## **ScreenSkills Limited**
## **TRUSTEES’ REPORT and FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
**For the year ending 31 March 2021**
**Company Registration No. 02576828**
**Charity Registration No. 1015324 Scottish Charity Registration No. SC039556**
ScreenSkills Limited TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **ScreenSkills Limited**
## **TRUSTEES’ REPORT and FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021**
|**RUSTEES’ REPORT and FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
**r the year ending 31 March 2021**||
|---|---|
|**Trustees’ Report**|**Page**|
|**Introduction**|3|
|**Chair’s Report**|4|
|**CEO’s Report**|5|
|**Section 1**
**Objectives and activities**|6|
|**Section 2**
**Structure, governance and management**|7|
|**Section 3**
**Reference and administrative information**|12|
|**Section 4**
**2020/21 strategic priorities and investment**|13|
|**Strategic Report**||
|**Section 5**
**2020/21 activities and outcomes**|17|
|**Section 6**
**Plans for 2021/22**|50|
|**Section 7**
**Financial review**|52|
|**Section 8**
**Key management personnel and Remuneration Policy**|58|
|**Section 9**
**Going concern**|59|
|**Section 10**
**Funds held as custodian**|60|
|**Context for the Financial Statements**||
|**Section 11**
**Trustees’ liability insurance**|61|
|**Section 12**
**Auditor**|62|
|**Financial Statements and related sections**||
|**Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities**|63|
|**Independent auditor’s report**|64|
|**Statement of financial activities**|68|
|**Balance sheet**|69|
|**Statement of cash flows**|70|
|**Accounting policies**|
71|
|**Notes to Financial Statements**|
75|
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ScreenSkills Limited TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **Introduction**
Under the Companies Act 2006 the Trustees of a charity are required to present an annual report and accounts.
Reports from ScreenSkills’ Chair and CEO set the context for the 2020/21 annual report and accounts. The Trustees’ Report includes summaries of the year’s activity and outcomes.
The financial statements in this report, for the year ending 31 March 2021, comply with ScreenSkills Limited’s (ScreenSkills’) Articles of Association; the Companies Act 2006; the Charities Act 2011; and ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice’, which applies to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK (FRS 102) – (Charities SORP (FRS 102), revised 1 January 2019). As a charity registered in Scotland ScreenSkills Limited also reports in accordance with the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended).
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ScreenSkills Limited TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **Chair’s report**
The year 2020/21 was challenging for the screen industries, as for other economic sectors and for the wider community. I’m particularly pleased with three ScreenSkills achievements. Firstly: the speed and effectiveness of the response to industry needs from Spring 2020. ScreenSkills stepped up to deliver a wide range of online support, training and networking opportunities which were widely welcomed for their quality and relevance; and they received a 93% satisfaction rating from beneficiaries. Secondly: effective partnerships ensured that the screen workforce was supported during the pandemic lockdown. One example was ScreenSkills’ contribution to the Covid-19 industry recovery planning, co-ordinated by the British Film Institute (BFI) and the British Film Commission (BFC) – including the development of the Coronavirus basic awareness in production e-learning module, which provided advice in line with the protocols developed both by the BFC and by Pact working with broadcasters. This simple but practical training helped tens of thousands of screen colleagues to return safely to production. Thirdly: the long and complex process of establishing a new Unscripted TV Skills Fund was largely completed during the year, with agreement from key fund partners secured by March 2021. This new Fund is a significant development – increasing the investment in unscripted TV skills and strengthening ScreenSkills’ ability to support screen industry growth as part of the post-pandemic economic recovery.
The budget for 2020/21 was revised to £9.7 million when the pandemic struck, with £8.78 million invested directly in skills development. Support from the BFI – awarding National Lottery funds to deliver its Future Film Skills programme – proved vital to sustaining training delivery during this difficult year. ScreenSkills secured income of £11.65 million during the year – £1.57 million lower than 2019/20’s income (£13.22 million). This is evidence of the value placed by industry on ScreenSkills’ work across training and related screen workforce support. The High-end TV Fund, in particular, significantly exceeded income expectations.
Some delivery was, of course, affected by world events. Pandemic restrictions resulted in the suspension of recruitment for ScreenSkills’ innovative pilot Apprenticeship Programme, endorsed by the Department for Education (DfE) and funded by Netflix, WarnerMedia and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). However, we were ready, by March 2021, to restart the recruitment for twenty apprenticeship places.
I feel we enter the 2021/22 financial year in a strong position – having developed extensive online delivery capability, built a significantly larger beneficiary community and strengthened our industry engagement and support. Priorities for 2021/22 include: targeted delivery in areas of skills shortage and new skills; increased delivery around the nations and regions; further development of blended learning (balancing face-to-face and online delivery); and an ongoing commitment to a diverse and inclusive screen workforce.
ScreenSkills’ strong partnerships, effective management and industry governance have proved invaluable during 2020/21. I am grateful for the ongoing advice and support from members of ScreenSkills’ Board, Finance and Audit Committee, Skills Councils and industry working groups – and this regular input from around 300 industry professionals demonstrates that ScreenSkills is industry-led. I would also like to thank ScreenSkills’ executive and senior managers, and their teams, for all their efforts in supporting the screen industry’s workforce during such a challenging year.
**Richard Johnston Chair, ScreenSkills Board**
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ScreenSkills Limited TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **CEO’s report**
ScreenSkills is proud to have played its part in helping the screen sector to work safely during Covid19 and – despite the difficult circumstances during 2020/21 – to have continued its important work on skills shortages, inclusion, future-proofing, industry professionalisation and a fairer workplace culture.
Our strong industry links have been critical to our ability to adapt and respond quickly to pandemicrelated needs. A major example was the TV Skills Fund’s role in an ambitious online programme of workshops, masterclasses and practical support on mental wellbeing and financial management – with the first sessions launching within days of the first lockdown in March 2020. The session programme quickly expanded from a focus on unscripted TV skills to cover other sectors. Around 10,000 participants benefited from 600 or so sessions during 2020/21; and ScreenSkills’ online community of registered users grew by more than 76,000 – reaching 106,000 by the end of the year. This will provide a strong base for engagement in future years. The Coronavirus basic awareness in production module launched in June 2020, helping productions to work safely and securing vital employment for many who were without an income during the Spring 2020 production hiatus. By March 2021 over 56,000 people had completed the certified course.
During the year ScreenSkills supported 68,500 beneficiaries at all career-stages through activity we ran or commissioned, including awarding around 700 bursaries and matching almost 1,500 mentees with mentors. Career transfer programmes were run for those with in-demand skills, such as accountants. Our e-learning modules and our leadership and management support were designed to help professionalise the screen industry culture, including behavioural change in areas such as bullying and harassment. The pandemic lockdowns accelerated the adoption of various technologies, and we introduced virtual production training and established a working group to devise new standards. We also continued to invest Arts Council England (ACE) funding in activities to cover workforce and skills development across the creative and cultural industries.
There was a strong emphasis on supporting the existing workforce, especially at mid-level, but the skills pipeline remained important. We worked with partners to deliver a digital Discover! creative careers week in England, following a previous week in Wales. We ran or contributed to around 100 UK-wide careers events which reflected fast-changing industry needs. These events attracted potential and recent industry entrants, careers advisers and educators and supported thousands of tutors and students whose screen-related courses had been interrupted by Covid-19.
By January to March 2021 the screen industry was already recovering strongly, despite the additional costs resulting from Covid-19 challenges; and ScreenSkills continues to play a vital role in supporting industry recovery and growth. Partnership working remains key – and we continue to strengthen alliances with national and regional screen agencies, production companies, broadcasters, contentstreamers and practitioners operating across the production hubs developing around the UK.
I am proud of the expertise and adaptability of the ScreenSkills team. We continue to incorporate feedback into what we do, while improving our tracking and monitoring, so that we can target investment even more effectively to meet industry needs. Skills shortages are one of the biggest risks to continued screen sector growth; and the demand for skilled workers currently outstrips the investment in training. These and other challenges are shaping our focus for 2021/22.
**Seetha Kumar Chief Executive Officer, ScreenSkills**
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ScreenSkills Limited
TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **1. Objectives and activities**
ScreenSkills is an independent UK-wide organisation which works with employers, individuals, trade associations, unions, learning and training providers, Government and public bodies to develop skills and talent for the UK’s screen-based creative industries.
ScreenSkills’ principal objective is to promote, advance and provide training and education opportunities for those working in, or intending to work in, the screen industries – whether as employees or as independent freelancers and contractors.
Our mission is to lead on building inclusive skills and talent to power sustainable growth for the UK’s screen industries – film, high-end TV, unscripted TV, children’s TV, VFX, animation and games.
We deliver against our mission by identifying key skills gaps, improving entry-level diversity and work-readiness, supporting professional development and engaging industry in skills development activities.
We are industry-led and industry-funded. We invest industry skills levy contributions and funding secured through bids to deliver targeted skills development programmes and support. We do not raise funds through donations from individuals or charitable foundations.
Our website provides information on education, employment and skills development for the screen-based creative industries: www.screenskills.com.
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ScreenSkills Limited TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **2. Structure, governance and management**
ScreenSkills is a company limited by guarantee (Company number 02576828); a registered charity in England and Wales (Charity number 1015324); and a charity registered in Scotland (Charity number SC039556). The charitable company is governed by Articles of Association which were amended and updated on 27 March 2019 (replacing the Articles of Association and Memorandum of Association dated 11 February 2018).
## **2.1 Board**
ScreenSkills’ Board of Directors and Trustees operates under agreed terms of reference, which include fixed terms of office. There are defined roles for the Chair, Vice-Chair and Board members.
Board members, acting as Trustees of the charity, directors of the company, are senior and influential representatives from the screen-based and wider creative industries – including the Chairs of our Film, HETV, TV Skills and ITF Councils. They contribute broad-ranging expertise; and, in their role as Board members, they represent the interests of the overall screen industry (with particular reference to their area of expertise) rather than any individual company or organisation. Trustees receive no remuneration for their Board role, although the Board may approve Trustees to serve as consultants and deliver additional services to the charity in line with the charity’s governing documents. Details of Board members’ expenses and related party transactions are disclosed in notes 6 and 20 to the Accounts.
## **2.2 Appointment of Trustees**
The Board Chair is selected through a recruitment process led by a sub-group; and the Vice-Chair is elected from among Board members.
The recruitment process for Board members is led by the Chair, supported by the Vice-Chair and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The Chair and CEO consult Board members and wider industry stakeholders to generate a diverse list of possible candidates. After exploratory conversations the Chair proposes nominees and seeks Board endorsement for their appointment.
Apart from those who are Directors of the Charity ex officio Trustees initially serve for a term of three years, after which they may put themselves forward for one further re-appointment. In exceptional circumstances, determined by the Board, Trustees may be appointed for a third term of up to three years. New Trustees receive a one-to-one induction with the CEO and are provided with an induction pack, which includes information and guidance on their duties as Trustees. Details of Director and Trustee responsibilities are set out in the Terms of Reference for the Board.
