unheard voices, challenge with purpose and reinvent entertainment. For 40 years, it has been a British success story, engaging generation after generation of young people.

Through a unique publisher-broadcaster model, Channel 4 commissions its content from the UK independent production sector. Working with around 300 creative companies every year, Channel 4 makes a major contribution to the local, regional and national economy, creating and supporting thousands of jobs and businesses across the country.

In 2020, Channel 4 launched its Future4 strategy to become a digital-first public service media company and to continue to deliver significant impact for UK audiences and investment into the UK creative economy.

Across its bases in London, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol and Glasgow, Channel 4 is turbocharging its efforts to find, nurture and develop talent across the UK. Through its training and development initiative 4Skills, Channel 4 is opening up opportunities in broadcasting, with a particular focus on disadvantaged young people, and addressing skills gaps across the Nations and Regions.

Channel 4 has the UK’s biggest free streaming service, All 4, plus 11 television channels including: Channel 4, E4, E4 Extra, More4, Film4, 4Seven and The Box Plus Network. Through Film4 Productions, Channel 4 also invests in British filmmakers to huge critical acclaim, producing 37 Oscar wins and 84 BAFTA wins in its history.

https://www.channel4.com/

 

About the National Film and Television School (NFTS)

The NFTS is one of the world’s leading film, games and television schools and celebrated its landmark 50th anniversary in 2021. The School has been listed as one of The Hollywood Reporter’s Top 15 International Film Schools for over a decade and in 2018 received the BAFTA for Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema. NFTS alumni have gone on to win 14 Oscars and 162 BAFTAs with graduates including: double Oscar winning cinematographer Roger Deakins (1917) creator of global Netflix hit Sex Education Laurie Nunn and BAFTA winning director, Lynne Ramsay (You Were Never Really Here). The NFTS is a registered charity (313429). For more information see nfts.co.uk.