U.K. Crew Shortage Will Reach a Breaking Point Unless 1% of Production Budgets Go Toward Training, BFI Study Finds

variety.com:

Naman Ramachandran Critical crew shortages caused by the ongoing U.K. production boom can be alleviated by an industry-led investment approach, a study published by the British Film Institute (BFI) recommends.Film and high-end television production spend in the U.K.

reached over $7.65 billion in 2021 and is forecast to hit $9.3 billion by 2025. A skills review commissioned by the U.K. Department of Digital, Media, Culture and Sport and executed by the BFI found that the boom is leading to increasing crew shortages at all levels, which are beginning to negatively impact the industry and contribute to highly stressed workplaces.

The consequent production budget rises are affecting the independent sector most acutely, the review found. U.K. production will require up to 20,770 additional full-time employees by 2025, needing an overall training investment of over £104 million ($128 million) a year, a figure which is approximately 1.4% of the projected level of production spend that year.To meet the eye-watering demand, the production sector needs to contribute at least 1% of all production budgets to train their existing and future workforce, the review concludes.The 1% could include contributions to the ScreenSkills film and high-end TV skills funds; spend on initiatives, which productions run themselves or which they outsource to training providers and partners; and contributions to the government’s apprenticeship levy providing they are spent on crew skills and training.“The problem is serious and does need to be industrialized and needs an industrialized solution,” Ben Roberts, CEO of the BFI, told a media briefing discussing the review.“If we can get this right, as well as investing in our crew and capitalizing on the.