Trustees are active in the screen industries and involved in continuing professional development. Due to their seniority and responsibilities they are likely to have the skills and experience needed for their roles. However ScreenSkills ensures that Trustees’ understanding of their responsibilities is up-to-date by meeting any specific knowledge or training needs. Support may be delivered through Board Awaydays or bespoke sessions provided by an external organisation. By way of example: at the December 2020 Board Awayday Trustees contributed to a session led by the Head of Epic Games’ London Innovation Lab – exploring convergence and technology issues affecting the screen industry.
## **2.3 Board structure and meetings**
The Board of Trustees operates with a minimum of ten and a maximum of sixteen members. During 2020/21 there were six Board meetings and an Awayday. At Board meetings the Trustees reviewed progress against ScreenSkills’ strategy and objectives and considered areas for potential development – particularly given the pandemic-related challenges for the screen industry.
Day-to-day operations are delegated to the CEO and Senior Management Team.
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ScreenSkills Limited TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **2.4 Finance and Audit (F&A) Committee**
The Finance and Audit (F&A) Committee is a sub-committee of the Board of Trustees, reporting to the Board, with the Chair of the Committee being an ex-officio member of the board. The Committee includes at least one further Board Trustee, with the remaining members drawn from the sectors with which ScreenSkills works. Details of members’ responsibilities are included in the Committee’s Terms of Reference document.
During 2020/21 the F&A Committee comprised the following members:
|**Committee**
**member**|**Organisation**|**Committee role and any**
**related role**|**Appointment/resignation**
**date**|
|---|---|---|---|
|**Kate Lyndon**|Finance Director, BritBox, ITV|Member, Committee Chair
and Board Member|Maternity leave return
from 18 November 2020|
|**Richard Pooles**|Finance Director, UKTV|Member and Acting
Committee Chair|Acting Chair to
17 November 2020|
|**Derek O’Gara**|Chief Finance Officer, Banijay UK|Member||
|**Richard Philipps**|Consultant, Reed Smith LLP|Member||
|**Dee Vassili**|Executive Director of HR, Vue
International|Member||
|**Stephen Bristow**|Partner in the Film & Television Unit,
Saffery Champness|Member|Appointed on
21 January 2021|
|**Committee members whose term ended during 2020/21**||||
|||||
|**Ivan Dunleavy**|Non-Executive Chairman of Milk
Visual Effects|Member and Board Member|Term ended
on 17 March 2021|
The Committee meets at least five times a year, and additionally as required. The Committee Chair and the CEO consult the Committee members and wider industry stakeholders to generate a diverse list of possible candidates. After exploratory conversations the Committee Chair proposes nominees and seeks endorsement for their appointment. Members are usually appointed for a term of three years; and one further term may be served following reappointment. The F&A Committee members receive no remuneration for their role.
The F&A Committee is responsible for:
- advising on financial operations and controls;
- reviewing internal procedures, governance, systems and processes in line with best practice;
- monitoring ScreenSkills’ financial performance;
- confirming that ScreenSkills’ financial plan is credible and can support the business strategy; and
- advising on legal and human resource issues.
Every member has equal influence in the Committee’s discussions and recommendations.
As part of its role the F&A Committee also liaises with ScreenSkills’ external auditors, reviews the annual audited financial statements and assesses the organisation’s risk appetite and strategy.
The Chair of the F&A Committee has ex officio representation on the Board, and the Committee may make recommendations to the Board.
The F&A Committee includes two observers – the Chair of the ScreenSkills’ Board and a representative from the British Film Institute (BFI).
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ScreenSkills Limited
TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **2.5 Related parties, conflict of interest and conflict of loyalty**
Trustees are required to disclose all relevant interests, register them with the Company Secretary and withdraw from decisions where a conflict of interest arises. Conflicts of interest may occur, for example, where an organisation submits a grant funding application to ScreenSkills and the Trustee serves in a key role on the Board of that organisation.
Trustees are also required to declare any conflicts of loyalty. Conflicts of loyalty may occur if, for example, an individual is a trustee for more than one charity. A conflict of loyalty would occur if several of these charities were to bid for the same service provision contract. A conflict would also arise if a Trustee’s decision at one charity could be influenced by their knowledge of and duty to the other charity – even if there was no benefit to the Trustee.
Board approval is required in the event that any professional services (where permitted in the governing documents) are sought from any Trustee (i.e. from any Board or F&A Committee member). Details of Trustees’ expenses and related party transactions are disclosed in notes 6 and 20 to the Accounts.
## **2.6 Patrons and ambassadors**
A group of ScreenSkills patrons – chaired by Clive Jones CBE – comprises influential senior industry figures who are approached, when appropriate, to provide advice and support related to their areas of interest and influence.
During 2020/21 we recruited several ScreenSkills ambassadors, with the primary aim of supporting outreach work to young people and new entrants. Ambassadors support ScreenSkills’ work via statements and personal testimonies. ScreenSkills ambassadors during 2020/21 were: Nainita Desai – known for work including _For Sama_ and as a former ‘Bafta Breakthrough Brit’ composer; Charlie Clovell – a writer, producer and actor particularly known for _The End of the F***ing World_ ; and Mim Shaikh – actor, broadcaster and poet, particularly known for roles in films such as _Freehold_ and for his documentray _: Mim Shaikh: Finding Dad._ ScreenSkills’ patrons and - - ambassadors, at 31 March 2021, are listed here: https://www.screenskills.com/about us/patrons and-ambassadors/
Patrons and ambassadors are volunteers and receive no remuneration.
## **2.7 ScreenSkills’ operating structure**
Industry practitioners help to direct ScreenSkills’s activities through various groups – all of which (apart from ad hoc advisory groups) are formally constituted. The diagram below shows ScreenSkills' operating structure, illustrating how the various groups contribute to ScreenSkills’ governance and operations.
**----- Start of picture text -----**
TV
Skills
Fund
**----- End of picture text -----**
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ScreenSkills Limited TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **2.8 Skills Councils**
Skills Councils ensure that ScreenSkills’ activities reflect and adapt to changing skills needs. Councils are responsible for targeting skills development activity and ensuring delivery, in relation to their respective sub-sectors, within the strategic framework endorsed by ScreenSkills’ Board. Skills Council members are not remunerated and voluntarily give their time.
The chair of the larger Councils – HETV, film, the Indie Training Fund (ITF) and the TV Skills Fund (for unscripted TV) – had ex officio representation on ScreenSkills’ Board during 2020/21.
Preparations were made during 2020/21 to replace the TV Skills Fund and ITF with a new Unscripted TV Skills Fund (USF) from June 2021; and Board representation will continue for the new USF.
The Film Industry Training Board (FITB) was a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) established in 2009 to oversee the Film Skills Investment Fund. A DfE review in December 2015 recommended that the FITB should cease to be an NDPB, as the Skills Investment Fund is based on a voluntary rather than a statutory levy. During 2018/19 a Department for Education (DfE) review was set up to agree FITB’s future. Conversations with the DfE continued during 2019/20 and 2020/21, as the Department assessed how best to wind down the FITB and move to an approach that more effectively reflects sector needs. A FITB revocation order was signed by the Apprenticeships & Skills Minister, Gillian Keegan, and laid before Parliament in mid-March 2021. (The FITB was formally wound up during April 2021, with its remit transferring to the Film Skills Council.)
## **2.9 Groups supporting skills investment**
Four sectors collect industry contributions for investment in skills development through levies – HETV, film, children’s TV and animation – and their respective Skills Councils identify skills investment priorities. During 2020/21 unscripted TV skills support was funded by broadcaster contributions to the TV Skills Fund (TVSF). The Skills Councils, TVSF and ITF have delegated authority from the Board to oversee their sectors’ skills investment, with Council meetings’ frequency reflecting each sector’s activity schedule.
HETV has a specific investment group, the Levy Sub-Committee (LSC), which allocates investment in line with skills development priorities identified by the HETV Skills Council and the ScreenSkills Board. The Levy Sub-Committee is required to meet at least three times a year. Its members voluntarily give their time and receive no remuneration.
During 2020/21 the Indie Training Fund (ITF)[1] continued to generate income through membership contributions (as its open courses were suspended due to Covid-19). The Fund supported training projects, partnership projects and bespoke training.
Games neither has a skills levy nor collects industry contributions, so its Skills Council advises on skills strategy rather than investment.
## **2.10 Practitioner groups**
Industry practitioners shape ScreenSkills’ skills investment agenda at policy and planning levels. They advise on pragmatic approaches which meet industry’s priority skills needs during a period of buoyant sector growth and rapid change – including, during 2020/21, on the challenges arising from Covid-19.
Practitioner groups comprise industry experts who advise on skills investment in their specialist area.
> 1 The Indie Training Fund stopped taking contributions at the end of March 2021. It will close during 2021/22, as part of the transition to the new Unscripted TV Skills Fund (USF).
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ScreenSkills Limited TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **2.11 UK-wide industry partners and stakeholders**
ScreenSkills works in partnership with relevant organisations on areas of mutual interest, including lobbying Government on skills issues.
ScreenSkills also delivers against its objectives through various partnerships. Key partner organisations include:
- Creative and Cultural Skills (CCS) – a ‘sister’ Sector Skills Council, whose activities across subsectors such as theatre and crafts are complementary and enable cross-over skills development;
- Into Film – with whom we work on engagement through schools;
- Screen Yorkshire – our key partner in developing the Centre of Screen Excellence: Yorkshire;
- • the British Film Council (BFC), British Film Institute (BFI), Pact and First Option – with whom ScreenSkills worked to deliver Coronavirus basic awareness training courses; and
- the National Film and Television School (NFTS) – which, as one of the world’s leading institutions in film and the moving image, works with ScreenSkills on delivering continuing professional development (CPD) and vocational courses.
Other partner organisations include: trade associations, such as the UK Screen Alliance; trade unions (primarily Bectu – the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union; and Equity – the union for creative practitioners); and representative bodies, such as the Creative Industries Council (CIC) and Creative Industries Federation.
ScreenSkills’ wider stakeholder engagement includes industry employers, employees and freelancers. Their feedback and advice – collected through research, working groups and wider networking – helps to shape ScreenSkills’ delivery priorities. This steer was particularly important during the pandemic year, when ScreenSkills was able to respond quickly in supporting the screen workforce and helping the screen industry to restart production as soon as possible.
