British film industry launches £20m recruitment drive - accountants, hairdressers and nail technicians wanted

A job in accountancy may not be synonymous with Hollywood glamour.

But in a major recruitment drive led by Bond producer Barbara Broccoli, the British film industry is looking for 10,000 people to plug a skills gap - and accountants are particularly welcome, along with hairdressers, nail technicians, carpenters, caterers, security guards and electricians.

Few people working in those professions realise that they could transfer the skills to a film set. The new £20 million campaign aims to “demystify” the process and explain how to get into the movie business.

It will provide careers advice for school-leavers, bursaries for those from disadvantaged backgrounds, additional qualifications for those who would like to switch industries, and an accreditation scheme enabling young people and their parents to know which courses will be recognised by the film industry.

Amanda Nevill, chief executive of the British Film Institute, devised the campaign following a conversation with Broccoli at Pinewood studios in Buckinghamshire, where the Bond films are made.

“I bumped into Barbara, who was busy filming, and she sat me down and told me we have to do something about skills in this country,” Nevill said. They set up the UK Film Skills Task Force, which is chaired by Broccoli.

“There is every job you could possibly imagine in the film industry. You can be an accountant, a hairdresser, a nail technician, a programmer, a carpenter, an electrician, a caterer. Everybody can have a career - the issue is how to get them into the industry,” Nevill said.

The BFI estimates that 10,000 people will be needed to fill 30,000 jobs over the next five years. Demand has grown because generous tax breaks have helped to make the UK an attractive destination for film-makers.

Last year saw record inward investment and the three top-grossing films at the UK box office - Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them and Bridget Jones’s Baby - were all made in the UK.

In Yorkshire, the region with the fastest growing film and television industry in the UK, the skills shortage is already being felt.

The lavish BBC adaptation of Death Comes to Pemberley, PD James’ sequel to Pride and Prejudice, “could not get security guards”, said Sally Joynson, chief executive of Screen Yorkshire.

“You need skilled security guards on these productions, able to manage the public and tourists and local residents when on location, as well as all the logistics. And we had to bring in guards from Manchester because we couldn’t find any locally.

“The industry needs traineeships for local people, and productions in the regions are so important because if people see filming on their doorstep they can understand that this can be a career for them.”

The new action plan is funded by £20 million of Lottery money. It will also tackle another major problem in the industry: nepotism.

Research undertaken by the BFI found that employers recruit via word of mouth. “If you don’t have those contacts, there are real barriers. And how many people can afford to work on a film for 16 weeks as unpaid work experience,” said Heather Carey of the Work Foundation, who carried out the research.

The informal recruitment process means that those from poorer or ethnic minority backgrounds are under-represented in the industry.

Launching the campaign at the House of Commons, Broccoli said: “We live in a diverse society and it is vital both culturally and commercially that our industry reflects this in front of and behind the camera.

“With industry, education and government uniting behind this, we know we will be able to increase the number of people working in film and ensure we have a representative workforce.”