Berkshire-based cluster awarded £600,000 by British Film Institute to help plug skills gap in UK film and TV production industry

By Giles Gwinnett

19 May 2023

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Shinfield Studios - picture submitted

A Berkshire-based 'Skills Cluster' has been awarded £600,000 by the British Film Institute (BFI) to help more people work in the UK's film and TV production industry, which faces an acute skills shortage.

The cluster comprises Slough-based Resource Productions CIC, Shinfield Studios and the University of Reading, which, together, successfully bid for the funding.

It is part of a wider national programme of investment by the BFI, which will see a total of £9.6m of National Lottery funding over three years. The Berkshire cluster, however, is the only project focused around a single county.

Berkshire is already a well-known destination within the industry, not least due to the ongoing construction of Shinfield Studios.

When complete, this state-of-the-art production facility will become the fourth largest of its kind in the UK.

Nick Smith, joint managing director of Shinfield Studios, said: "When we were looking for a location to build Shinfield Studios we knew that Berkshire had so much to offer. Not least its proximity to London, but the area also has a strong local infrastructure to help meet the needs of producers.

"This includes access to local production talent. The goal is to build on this to help address the wider skills shortage in film production and offer a pathway for local people to a career in this industry.

"With Shinfield Studios less than 12 months away from being fully operational, there will be even more opportunity for employment in this rewarding sector."

Dominique Unsworth MBE, CEO of Resource Productions CIC, added: "After more than two decades organically diversifying the talent supply chain from our not-for-profit in Slough, we are really excited to bring this skills investment into Berkshire.

"It will enable us to drive forward the great work of our partners across education, training, industry and government."

Bafta and Oscar award-winning producer Gareth Ellis-Unwin, best known for the British film 'The King’s Speech', is CEO of Bedlam Film Productions, which is supporting the Berkshire cluster.

"Living locally, I know that Berkshire is already blessed with some incredible resources as a centre for film and TV production, but we need to make best use of our most important asset – our local workforce – whoever and wherever they are. I believe this new skills cluster will be a big boost to that goal," he said.

The scheme also aims to create new opportunities for new entrants to the workforce, including people from underrepresented backgrounds, individuals upskilling, and those over 50s returning to work.

By Giles Gwinnett

Giles Gwinnett is a writer at The Business Magazine. He has been a journalist for more than 20 years and covered a vast array of topics at a range of media settings - in print and online. After his NCTJ newspaper training, he became a reporter in Hampshire before moving to a news agency in Gloucestershire. In recent years, he has been covering the financial markets along with company news for an investor-focused web portal. His many interests include politics, energy and the environment. He lives in Dorset.