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## ScreenSkills Limited
TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **3. Reference and administrative information**
## **3.1 ScreenSkills’ 2020/21 Board of Directors/Trustees and Company Secretary**
|**Board member**|**Organisation**|**Board role and any**
**related ScreenSkills**
**role**|**Appointment/resignation**
**date**|
|---|---|---|---|
|**Richard Johnston**|Chief Executive Officer, Endemol
Shine UK(to14 August2020)|Trustee, Chair||
|**Sally Debonnaire**|Director of Production, ITV Studios|Trustee||
|**Bella Lambourne**
**(Arabella McCabe)**|Director of HR & Operations,
Banijay UK|Trustee, Chair of TV
Skills Fund Council||
|**Alex Hope OBE**|Chief Executive Officer, Big Little
Technology|Trustee, Vice-Chair||
|**John Woodward**|Co-founder, Brightstar|Trustee||
|**Nicholas Catliff**|Managing Director, Lion Television|Trustee, Chair of Indie
Training Fund Council||
|**Lisa Opie**|Managing Director, BBC Studios|Trustee||
|**Christine Healy**|COO, Watford & Essex|Trustee, Chair of High-
end TV Skills Council||
|**Kevin Trehy**|Executive VP Physical Production,
WarnerMedia|Trustee||
|**Anne Mensah**|Vice President Content, Netflix|Trustee||
|**Kate Lyndon**
**(Richard Pooles**
**represented F&A**
**Committee from 13**
**September 2019 to 17**
**November 2020)**|Finance Director, BritBox, ITV|Trustee, Chair of
Finance and Audit
Committee|Maternity leave
from 13 September 2019.
Resumed role as F&A
Committee Chair and
Board Trustee on 18
November 2020|
|**Sinead Rocks**|Managing Director - Nations and
Regions, Channel 4|Trustee|Appointed 23 September
2020|
|**Anita Overland**|Freelance film and television
Producer|Trustee, Chair of Film
Skills Council|Appointed 24 March 2021|
|**Philippa Childs**|Deputy General Secretary, BECTU|Trustee|Appointed 24 March 2021|
|**Board members whose terms ended during 2020/21**||||
|**Ivan Dunleavy**|Non-Executive Chairman of Milk
Visual Effects|Trustee|Final term ended on
24 March 2021|
|**Louise Grainger**|Head of Marketing, Events &
Training, Equity (representing
Federation of Entertainment Unions)|Trustee|Resigned on 5 February
2021 due to change of role|
|**Iain Smith OBE**|Founder, Applecross Productions|Trustee, Chair of Film
Skills Council(FSC)|Final FSC term ended on
23 September 2020|
|**ScreenSkills representative**||||
|**Clive Goss**|Finance & Operations Director,
ScreenSkills|Company Secretary||
## **3.2 Chief Executive**
ScreenSkills’ Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Seetha Kumar, leads the organisation. She is supported by a Senior Management Team. As ScreenSkills is a charity the CEO is accountable to the Board but does not have voting rights. The day-to-day management of the Charity is delegated to the CEO by the Charity’s Board of Trustees.
## **3.3 Relevant addresses**
**Registered Office** 94 Euston Street London NW1 2HA
**Independent Auditor Bankers** RSM UK Audit LLP HSBC Bank plc 25 Farringdon Street PO Box 260, 46 The Broadway London EC4A 4AB London W5 5JR
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ScreenSkills Limited TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **4. 2020/21 strategic priorities and investment**
## **4.1 ScreenSkills’ delivery priorities, given the pandemic**
ScreenSkills’ original plans for 2020/21 had to be revised to reflect the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact of lockdown restrictions on Uk screen production. Immediate action was taken at the end of 2019/20 to respond to the changing circumstances by:
- Providing comprehensive online support and training for the freelance workforce – adapting training that was previously planned for face-to-face delivery and devising a wide range of other sessions to meet specific Covid-19-related needs, including the wellbeing of the freelance screen workforce. Between 23 and 31 March 2020 960 participants had already registered to participate in 45 online sessions which provided a wide range of information, guidance and support. We built on this foundation during 2020/21.
- Adapting workflows and technologies to support the development and delivery of our online delivery, including an integrated training and opportunities directory and comprehensive datatracking across online beneficiaries.
- Contributing to industry taskforces which addressed the pandemic’s effects on the screen and wider creative industries – particularly helping to set up vital health and safety training (the Coronavirus basic awareness e-learning modules for production and cinemas) which supported safe working and recovery planning.
New delivery priorities for 2020/21 were endorsed by the Finance and Audit Committee and the Board. The focus was to:
- Provide extensive support via online sessions and networking, so that screen professionals could continue to develop their skills and knowledge during the lockdowns and return to work.
- Adapt – and, sometimes, pause – key programmes including Trainee Finder, Make a Move, the Creative Careers Programme, the pilot Apprenticeship Programme and ScreenSkills Select. These changes reflected beneficiaries’ changed circumstances and needs.
- Continue to plan the Unscripted TV Skills Fund, even if the project could not be completed until the 2021/22 financial year.
- Strengthen ScreenSkills’ profile, presence and delivery across nations and regions – prioritising key hubs and using the increased engagement from remote delivery and the large numbers completing the Coronavirus basic awareness training to extend reach.
- Improve inclusion – particularly using remote delivery to extend reach.
- Confirm Year 3 funding under the BFI and ACE agreements.
- Adjust sector skills delivery in line with income fluctuations resulting from the production hiatus _._
- Further develop key partnerships to enhance skills delivery, reduce duplication and increase impact.
- • Use beneficiary data to help target skills investment.
- Focus on operational efficiencies, delivery value and impact in relation to central costs.
- Continue planning to secure longer-term investment which will meet industry’s projected skills needs and support sustained screen growth and innovation.
The initial 2020/21 delivery KPIs were revised to reflect the impact of the pandemic on face-toface delivery and changing industry skills needs.
**– - Revised beneficiary KPIs for 2020/21 reflecting pandemic related delivery changes**
|**KPI**|**Achieved**|
|---|---|
|•
At least 15,000
additional user
accounts (with D&I
data) set up|**Number of accounts at 31 March 2021: 106,556**–**an increase of**
**76,340 during the year**– largely related to the Coronavirus basic
awareness module and online sessions – compared with the 2019/20
annual increase of 20,726 accounts (diversity breakdown: 50% women;
15% from a BAME background; 8% saying they have a disability; 55%
based in the nations and regions; and 14% identifying as LGBT)|
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## ScreenSkills Limited
TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
|•
At least 5,000
contacts
informed/supported
through online
sessions|**Beneficiaries during the year to 31 March 2021: 68,525**(diversity
breakdown: 48% women; 13% from a BAME background; 7% saying they
have a disability; 55% based in the nations and regions; and 12%
identifying as LGBT)
**Interactions during the year to 31 March** **2021 – e-learning, events,**
**training, bursaries and programmes:** **131,215 across 1,182 activities:**
an average of 1.9 activities per user, with an overall average of 93%
rating themselves as‘satisfied’or‘very satisfied’with the support provided|
|---|---|
|•
At least 1,000
industry supporters
engaged|**Over 1,000 industry practitioners supported ScreenSkills’ 2020/21**
**delivery**: via sector Skills Councils; via advisory and working groups; by
being mentors; as Select supporters; as apprenticeship Trailblazer group
members; by contributing to online sessions; by helping with careers
sessions; and by contributing to skills forecasting research|
As a result of the shift to online delivery during lockdowns ScreenSkills supported significantly more people than originally planned – albeit in a lighter-touch way overall, due to the shift to remote delivery during the pandemic. Beneficiaries’ feedback to the revised programme of activity during 2020/21 was overwhelmingly positive (as noted above), with a 93% overall satisfaction rating registered via the end-of-initiative surveys.
ScreenSkills’ activities were regularly reviewed during the year to ensure that delivery was aligned with changing industry priorities and responsive to screen workforce needs.
## **4.2 Wider strategic context for ScreenSkills’ planning**
The UK remains one of the world’s most important screen production hubs; and an effective talent pipeline – with a skilled and inclusive workforce – is critical to the UK’s international reputation and ongoing success across screen.
Planning for 2020/21 – both before and during the pandemic – was set against a period of significant growth in overall production spend. This appears to have been dented, but not halted, by the pandemic; and January to March 2021 showed record activity across HETV and film production.
Ongoing issues affecting the screen industry included: mergers and industry consolidation; a renewed political focus on the nations and regions; Government questions around public service broadcasting, the BBC and Channel 4; shifts in policy relating to apprenticeships, education and skills; and continued industry concern over inclusion and the treatment of freelancers.
This diagram summarises ScreenSkills three strategic priorities (labelled 1 to 3) and two enablers for delivering the strategy (labelled A and B). This framework underpins ScreenSkills’ activity until a strategic review takes place during 2021/22:
**----- Start of picture text -----**
2. Improving entry-level 3. Providing professional
1.Identifying key skills
diversity and work- development
gaps and lobbying on
readiness to strengthen opportunities to support
screen skills priorities
the talent pipeline career development
A) Strengthening industry partnerships and engagement
B) Strengthening our financial position, operational processes and infrastructure
**----- End of picture text -----**
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2020/21 saw less of a focus on entry-level engagement and training, in response to the need to support the existing workforce during lockdowns and the production restart. This also reflected a shift in industry concerns over the impact of skills gaps and shortages at mid- to senior-level.
One exception was the continued advocacy on apprenticeships, where there remains significant potential for additional investment in skills, and wider access to diverse talent, if flexibilities can be secured to enable apprenticeships to work better for the screen (and other creative) industries.
ScreenSkills continued to adopt a unified approach across screen – given the cross-over skills between film, television, VFX, animation and games. This approach maximised the value from skills investment and supported action on areas of joint concern – such as inclusion and the nations and regions. We also continued to reflect different priorities across Funds and funders.
## **4.3 2020/21 funding to support delivery against strategic priorities**
## **4.3.1 BFI ‘Future Film Skills’ programme**
The third full year of ‘Future Film Skills’ funding ran from April 2020 to March 2021. ScreenSkills received £5.4m of National Lottery Funding, via the BFI, to support delivery against an annual plan agreed with the BFI, which was reviewed to ensure effective delivery against Covid-19 priorities.
## **4.3.2 HETV Skills Fund**
2020/21 HETV Skills Fund income was just over £3.5m, with contributions from 116 productions – despite pandemic lockdowns and production challenges after restart. This represented a decrease of just over £350k from the previous year. By the end of March 2021 the Fund reserves were £4.08m.
## **4.3.3 Film Skills Fund**
2020/21 Film Skills Fund contributions income were down 56% against 2019/20, at £0.5m, generated from 20 contributing films. By the end of March 2021 the Fund reserves were £0.76m.
## **4.3.4 Indie Training Fund (ITF)**
2020/21 Indie Training Fund (ITF) external income totalled £312k, against £472k in 2019/20. Income was generated through membership contributions, course fees and external training fees. An additional £10k of internal income from the TV Skills Fund was received to support the delivery of training projects. By the end of March 2021 the Fund reserves stood at £75k. The ITF ceased taking new contributions at the end of March 2021; and the Fund will close during 2021/22, as part of the transition to the new Unscripted TV Skills Fund.
