Ten Advance on Route to TV Success

TEN up-and-coming TV talents from across the Northwest are finding their paths through the media industry, thanks to a pioneering on-the-job training scheme they have recently completed.

The ten were a handful of people from across the North of England to be selected for Northern Routes, an innovative media training scheme. The scheme saw the successful applicants gain hands-on experience in TV production through a 12-week, paid work placement on a variety of programmes produced in the Northwest, including North West Tonight and Shameless, as well as some new programmes soon to be aired.

Working as Trainee Production Designer on Shameless, Fallowfield’s Jessica Williams found herself designing graphics for props and posters for the production, and sourcing various props from around Manchester. Jessica made her mark on the Shameless team, who have employed her as Production Design Assistant for the rest of the year.

She says: “The scheme has given me a head start onto a very successful production. I hope to prove myself as a hard working member of the team until I am able and ready to progress onto art directing.”

David Leach, based in Chorlton, got thrown in the deep end of Post Production in his traineeship at local production company Lion Eyes, assisting in editing sequences, transferring footage, and conforming images, as well as a variety of other tasks. Since finishing the scheme, David has been offered work as a Casting Researcher, as well as working for an ideas lab.

Hannah Swinglehurst, from Burnage, joined the BBC on a variety of programmes as Production Assistant Trainee, getting involved with all aspects of support for production including arranging crew travel, securing locations and taking part in ideas meetings. Following this introduction to TV, she has now been offered a contract with the BBC.

Rosalind Gildea, from Sale, learned the ropes as a Script Supervisor Trainee for an ITV programme, where she ran through line with actors, and assisted the Script Supervisor. Since the scheme ended Rosalind has gained work as a fully-fledged Script Supervisor.

Holly Lander, from Urmston, joined the Hair and Make Up team on a brand new programme for the BBC, where she learned about wig work and the importance of continuity throughout a production. Following this introduction to hair and make up work, she now has a job at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, where she is exploring her new skills.

Amy Somers, from Rusholme, developed her skills as a Camera Trainee on two separate programmes over the 12 weeks, learning to use different camera lenses and equipment for different types of programmes, and has now accepted a full-time position on a new BBC drama.

She says: “This scheme has given me the opportunity to learn through working as a camera trainee. It has also put me in a position to meet people within the industry, contacts for future employment. It has given me a starting block.”

Chris Devlin, from Fallowfield, worked as Sound Trainee on two BBC programmes for his placement, working on a variety of filming locations. Since finishing the scheme Chris has taken work with the person who trained him on the job.

Keeley Scothern came across from Leeds to work on an ITV drama in Manchester as a Costume Trainee, keeping an eye on continuity between filming and maintaining the costumes for each scene. Since her placement, Keeley has gained work on a feature film.

Northern Routes has been a pioneering training initiative, that for the first time has seen the three Northern Regional Screen Agencies working together on one scheme to place trainees from across the whole of the North of England on to award winning television productions in the Northeast, Northwest and Yorkshire, and was supported by the Sector Skills Council for the audiovisual industries, Skillset.

Carolyn Nicoll, Northern Routes Project Manager, commented: “The project has been a phenomenal success. I am delighted with the placements that the trainees have been given with such high profile television companies across the North, and the subsequent work opportunities for trainees, as a result, have been fantastic.”

“All of the trainees should be very proud of what they’ve accomplished through this scheme,” says Daisy Ashton, Skills Project Officer at Vision and Media, which works on behalf of the TV, film, radio and digital content industries to grow a world-class media economy in the Northwest.

“There were 500 applications for only 22 Northern Routes placements across the North of England in total. I’m delighted that our trainees took advantage of every opportunity they were given,” she adds.

Daisy is delighted with how the trainees have followed their time on Northern Routes. She says: “The trainees have gone on to secure a range of jobs, which is a great result for the scheme. Hopefully these are their first steps towards a brilliant media career!”