BBC Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen announce new employment and skills initiative with Minister for Communities
Date Posted: March 8, 2022
BBC Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen today announced a new initiative which aims to broaden access to the screen and creative industries at entry level.
The Creative Industries New Entrants programme (CINE) has been made possible through funding from the Covid Recovery Programme Employment & Skills Initiative, launched by Minister for Communities Deirdre Hargey in January.
CINE will deliver tailored 12-18 month placements designed to kick start a career within the creative and screen industries in Northern Ireland. The scheme will help identify new talent, specifically targeting those from disadvantaged backgrounds, with BBC Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen working in partnership to open the industry to the next generation and unlock the potential of the creative sector.
New entrants will receive formal training covering necessary skills such as production techniques, idea generation, communication and teamwork, and will then be given the opportunity to put these into practice in a placement leading to permanent employment within the screen and creative industries. CINE will target a wide range of disciplines from broadcasting, television production and online content, to games and animation.
BBC Northern Ireland Interim Director Adam Smyth, said: “If you have passion, enthusiasm and drive for television and film production, this could be just the opening you have been looking for. One of our key priorities is to offer genuine life-changing opportunities to people who, traditionally, might be less likely to secure them. By bringing people of all ages together with different backgrounds, perspectives and capabilities, we hope that the blend of insight and on-the-job learning can only lead to some outstanding experiences and enhance the long term career prospects for everyone involved.”
Richard Williams, Chief Executive of Northern Ireland Screen, said: “We are very grateful for the support from Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey and the Department for Communities to be able to launch CINE along with BBC Northern Ireland today. Skills development is key to the growth of the screen industries in Northern Ireland, and we are strongly committed to promoting and creating diversity and inclusion to attract the best people from all backgrounds. CINE will enable us to provide an inclusive and accessible career pathway into the creative sector for entrants from a broad range of backgrounds, who may otherwise not have had the opportunity.”
Minister Hargey said: “Following my announcement on 31 January, I am delighted that this scheme for the Creative Industries sector, funded through my department’s Employment & Skills Initiative, is being outlined in more detail today. Whilst Creative Industries is a growth sector, there is a need to create a pipeline of new talent; suitably skilled people to enable that growth to be maintained. I am also delighted that the BBC, in partnership with NI Screen, is using the Employment & Skills Initiative to provide opportunities for those who may not ordinarily enter employment in this sector. The multiyear investment, the first of its kind, will allow this partnership to provide salaried, meaningful experience and training, leading to sustained employment. Good quality jobs for deserving people, leading to an important infrastructure boost for a valuable sector”.
Details of how to apply for the CINE programme will be announced in due course.