## **4.3.5 TV Skills Fund (TVSF)**
2020/21 was the final year during which unscripted TV skills development was supported by broadcaster contributions to the TV Skills Fund (TVSF). During 2020/21 contributions totalled £384k – 6% down on the £407k received in 2019/20. By the end of March 2021 the Fund reserves were £259k.
## **4.3.6 Other sector Skills Funds**
£243k was collected via the Children’s TV Fund during 2020/21, 21% down on 2019/20. By the end of March 2021 the Fund reserves were £454k.
£161k of Animation Levy contributions were collected during 2020/21, significantly higher than the the £45k collected in 2019/20. By the end of March 2021 the Fund reserves were £165k.
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## **4.3.7 Other funding, including commercial income**
During 2020/21 £75k was received from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) for investment in ScreenSkills’ contribution to the Creative Careers Programme (CCP) and the Discover! careers week.
A total of £79k commercial income was received during 2020/21. This comprised £78k of Select accreditation ‘quality mark’ income and £1k for apprenticeships. Overall commercial income was down by £50k against 2019/20 – a 38% reduction.
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## **5. 2020/21 activities and outcomes**
## **5.1 Strategic priority 1: Key skills gaps and screen skills lobbying**
During 2020/21 ScreenSkills continued to work with industry to identify priorities for skills development and wider workforce support during the pandemic. We also continued to lobby on vocational skills issues related to post-pandemic jobs – including more flexible apprenticeship funding and practice. From April 2020 ScreenSkills representatives contributed to various industry and Government taskforces tackling the challenges related to Covid-19.
## **5.1.1 Screen skills forecasting**
We invested £188k in skills forecasting during 2020/21. Our research aims to provide reliable – and, as needed, current and future-focused – screen workforce information, including UK-wide data on screen industry skills gaps. These were the 2020/21 research projects (some of which evolved or were revised during the year, to reflect changing circumstances and needs).
## **Analysis of growth, employment and skills investment in the screen industries**
In August 2019 ScreenSkills had commissioned Nordicity and Saffery Champness to start a longterm analysis of growth, employment and skills investment in the screen industries (as part of the ‘Future Film Skills’ programme). A two-phase approach was designed, likely to run to 2022/23.
- Phase 1: a forecast of business activity in the various sub-sectors of the screen industries for the period 2021-2025 (i.e. to 31 December 2025 – with ‘business activity’ referring to sub-sector revenue or production expenditure). This forecast was expected to be a key element in the development of a quantitative forecast of skills shortages in the screen industries.
- Phase 2: a forecast of skills shortages – identifying the scale of current shortages by role and applying the results of the Phase 1 forecast in forecasting shortage changes to 2025.
## **Digital skills maps**
This piece of research (funded by Arts Council England/ACE and as part of the ‘Future Film Skills’ programme investment) maps digital skills requirements across the screen industries and related creative and cultural sectors – including advanced and basic digital skills, broken down by job title. The resulting tool will support those across screen and related creative and cultural industries in understanding roles which include mainly/partly digital skills – in order to support more effective recruitment and management of these roles. This reflects the increasing reliance on digital skills across creative sectors along with the likelihood that people will move between sectors due to digital skills convergence (e.g. in content production, engagement, communication and delivery).
## **Employer survey: what can we do to help?**
In June 2020 we conducted a survey targeting employers and hirers in film, TV, animation, VFX and post-production. The research aimed to identify how ScreenSkills could best support employers and their staff, crews and freelancers with effective training on safe working practices during Covid-19. The study looked at essential training needs, including the introduction of the new Covid-19 health and safety supervisor role which was proposed as part of the guidance developed by the BFC, Pact and other partners.
## **ScreenSkills Assessment 2021**
Between September 2020 and January 2021 we conducted fieldwork for the ScreenSkills Assessment 2021 (following the approach taken in the previous 2018/19 Assessment). The research explored current skills gaps and shortages, the impact of Covid-19 on working practices and how the screen industry might look in the future. The survey was circulated via social media and ScreenSkills’ newsletters and website, and it was also promoted by partner organisations. 1,182 respondents completed the survey.
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## **Screened out: Tackling class inequality in the UK Screen Industries** .
We funded a piece of research conducted by the Policy and Evidence Centre/PEC, aiming to establish a clear and coherent narrative around the underlying causes of class imbalances in the screen industries. The research built on existing research, while also collecting evidence from contributors with direct experience of class imbalance issues.
## **Satisfaction statistics**
The findings presented below were collected through a survey run between December 2020 and January 2021. The satisfaction questions were part of the 2021 ScreenSkills Assessment.
The chart below shows the proportion of respondents (from 768 responses) who benefited during the previous six months from ScreenSkills’ workforce support initiatives – including professional skills training, bursaries, industry insight sessions, mentoring support or careers activities.
## _**Question: Have you or anyone you’ve employed benefited from any ScreenSkills initiatives to support the workforce over the last six months?**_
_Base: 768_
Respondents who said they had benefited from ScreenSkills initiatives over the previous six months were then asked how satisfied they were with these initiatives. The chart below shows that a total of around 94% were either very satisfied (58%) or fairly satisfied (36%). 4% said they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied; and only 2% of the sample said they were dissatisfied.
## _**Question: In respect of the initiative/s from which you or your company/production benefited: how satisfied are you with what ScreenSkills is doing to support the workforce in current circumstances?**_
_Base: 406_
## **5.1.2 Industry influencing and lobbying**
ScreenSkills works with stakeholders across industry, Government and education in order to influence policy and practice on screen industry skills. The focus of our activities changed during 2020/21, given the pandemic, when we worked with partner organisations to secure support for the screen industry workforce and enable the earliest possible, but safe, production restart.
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## **5.1.2.1 Screen industry skills strategy and investment**
During 2019/20 our regular conversations with DCMS officials had indicated growing Government recognition of the need for a more coherent screen industry skills strategy along with stable, long-term skills investment. ScreenSkills was, therefore, well-positioned to work with Government and with industry bodies (including the BFI and the BFC) during 2020/21 to secure effective workforce support (financial and other) during lockdown and enable a safe production restart.
In February 2021 the Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “ _Impressive [BFI] research figures show the resilience and creativity of the UK screen industries. We're getting our screen industries firing on all cylinders again with the Government's Film and TV Restart Scheme… I am pleased that the Government's targeted interventions mean this sector is well placed for future strong growth and job creation.”_
Effective lobbying by sector partners contributed to the following provisions being included in the March 2021 Budget: an extension of the Film and Production restart scheme (insurance); £700m to support culture, arts and sport – including funding for apprenticeships in the creative industries; £3,000 per apprentice of any age, as an incentive for employers; £126m of incentives for employers to take trainees; the furlough scheme being extended to the end of September 2021; extended support for the self-employed, including those newly-self-employed (previously excluded); and simplified visas for ‘high-skilled workers’ (with the screen sector impact being assessed).
During 2020/21 ScreenSkills also continued to liaise with DCMS officials on supporting the largely freelance screen workforce – during lockdown and on post-restart priorities such as skills ‘levellingup’ around the nations and regions; inclusion; transferable skills (so that those in industries devastated by the pandemic could transfer into screen); and restart-related skills for freelancers.
## **5.1.2.2 ScreenSkills Apprenticeship Programme (SAP) pilot**
In July 2019 the DCMS confirmed its support for the ScreenSkills Apprenticeship Programme (SAP) pilot, with the initiative launched in January 2020 by the DCMS and DfE Secretaries of State. The pilot was designed to enable ScreenSkills and its partners, WarnerMedia and Netflix, to test an innovative delivery model and to ascertain costs and sustainability. The Department agreed a £100k grant; and ScreenSkills secured the additional money required to deliver the pilot. The industry partners committed to providing work placements for the twenty pilot apprentices, ten on the Assistant Production Accountant programme and ten on the Broadcast Production Assistant programme. The priority was to recruit individuals from under-represented groups, and applications opened on 2 March 2020. By the 22 March closing date, we had received over 1,600 applications – resulting in a long-list of 120 applicants to be invited to Assessment Centre days.
The SAP was paused during 2020/21, as it was impossible to complete the final selection process – let alone secure any placements – during the pandemic year. Partners agreed to restart the scheme recruitment process in Spring 2021, with the expectation that successful candidates would be selected in early Summer 2021 and placements would start from Autumn 2021.
## **5.1.2.3 Apprenticeship Levy reforms**
During 2019 ScreenSkills had made significant progress on achieving a consensus that the Apprenticeship Levy needed radical reform. Some further progress was made during the pandemic year, including our contribution to finalising detailed proposals for implementing Governmentendorsed reforms in the following areas:
- Apprenticeship Training Agency (ATA) sustainability – which will address fundamental screen sector challenges, such as the requirement for minimum one-year apprentice contracts and the extensive administrative bureaucracy associated with apprentice employment.
- Portable apprenticeships (or ‘flexi-job’ schemes) – which will help to address the constraints generated by the minimum one-year apprentice contracts.
- Simplified bulk transfers of Levy funds.
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We continued to contribute to the Creative Industries Council (CIC) Working Group meetings and to various discussions hosted by the DCMS and DfE. We helped to address how the proposed apprenticeship reforms could work in practice, given that the Government committed to implementing the reforms during 2021.
## **5.1.2.4 Industry support during the Covid-19 pandemic**
From April 2020 ScreenSkills colleagues were included in various groups responding to Covid-19’s impact on the screen industries – including the BFI’s Taskforce and the BFC’s Recovery Group, along with sub-groups on topics like Physical Production and Visual Effects/Post-Production. Collaboration with other initiatives – including work led by Pact – resulted in outcomes including guidelines on a safe return to work for film and high-end TV drama productions, plus associated Coronavirus basic awareness training certificates. The training completion certificates are delivered via the ScreenSkills website. From 1 June 2020 (when the training launched) to 31 March 2021 over 56,000 people completed the core certificate; and hundreds also recertified (because the certificate expires after six months to ensure relevance as Covid-19 safety measures evolve). A total of around 58,000 people completed three types of Covid-19-related training facilitated by ScreenSkills during 2020/21 (the Basic Awareness certificate, the Intermediate Training for Heads of Department and the Advanced Training for Covid supervisors).
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## **5.2 Strategic priority 2: Entry-level diversity and work-readiness**
Despite the pandemic ScreenSkills delivered a range of careers support – both to those at entrylevel and early-career stages and to those wanting to develop their skills during the pandemic year in preparation for post-lockdown recovery.
We invested a total of £596k in careers events and resources during 2020/21, including the development of new content for the ScreenSkills website to engage and support the screen workforce during the pandemic year. Around £30k of investment was funded from activity postponed in 2019/20 due to the start of the pandemic.
## **5.2.1 Careers events**
The ScreenSkills careers team attended and/or hosted 98 virtual careers-related events, engaging with almost 5,700 participants during the year. Events ranged from 36 employability events for over 1,800 student attendees leaving HE and FE courses this Summer through to smaller sessions for school students, partner organisations and careers advisers.
Two of these events – live Q&A sessions – were hosted by ScreenSkills as part of the digital Discover! week. Other events included a successful Digital Cities virtual strand delivered with the BBC, providing 21 virtual sessions for over 1,500 people around the nations and regions – 78% of whom were over-18s and 70% of whom were based outside London and the South East (80% of over-18s). The Digital Cities sessions reflected pandemic-related challenges, providing information on how to find work during lockdown, entry-level schemes and set-readiness.
ScreenSkills’ careers team also devised and presented its own series of Career Basics sessions, repeated several times. These provided practical advice on CVs, on finding transferable skills and on handling lockdown interviews.
Activity with under-18s was, necessarily, reduced due to school closures – but the team still engaged with 881 young people and with 291 teachers, careers advisers and lecturers. This included running a successful ‘Summer of Animation’ in 2020, supported by over 30 industry volunteers, for which we provided a separate website which was safe for young users – including masterclasses and resources suitable for those aged 11 to 18; and the resources remain available for ongoing use
We continued to receive excellent feedback on our careers support. Here are two examples:
- “This is my first proper week helping at entry level with the Accounts department for one of the productions. If it wasn’t for the proactiveness,
- **“ ”** help and support from ScreenSkills I wouldn’t be in employment in film and HETV.”
- _“_ I've learnt so much and gained so much knowledge. This is the type of stuff that no one ever tells you. I now feel more confident about how I
- **“ ”** would navigate a set. I think this course has shown me that it is possible to get into the industry no matter where I'm from **.”**
## **5.2.2 Creative Careers Programme (CCP)**
ScreenSkills is a Creative Careers Programme (CCP) delivery partner, along with Creative & Cultural Skills (CCS) and the Creative Industries Federation. The CCP is an integrated industry-led programme of activity across England and Wales which ensures there is a larger and more diverse intake of talent via a broader range of routes into the creative industries – a commitment under the Creative Industries Sector Deal. The programme, launched in 2019, was designed to address the
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fact that 90% of creative industry jobs are occupied by those from more advantaged socio-economic groups. It is a priority to engage students and young people from disadvantaged cohorts who are currently under-represented across the creative industries – including those from less advantaged socio-economic groups, those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds and those with disabilities. CCP activities provide ‘live’ encounters with employers and insight into their workplaces. The programme also provides resources and training for those who inform young people’s career decisions, including careers advisers. This ground-breaking work won the Career Development Institute (CDI) Careers Development Award for Innovative Employer Engagement at a virtual ceremony on 10 March 2021.
Despite Covid-19 restrictions the CCP careers work – led by the creative industries across England and Wales – reached over 120,000 young people across 900 schools during 2020/21, also engaging 200 careers advisers.
Thousands of young people were informed and inspired about creative career options through the November 2020 Discover! Creative Careers Week in Wales (Darganfod! Wythnos Gyrfaoedd Creadigol) and the Welsh Creative Careers Programme (Rhaglen Gyrfaoedd Creadigol Cymru). This week – echoing the inaugural CCP Discover! Week in November 2019 – was run through faceto-face sessions (as it took place before pandemic-related restrictions were imposed).
ScreenSkills worked with CCS and the Creative Industries Federation to develop and deliver a digital ‘Discover! Creative Careers week (i.e. it was delivered remotely, not face-to-face) – during which a range of online sessions and resources provided careers support. England’s Digital Discover! Week was run in the week of 1 March 2021, designated as National Careers Week. There was an overall ACE budget of £200k, with ScreenSkills receiving £75k to develop the website-based ‘Discover Finder’ to host elements of the digitally-delivered programme and resources and to lead on London-based schools delivery. Over 940 secondary schools signed up via the Discover! website – around one-third of all secondary schools in England; and, despite it taking place in the week before students returned to the classroom after lockdown (when teachers were busy preparing) 461 schools engaged with online films and resources, and 231 schools took part in live Q&A panel discussions with professionals from across the creative industries. Contributing screen practitioners included: Louise Smith, Sustainability Manager on _Bond 25_ ; Rick Gibson, CEO of the British Games Institute; and Nainita Desai, an award-winning film composer whose work includes _Bad Boy Millionaires_ and _American Murder_ . Other activities during the Discover! week included: interviews and tours at Pinewood Studios, ITV, The Farm and Ubisoft; plus live online events and teaching resources for schools and colleges.
The March Discover! Week in England also included activities for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including a panel discussion featuring people working in the creative industries who have physical disabilities, neuro-divergent characteristics and learning difficulties. Schools with a higher-than-average number of students accessing free school meals (FSM) were given additional support during the week, with nearly 5,000 FSM-group students taking part.
97% of schools that took part said that that Discover! 2021 had increased their students’ knowledge of the range of job opportunities in the sector; and 95% of schools claimed that it improved their students’ perception that the creative industries offered a viable career. Here are several feedback examples:
- “My students are quite diverse so it was good for them to see multiple ethnicities represented within the resources. I felt like the speakers in the
- **“ ”** videos were very honest yet positive about the industry.”
‘We particularly loved the 'walkarounds', especially Pinewood! This was great considering Covid, when students can't actually get into these **“ ”** places.”
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## **5.2.3 Careers resources**
## **Discover! Finder**
The DCMS provided funding (£6k) for the development of additional job profiles for the Discover! website – where those interested in creative careers can use the Discover! Finder tool. 60 new profiles were added, increasing the total to 565 by the end of March 2021. We focused on previously under-represented areas, particularly increasing the number of profiles across radio, journalism, marketing & PR, publishing and music. As part of this work we developed a partnership with ‘BBC Bitesize’, linking to two radio and four marketing/PR job profiles on their site; and ‘Bitesize’ promotes a link to the Discover! site.
There was previously no specialist collection of comprehensive careers information for radio – so Discover! Finder had to link various content sources, establishing it as a comprehensive gateway to information on careers in radio. The Radio Centre has agreed to fund the Radio Academy to create radio job profiles using the Discover! guidelines, and up to 24 new radio profiles will further strengthen the Discover! careers information and resources. Other areas, such as publishing, are also developing job profiles as part of the ongoing momentum generated by Discover!
The Discover! site attracted around 80,000 new users in 2020/21, with over 292k page-views and 166k unique page-views during the year. This represents more than three times the activity levels seen in 2019/20. Users stay on the site for a relatively long period of time, with the average session now up to almost seven and a half minutes.
## **Other careers resources**
During 2020/21 ScreenSkills also strengthened its website careers pages. A series of classroom activities has been added (e.g. simple storyboards) to complement existing lesson plans. There is now also a portfolio section: a suite of nine pages, written by professionals, on how to build a portfolio for different screen sectors such as animation and costume.
We produced a ‘flat’ version of our ‘First Day on Set’ virtual reality (VR) film, now available via the ScreenSkills website. The 360-degree film won the P **r** oduction Guild of Great Britain (PGGB) Innovation Award. A second VR film has been in production and will be released later in 2021.
The career maps remain popular. We are developing three new maps and re-designing some icons to make the maps even more relevant to diverse users. During lockdown many careers sessions and masterclasses were recorded, and they are now available on demand.
We have improved the careers site navigation; and we have an information and resources directory linking to relevant organisations and allowing users to filter information according to their interests and career stage. A filter for schools amalgamates ScreenSkills’ resources with those from other organisations which provide useful information (e.g. Into Games, Access VFX and Into Film). ScreenSkills careers pages have seen a growth in traffic of 228% during 2020/21, with unique views up from 447.5k to 1.25m. The job profile page-use is particularly strong; and ten of the top twenty search terms are job titles which bring users straight from search engines to our job profile pages.
## **5.2.4 Trainee Finder programme**
Trainee Finder is an early-level work placement programme. Selection for each year’s intake takes place from the previous Winter through to the Spring of the cohort’s year. The programme was adapted during 2020/21, due to the pandemic.
## **5.2.4.1 HETV Trainee Finder**
156 trainees were accepted onto the 2020/21 programme: 116 through the initial recruitment phase; and another 40 engaged during the year to meet national/regional production needs. 66% of trainees
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identified as female; 20% were from a BAME background; 68% were based outside London; and 12% said they had a disability.
118 trainees had placements on one or more HETV and Children’s TV productions. From March 2020 bespoke training for the trainee cohort included: ‘Finance for freelancers’, ‘Wellbeing and resilience’, ‘Production essentials’, ‘Safe production management’, ‘1-2-1 counselling sessions’ and ‘Maximising your future potential through digital’. All trainees have also been offered a mentor.
A full new cohort was not recruited during Winter/Spring 2021 (for 2021/22), to ensure that opportunities for the previous (2020/21) trainee cohort were not negatively impacted as a result of the pandemic (i.e. ScreenSkills committed to supporting the previous cohort, as their opportunities had been constrained during the 2020/21 pandemic).
Many contributing productions used trainees supported by the HETV Skills Fund. Two examples of feedback are provided below, illustrating Trainee Finder’s benefits.
- Namrita, a Manchester-based Make-Up trainee, has been working on _Cobra_ season 2 for New Pictures. She explained: “I’ve learnt so many new things since
- **“ ”** starting this job. It is a lot different to what you have in mind before you start working. As this is my first official, long job I was overwhelmed with the amount of new things that you get to see or learn or do. I’ve learnt about my complete role as a trainee – what is expected of me, second-guessing things, and reading the room, etc. My experience on set has been absolutely fabulous. I’m definitely in the right place: all the excitement and thrill of being on set came true, and I know for sure that this is what I want. I am very grateful to ScreenSkills and to Hair and MakeUp Designer, Helen Speyer, for giving me this opportunity.”
- Vicky, a North West-based Art Department trainee, said: “I was an experienced graphic designer, working in publishing, and had always had an interest in TV &
- **“ ”** film production. I attended an Open Doors evening in Liverpool at the end of 2019, and I was lucky enough to secure a Trainee Finder place. ScreenSkills helped me gain my first experience working in the art department as a trainee. From _Still So Awkward_ at the end of 2020 I moved on to _Help_ and other jobs, secured through connections I had made – and I have been able to move to being the graphics assistant on projects including _DaliLand_ , _Landscapers_ and _The Great_ season 2. I am now working on _Andy & The Band_ series 2, once again secured through ScreenSkills. The invaluable connections from being on Trainee Finder have helped me greatly. ScreenSkills has a been a very reliable source of information and assistance; and they go above and beyond if you have any questions or worries. I have also attended additional online courses through the scheme, one which was very helpful in informing me about finances at just the right time!”
## **5.2.4.2 Children’s TV Trainee Finder**
During 2020/21 we invested £47k to support 27 Children’s TV Trainee Finder placements. 68% of trainees identified as female; 22% were from a BAME background; 68% were based outside London; and 11% said they had a disability.
## **5.2.4.3 Film Trainee Finder**
During 2020/21 we invested around £226k to support Film Trainee Finder placements. 138 trainees were accepted on the 2020/21 programme. 71% of trainees identified as female; 24% were from a BAME background; 62% were based outside London and the South East; and 9% said they had a disability.
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Due to Covid-19 the 2020/21 trainee cohort was extended to March 2022, to enable sufficient placement opportunities. Trainees also took part in various training courses – including ‘Finance for freelancers’, ‘Safe production management’ and ‘Building confidence & connections’ coaching. Trainees were also encouraged to complete these ScreenSkills e-learning modules: Coronavirus Basic Awareness in Production; and Tackling Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace. Here are several examples of how film trainees benefited from Trainee Finder.
Chloe explained “I applied to Trainee Finder after a supervisor on my first job recommended it to me. I was new to costume, from a fashion design degree, and did not have many contacts in the industry – so it was an ideal programme. As a new costume trainee I liked the idea of a support network that not only helped place people on jobs but also provided training in different areas, to help us progress in our careers.” Having worked on series six of _Grantchester_ , and on the feature film _Matilda_ , Chloe says she benefited most from building a network and forming lasting relationships. _Grantchester_ gave her the opportunity to try many different jobs and accumulate more responsibilities as she became confident with tasks, while working on _Matilda_ allowed her to join a bigger team in the costume department, help different departments and learn how things run. “Now I am starting to get a clear idea of what roles I want to progress to, and I’ve had the opportunity to help with costume fittings at the studios and costume houses. This has given me an insight into the kind of role I can aspire to while learning and experiencing it.”
Another trainee, Jordan, explained: “Prior to joining the ScreenSkills scheme I was in a long ‘between jobs’ stage, following a short placement as a trainee on a feature film. Before that, I was a runner at a busy post-production house. I applied to Trainee Finder because so many editors/assistants recommended it to me as the best way to develop a career in the film industry. So far I have been placed on an upcoming feature film, _Ear For Eye_ , as an Edit Trainee. This was a highly beneficial experience as there was no assistant, so I learnt a lot, very quickly. It was fast-paced and demanding but gave me a wealth of knowledge, skills and experiences that I will confidently take with me to future projects. ScreenSkills have also helped me to confirm my next job, on the latest series of _Death in Paradise_ .”
Tammaan applied for Trainee Finder after she finished her traineeship at the National Theatre, as she wanted to gain experience of working in film costume. Trainee Finder gave her the opportunity to work on an independent feature called _Boxing Day_ and Universal Pictures’ _Jurassic_ . She said: “I am grateful to have got a place on Trainee Finder, as I was able to make connections and get work. _Jurassic_ was the first big film I worked on. I got a chance to work with the buying team – doing tasks such as making look-boards – and I worked with the crowd team, steaming and hanging garments. I also did two days with the dye and breakdown team. The skills I learned on this job helped me with other jobs that followed.”
Before joining Trainee Finder Celine was working as a sound recordist on commercials, as well as being a boom operator. Trainee Finder enabled her to learn how bigger sets operated with larger teams. Celine worked on two placements through the scheme – one of which was _Medusa Deluxe_ , a one-take feature film which required a lot of care to achieve good sound quality. She then moved on to a Disney production, explaining: “It was an absolutely brilliant experience. Due to locations I had to be very attentive to make sure the environment was as quiet as possible. I was also encouraged to be on set as much as I could… I learned so much from the team about cable-bashing, carpeting, quickly setting up playback and working with other departments to solve problems in the process.”
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Deborah Aston, _Benediction’s_ Co-Producer, shared the following feedback on their trainees: “EMU Films shot _Benediction_ , directed by Terence Davies, in Wolverhampton last year – and had ScreenSkills trainees across the Art Department, Camera, Costume and Hair & Make-up. The trainees were supported in gaining on-the-job skills that enabled them to be a valued member of the team. The quality of the trainees was of a high standard…HODs were thrilled, and they were able to provide the capacity for trainees to grow. I have been able to recommend trainees for junior positions on other productions and have employed others myself, as they move on in their careers.”
## **5.2.5 ‘First Break’ social mobility initiative**
Between September 2019 and March 2020 ScreenSkills’ HETV team and ITV had worked in partnership to develop a new programme, ‘First Break’, designed to offer opportunities to people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds at the start of their career. Six participants were given the opportunity to spend a three-week paid placement on _Viewpoint_ (Tiger Aspect for ITV), shooting in Manchester. Following the placements ScreenSkills provided further careers advice, including: support on looking for opportunities; signposting to local organisations providing new entrant opportunities; help with interview techniques and CV planning; and information on working as a freelancer.
Three participants have gone on to paid opportunities in HETV. Trisha worked as the production runner on Red Production’s _Traces_ ; Andrea worked as a runner/driver on _The Canterville Ghost_ ; and Fardeen honed his career focus from floor-running to Digital Imaging Technician (DIT) work, including working on _Wolfe,_ a Sky drama.
We are working with a number of independent production companies (indies), including Hartswood and Red Planet Pictures, to deliver future iterations of ‘First Break’ from 2021.
## **5.2.6 Pact Indie Diversity Training Scheme**
The Pact Indie Diversity Training Scheme is aimed at entry-level talent, and diverse trainees complete a six-month placement with an independent production company. The Indie Training Fund (ITF) led on delivering the Scheme’s 2019/20 training programme (its seventh year) from March to September 2019. Eight trainees benefited from various courses and support, and a range of indies provided placements.
As a result of the pandemic the Scheme could not run in 2020/21. The Scotland-based part of the Scheme restarted around the end of the financial year (March 2021); and the London-based element was expected to restart in Autumn 2021.
ScreenSkills aims to continue supporting Pact on diversity initiatives.
## **5.2.7 Animation new talent support**
During 2020/21 the Animation Skills Fund targeted a range of activities to develop animation talent at all levels, given the pandemic constraints. Support for new talent included, via a partnership with Into Film, the production of an animation lesson which enabled schools to run animation classes. Within a month of publishing the lesson in January 2020 there had been 92 downloads.
Fund members agreed other priorities for support during the year, including: an ongoing partnership with 3Dami (a non-profit organisation promoting digital art among pre-university students, linking them with each other and with industry); and the NextGen Skills Academy ‘Blender 3D’ animation clubs, which develop skills among over 1,500 young people across the UK.
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## **5.2.8 Apprenticeships and National Occupational Standards (NOS)**
## **5.2.8.1 English Apprenticeship Standards**
During 2020/21 we continued to develop a range of English Apprenticeship Standards to meet screen industry needs. An English Standard takes time to develop, working with industry
practitioners through employer advisory groups. The Standard is then submitted to the Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education (IfATE) for approval, after which an End-Point Assessment (EPA) plan is developed. We invested £29k in our apprenticeship work during 2020/21.
## **English Apprenticeship Standards fully approved in 2020/21**
- Media Production Coordinator (Level 4)
- VFX Computer-Generated Supervisor (Level 7)
- VFX Artist Technical Director (Level 6)
- Junior VFX Artist (Level 4)
- Camera Prep Technician (Level 3)
- Post Production Engineer (Level 5)
- Assistant Recording Technician (Level 4)
Another nine standards were developed during 2020/21 as part of our wider careers and skills partnerships, led by relevant partner organisations (CCS and UK Fashion and Textiles/UKFT):
- Approved for delivery in July/August 2020: Junior Advertising Creative; Material Cutter (UKFT); and Knitting Product Manufacturing Technician (UKFT).
- In development – proposal approved: Scenic Artist; Scenic Construction Technician; Scenic Automation; Artist & Repertoire/A&R; Musical Instrument Technician; and Hair, Wigs, Make up and Prosthetics Technician.
Government statistics track the number of apprentice ‘starts’ on English Standards. Between February 2020 and January 2021 (the period during which available data most closely aligned to ScreenSkills' 2020/21 financial year) there were almost 900 starts on the English Apprenticeship Standards in which ScreenSkills was involved, as follows:
- Junior Content Producer: 828 starts
- Junior Journalist: 22 starts
- Broadcast Production Assistant: 13 starts
- Broadcast and Media Systems Technical Operator: 2 starts
- Broadcast Systems Engineer: 13 starts
- Broadcast and Media Systems Technician: 7 starts
- Post Production Technical Operator: 9 starts
- Media Production Coordinator: 1 start
- Photographic Assistant: 3 starts
During 2020/21 a wide range of industry practitioners contributed to Standard development work through employer advisory groups and nation-specific development work. The following feedback was provided by Sylvia Priest, Co-Director at Resolution Television Ltd.
- “Being asked to chair the Trailblazer group for the Junior Content Producer Standard was both a surprise and a pleasure. Working with a broad selection of professionals
- **“ ”** from the industry will create an apprenticeship that, I hope, will meet the requirements of all companies in this sector. As joint owner of a small production company I have found that sourcing training of sufficient calibre and relevance is not easy. The hope is that this iteration of the apprenticeship will encourage new talent to join and progress throughout our industry to meet the challenges of the digital sector. The support for the group from ScreenSkills has been invaluable. Their comprehensive understanding of the process and experience in how to make things fit within the structure of the Standard has kept everything on track for success.”
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## **5.2.8.2 Welsh Apprenticeship development**
In 2020/21 we reviewed and updated our apprenticeship offer in Wales. Our Creative Media apprenticeship is aimed at new entrant roles in the following creative media industries: broadcast production – TV and radio, interactive media and marketing, content creation, film, radio, costume, hair and make-up, prosthetics, camera and lighting, props creation and set craft at level 3; and roles in online communities/social media management, digital asset development for creative industries (including advertising and marketing communications), user testing of interactive products and multiplatform sectors (including TV/online crossover products at level 4). The framework was reviewed and updated with the help of Creative Wales and the following employers and training providers: BBC Wales; Gorilla; Real SFX; S4C; GR Digital; Sgil Cymru; Cardiff and Vale College; Panda; Educ8 Group; Gower College Swansea; and Grwp Llandrillo Menai.
The final apprenticeship framework was approved by the Welsh Government in mid-March 2021. We were commended on our thorough work on this framework.
## **5.2.8.3 National Occupational Standards (NOS) work**
Over the last year we also completed National Occupational Standards (NOS) work in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Standards are managed differently in the nations, requiring liaison with their skills agencies. After securing preferred supplier status with Skills Development Scotland (SDS) for three years from 2019/20 – initially working on the development or re-development of NOS, on apprenticeship frameworks and on qualifications for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales – we continued to secure projects via competitive bidding. During 2020/21 we secured funding to review and redevelop NOS for Editing, Interactive Media and Computer Games, Hair & Make up for Film and TV and Costume. We also translated the following NOS suites into Welsh: Camera, Lighting for Film and TV, Sound Recording and Music Technology. Additionally we secured a last-minute contract with the Welsh Government for the Welsh translation of the newly-published Costume NOS.
This is a comment from Sue Jeffries, Managing Director of Sgil Cymru, one of the key stakeholders with whom we worked to redevelop the Welsh apprenticeship offer during 2020/21:
- “ScreenSkills worked with a group of employers on the review for the Creative Digital Media standard. They supported the group, the qualification and the
- **“ ”** apprenticeship redevelopment through to a highly successful conclusion this year. This has proved to be a great leap forward for our new CRIW _(‘crew’ in Welsh_ ) shared apprenticeship scheme – which ScreenSkills also supported during the initial pilot stage – and in the development of the ATA. ScreenSkills have been a huge help in developing our Welsh apprenticeship provision.”
During our 2020/21 NOS development we faced an unprecedented challenge, as the majority of productions were shut for several months due to pandemic restrictions – especially in the live events and theatre sector. We were pleased with the level of engagement we managed to achieve, despite the challenges – especially given that practitioners were extremely busy when production restarted. These are some of the organisations with whom we worked on NOS during the year: Bectu; Screen Northern Ireland; Creative Wales; Screen Alliance Wales; Boom Cymru; Creative Scotland; BBC Studios around the nations; the Royal Opera House; Pinewood Studios; Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre; the Creative Media Skills Institute; Scottish Games Network; Epic Games; UKIE; NextGen Skills Academy; Escape Studios; the UK Screen Alliance; the Guild of British Television and Film Editors; Gorilla TV; Mammoth Screen; and the Independent Post Company.
The Costume NOS review work was a collaboration between ScreenSkills, UK Fashion and Textiles (UKFT) and CCS. The standards developed and published are now adopted for all productions including TV and film, theatre and live events. This NOS review generated 39 consultation responses online, including feedback from the experts listed below:
- Stacey Richards Powell – Military and civilian costumier
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- Jany Tamime – credits: _Judy_ , Harry Potter movies, _Spectre_ , _Gravity_ , _Skyfall_ , _Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason_
- Claire Anderson – credits: _Black Mirror_ , _Good Omens_ , _American Gods_ , _The Limehouse Golem_
- Michelle Barrett – credits: _Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason_ , _MI-5_ , _Spooks_ , _Autopsy: The last hours of Steve Jobs_ , _The last hours of Prince_
- Susannah Buxton – credits: _Poldark_ , _Galavant_ , _Downtown Abbey_ , _Kingdom_
- Ray Holman – credits: _Doctor Who_ , _Torchwood_ , _Fleabag_ , _The Split_ , _Broadchurch_ , _Apple Tree Yard_ , _Law and Order UK_ , _Wizards vs Aliens_
- Tracey Ewen – credits: _Casualty, Crime Stories, The BiIl, Murder Investigation Team_
- Marnie Ormiston – credits: _Game of Thrones, Da Vinci’s Demons, Outlander, Doctor Who, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Star Wars – The Attack of the Clones, Blitz, Stardust, The Railway Man_
- Hazel Corcoran – credits: _Wonder Woman 1984, Into the Badlands, Penny Dreadful_
- Breege Fahy – credits: _Game of Thrones, Run and Jump , Becoming Jane_
- Cathy Young – credits: _Game of Thrones, Marcella, Line of Duty, Jericho, The Deceived, Calvary, Jimmy’s Hall_
As a result of the Hair & Make-up NOS review the suite is now titled Hair, Wigs, Make up and Prosthetics for Productions (as standards were rationalised to cover theatre and live events). The review generated 24 consultation responses online, with feedback from these experts:
- Amanda Gaffey – The ImageLab School, England and Bectu Hair & Make up Education and Skills Team lead
- Chris Boyle – The Disney Theatrical Company
- Patricia Strong – Patricia Strong Academy, Northern Ireland ( _Game of Thrones_ )
- Magi Vaughan – Freelance Make up Artist and Designer, Wales ( _Mallorca Files, Downton Abbey_ )
The Editing NOS review generated 38 consultation responses online, with feedback from key stakeholders such as: the UK Screen Alliance; Kaboom TV; Viacom CBS; Gorilla TV; Mammoth Screen; the Independent Post Company; and BBC Scotland.
Throughout the Interactive Media and Computer Games NOS review we were in discussion with members of ScreenSkills’ Games Council – with representation from the following major games industry stakeholders in the UK: TIGA; Rebellion; Salford University; Frontier; Ubisoft; Lockwood Publishing; NextGen Academy; Playground Games; and Oliver Twins. Both UKIE and TIGA supported the process by disseminating the industry consultation details; and we also ran a UKIE members workshop to discuss the NOS. In addition to the focus group feedback we received twelve online consultation responses. As a result of this NOS review we merged the Interactive Media and Computer Games and Immersive Technology NOS into one suite, now called Interactive Media.
## **5.2.9 Centre of Screen Excellence: Yorkshire**
Following the Leeds launch of the Centre of Screen Excellence: Yorkshire (CoSE:Y) in February 2020 good progress was made during 2020/21 on developing the model for regional skills development to support UK-wide screen production hubs. There is a particular focus on vocational, entry-level opportunities.
Six craft courses had been developed by the NFTS – in consultation with industry, colleges and the Grip Branch: construction; costume; grip; lighting; make-up & hair and production assistant (scripted). Disruption due to the pandemic made it impossible for the Leeds College of Building to complete the construction and lighting courses. The other four courses were re-versioned for online delivery, with virtual learning support provided to students. 39 of the 45 students completed those courses despite the pandemic, a completion rate of 87%. The outcome of the grip course was particularly successful, with seven of the ten students finding work in the industry.
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Five of the courses were revised in the light of lessons from the first year, and 50 students were successfully recruited for courses starting in March and April 2021. Scholarship funds were provided to remove barriers to participation and ensure socio-economic diversity. Students who were not able to complete the lighting course last year were offered the chance to repeat the course, and four took up the offer. It was not possible to schedule the construction course under Covid-19 restrictions.
Lessons learnt from the Yorkshire pilot informed the agreement with Elstree Screen Arts Academy and Elstree Studios on launching a second pilot. The Centre of Screen Excellence: Elstree (CoSE:E) is a simplified and sustainable model, with the Elstree Screen Arts Academy (ESA) as the single education provider. All students will be under the age of nineteen, so the ESA will receive Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) funding. The ESA is currently recruiting for six courses (having added art direction to the five courses they inherited from the Yorkshire Centre): costume, grip, lighting, make-up & hair, production assistant and art direction). The ESA are partnering with Elstree Studios to find placements for the students.
In February 2021 ScreenSkills opened discussions with the Screen Agencies in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to explore the development of national Centres of Screen Excellence. All Centres would share learnings and course outlines. ScreenSkills will ensure that there is a consistent approach to skills-mapping, and to bridge-building with education, in order to avoid fragmentation and to achieve cohesion.
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## **5.3 Strategic priority 3: Continuing professional development (CPD)**
ScreenSkills’ CPD framework comprises four career stages – entry-level, early career, experienced and expert – with cross-cutting competencies. The approach enables ScreenSkills to:
- make CPD central to the continued success of the screen industries in the UK;
- align CPD to screen industry needs;
- develop individuals’ personal responsibility for CPD;
- educate practitioners and employers in effective CPD approaches;
- ensure that CPD is the norm rather than the exception; and
- improve screen industry recruitment and retention.
The framework is used when commissioning high-quality CPD in priority skills areas identified by industry. The structured approach also helps employers to plan their CPD investment and learning support; and it enables individuals – including freelancers – to plan and manage their own skills development.
During 2020/21 ScreenSkills focused on online support for the screen workforce during the pandemic. Around 600 Zoom-delivered sessions were run between April 2020 and March 2021, with almost 10,000 participants. Sessions included industry masterclasses, skills development training and wellbing support. ScreenSkills’ practical support was very well-received and was widely acknowledged by freelancers and employers as having been invaluable during the lockdowns and production restart.
## **5.3.1 Transferer schemes**
During 2020/21 ScreenSkills delivered various training programmes for those considering transferring into the screen industry from another sector. These initiaves were particularly important at a time when many people were unable to work, due to Covid-19, or were losing their jobs in sectors that were predicted to shrink after the pandemic lockdown. ScreenSkills was responding to industry’s demand for skills in key areas – such as accountancy – and it is usually easier (and, often, more effective) to bring in mid-career transferers or returners who already have broad working experience and can settle quickly into a busy working environment. Here are three examples of transferer initiatives delivered by ScreenSkills during 2020/21.
## **‘Skills to Screen’ initiative**
A pilot for ‘Skills to Screen’, a programme to re-skill career changers so that they can move into skills shortage roles, took place at Pinewood Studios in 2019. In 2020/21 there were three more iterations of this initiative: ‘Skills to Screen Bristol’ worked with 31 people in the South West through a one-day virtual event and a networking evening; and ‘Skills to Screen Midlands’ worked with 42 people from central England. ‘Aviation Skills to Screen’ was funded by a £92k Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) Flexible Skills Fund grant (via the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey and Sussex Flexible Skills Fund/FSF); and the initiative aimed to re-skill those made redundant from Heathrow airport as a result of the pandemic. Participants were referred by local job centres. 1,000 people viewed the registration form, 397 completed it and 303 went on to attend one or more of the fourteen sessions offered. Here are two comments from ‘Aviation Skills to Screen’ participants:
- “It was great to hear all of [the presenters’/facilitators’] own experiences of starting off in the industry…..to see that everyone was down to earth and not at all pretentious,
- **“ ”** and it showed that anything is possible as you long as you have the right attitude.”
- “It’s encouraging and reassuring, knowing there is help in transferring my skills from fourteen years in aviation into a new career within the TV and film industry.”
- **“ ”**
Almost 50 of the participants also attended NFTS introductory sessions. ScreenSkills continues to work with ‘Skills to Screen’ cohorts, regularly flagging opportunities to the participants in order to help build the screen skills and talent pipeline.
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## **‘Veterans in Focus’ course**
Following a hugely successful pilot in 2019/20 a second ‘Veterans in Focus’ course was run by ScreenSkills during 2020/21, in partnership with the NFTS. Eight people participated, with the majority immediately going on to work on productions such as _The Baby, Bridgerton, Jungle_ and _The Split_ .
## **‘Accounts Transfer’ programme**
ScreenSkills’ HETV team ran an ‘Accounts Transfer’ programme, enabling people with accounting experience to explore the possibility of transferring into screen from other sectors. Twenty people benefited from industry placements – eight as Location Assistants and twelve as Accounts Assistants.
## **5.3.2 HETV CPD**
HETV’s 2020/21 investment in CPD skills development totalled approximately £301k. During the year the HETV Skills Fund supported 1,881 HETV beneficiaries across the UK. The Fund also partfunded: the Covid basic awareness e-learning module; and the Disability Awareness training for productions, co-funded with the TVSF and completed by 59 participants. Other examples of HETV CPD outcomes during 2020/21 are shown below:
- 373 heads of department and managers benefited from the HETV leadership and management programme;
- 233 heads of department and managers benefited from the HETV ‘Mental Health Awareness’ workshops;
- 138 individuals received HETV bursaries across the UK;
- Over 120 freelancers benefited from local training near their bases in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, delivered via local partnership activity;
- 160 beneficiaries were supported via business skills to help them develop their freelance careers;
- • Twenty individuals benefited from industry transfer-led placements – eight as Location Assistants and twelve as Accounts Assistants (see section 5.3.1, above); and
- Three new producers benefited from Co-Producer placements on _The Responder_ (Dancing Ledge Productions), _Bulletproof 2_ (Vertigo) and _Crossfire_ (Dancing Ledge Productions). The five Co-Producers from the 2019/20 programme are all being mentored by experienced producers.
Despite the pandemic-related challenges we worked with our trainers and internal team to rapidly move a wide range of HETV CPD training online. We also resumed placement opportunities when production restarted. We delivered a relatively successful year of HETV training, which was much needed (and much appreciated) as the production restart involved extensive production activity.
During the year the HETV Skills Fund commissioned annual research – which, along with advice from our industry-led working groups, informed skills investment prioritisation. The research reflected 39 completed online surveys and 41 one-to-one interviews with HODs, mid-level crew and TVfocused agencies based across the UK. The findings were used to inform decision-making in our HETV industry working groups. The responses indicated that UK-wide HETV skills were improving, despite the huge challenges posed by Covid-19. Participants flagged the potential longer-term benefits of having to review working practices due to the pandemic, with new practices helping to bring greater precision. However a lack of available crew, and a lack of crew with the right skills, were highlighted as being challenging. Issues around ‘softer’ skills – such as management, communication and finance – were also raised, although less frequently than in previous years of HETV research. Diversity and inclusion were highlighted as another significant challenge.
## **5.3.3 HETV ‘Make a Move’ (MAM) programme**
‘Make a Move’ (MAM) provides funding for on-the-job training for those identified by production companies as ready to move into a more senior role. The HETV Skills Fund invested £633k in this programme during 2020/21. During the year we supported 80 individuals in stepping up: Accounts x 5; Assistant Directors (AD) x 4; Art x 3; Costume x 5; Director x 1; Locations x 2; Make up x 5; Script
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Editor x 1; Sound x 3; Edit x 1; and Production x 50. The following production grade roles were supported: Producers; Assistant Producers; Line producers; Production Supers; Production Managers; Production Co-ordinators; Assistant Production Co-ordinators; and Production Secretaries. 73% of those supported were women; 14% were from a BAME background; 5% said they had a disability; and 55% were from around the nations and regions.
During the first lockdown all ‘Make a Movers’ from 2019/20 were offered additional support, including sessions on these topics: finance for freelancers; mental health wellbeing; and safe production management. Here are three pieces of feedback from 2020/21 MAM participants:
- Nina, a Sound Mixer on _This is Going to Hurt_ (Sister Pictures) said: “It has been an amazing opportunity – stepping up from being a 2nd Assistant Sound/1st Assistant
- **“ ”** Sound to a Production Sound Mixer. By putting in all the hard work over the years – listening to my mentor, discussing and working through and planning everything – I was able to achieve my goals.”
- Steve, a 2[nd] AD on _The Pursuit of Love_ (Moonage for the BBC) explained: “Prior to entering the ‘Make A Move’ scheme I had done some days here and there as a 2nd
- **“ ”** AD, and had run some small budget things – but I wanted to step up on something more high-end, with a view to becoming an established Crowd 2nd, capable of running HETV and film productions. Given that the learning was done in the middle of a global pandemic, on a period drama, I don’t think the process could have gone any smoother. I was matched well with an experienced team, who gave me space to develop – without blame when things needed improvement, and with congratulations when it went well. Since finishing on _The Pursuit of Love_ I’ve taken a position as a Key 2nd AD, and that is partly due to the experience gained on this job. I feel very confident that I can perform well and put all of that hard-won knowledge into place.”
- Cathy, a Post Supervisor on _Three Families_ (Studio Lambert for the BBC) said: “The production was great at supporting me during this learning process. Julie Clarke
- **“ ”** (Head of Production), Chris Martin (Producer) and Phil Brown all fully supported my move and were very helpful in answering any queries and providing me with the time to learn. I feel confident that I could fulfil the role of Post Supervisor on another similar project, with the production understanding that I still have some learning to do. On bigger projects it would be great to have the mentoring support continued, even on a smaller scale.”
## **5.3.4 HETV Leaders of Tomorrow (formerly known as ‘Fast Track’) programme**
This three-year, inclusive leadership programme supports individuals through training, mentoring and access to a pool of expert professionals and leaders – plus part-funded placements to enable future moves into leadership roles. We invested £13k in developing this programme during 2020/21. We received just under 100 applications, with nineteen places available (Netflix, Sky and the BBC provided additional funds to allow us to grow the programme from fifteen to nineteen places). All nominees needed to be sponsored for a place by a HOD or someone in a more senior role than themselves; and the new cohort was expected to be confirmed in June 2021.
## **5.3.5 Film CPD**
2020/21 investment in film CPD totalled just over £1.3 million (around £211k of Film Skills Fund income and just under £1.1m million of BFI-funded ‘Future Film Skills’ investment). Film CPD investment supported 2,900 beneficiaries on courses across the UK. 56 of the 66 courses (with 2,584 beneficiaries) were funded by BFI ‘Future Film Skills’ programme investment; and the remaining ten courses (with 316 beneficiaries) were delivered through Film Skills Fund investment. All training in 2020/21 was delivered remotely, due to the pandemic.
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A total of 2,234 people benefited from film-supported training and skills opportunities during 2020/21. Topics included: craft and technical skills training; script reading and editing; production team training; production finance and accounting; post-production and VFX; distribution and marketing; virtual production (VP), such as Unreal editing; and courses targeted at career returners and transferers from other sectors. Other support included: ‘Business Toolkit for Freelancers’; ‘Learn to Lead’; unconscious bias training; Covid-19-related resilience training; and supervisor training. 69% of those supported were women; 15% were from BAME backgrounds; 9% said they had a disability; 43% were from the nations and regions; and 13% identified as LGBT.
Here are some examples of feedback from participants on film CPD courses.
- Nadiya, a Post Supervisor, participated in Post-Super’s ‘Picture and sound workflow training for film post-production supervisors’. She explained: “The course was a great
- **“ ”** way to refresh and advance my knowledge of the Post process. It was both informative and interesting, broken down into seminars with extra video content to watch in my own time, along with PDFs and links to help me advance my understanding of post-production. It gave me a better understanding of certain processes and confirmed my understanding of aspects of post-production, making me a more informed and confident post-production supervisor. I highly recommend the course and look forward to taking part in future courses.”
- Laki attended DV Talent’s ‘Nuke Compositing for Film Professionals’ course. He said: “The course has been absolutely great – the skills I developed were one of the main
- **“ ”** reasons I was able to secure this role [as VFX assistant co-ordinator on WarnerMedia’s _Aquaman 2_ ]. I learned as much about the science of cinematography and picture finishing as I did specifically about visual effects. I feel so much more confident in my ability to be a real asset in a VFX department, as I can align what I have learned with all of my previous knowledge. When I was approached for the _Aquaman_ role I was able to demonstrate my new-found familiarity with terminology when speaking about various VFX assets, plates and final renders, as well as showing an understanding of Nuke (when I previously had none). [It] has definitely set me down a path towards VFX producing that previously was not available to me.”
- Fiona participated in Light Forge Academy’s ‘Introduction to Film Production Accounting’. She explained: “I'd been working in finance for more than three years
- **“ ”** when I decided to move from the travel industry to film production accounting. The course supplied me with the industry background to supplement my accounting skills, and to be confident enough to apply to work on an upcoming Marvel project. This has always been a dream of mine, but when the interview was drawing closer nerves were getting the better of me. I used the skills learnt from the presentation skills workshop – breathing, going for a walk, singing – and the nerves began to subside. Despite never having been on a film set the knowledge I gained from the course was enough for me to get my dream Marvel job as my first ever project!”
- Ricardo attended Physical Folk’s ‘Certified DaVinci Resolve Training’. He said: “Prior to applying to the course I was self-taught the basics of DaVinci Resolve. I always
- **“ ”** wanted to learn how to use these tools to an advanced level, but my university didn't offer it and it was too expensive for me to do it externally. During the course I was taught a wealth of knowledge, as well as being given a huge variety of resources to help future-proof my certification. I am extremely grateful to [the course leader] for the additional time he put aside to help me catch up when my ADHD was making it difficult for me to hold focus during the long sessions. Explaining how and why ADHD can affect my learning is often difficult, but he never hesitated to offer support. I am also incredibly grateful for the funding to take this course. After posting my certificate on social media I was approached by three clients. I also made friends with the other students on the course, and we are sharing opportunities and advice.”
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- Kate participated in BIFA’s ‘Springboard’ course. She commented: “I found ‘Springboard’ an absolute revelation. Not only does it organise incredibly useful
- **“ ”** courses, talks and discussions, it also provides something that is seriously missing for indie filmmakers in our industry – solidarity, support and a safe and supportive space to problem-solve, laugh and ask stupid questions – without worrying that it will impact on your career. The idea of ‘skill-sharing’ is brilliant, and the swapping of areas of expertise would be invaluable. I cannot recommend the programme enough.”
- Rebecca participated in 104 Films’ ‘Step Up – Post-production supervisor training for disabled crew’. She explained: “I am two years out of university and have worked as
- **“ ”** a runner, production co-ordinator and, most recently, producer-editor. I want to take the next step to realise my ambition of becoming a post-production Supervisor in VFX. It was one of the most informative courses I’ve been on, and I learnt a lot. The course has helped me, by giving me connections and a clear tailored path on how I can get a job in my desired role. I am currently applying for jobs at Apple and Netflix, among other organisations.”
## **5.3.6 TV Skills Fund (TVSF) CPD**
£324k was invested in TV Skills Fund (TVSF) CPD during 2020/21. Activity included the final block of the Production Co-ordinator scheme, focusing on Cardiff and Bristol. All fourteen participants easily found paid work placements with local indies, despite the pandemic, due to the ongoing demand for people in this role.
The fifth Series Producer programme cohort will graduate in July 2021, following an extended training programme which was delivered almost entirely online during 2020/21. Only the final two days of the programme will be delivered face-to-face, with the participant group meeting in person for the first time just before they graduate.
In response to Covid-19 we rapidly developed and ran a range of online sessions, via Zoom, to support freelancers working across unscripted TV. Between 30 March 2020 and 31 March 2021 the TVSF invested £182k in these short courses. The TVSF and ITF teams worked together to deliver 574 online sessions, with 9,633 individuals benefiting from these sessions. In the first half of 2020/21 the free sessions included a wide range of industry masterclasses, such as ‘Lunch with a commissioner’ and ‘Meet the talent manager’. In the second half of the year, as people started returning to work, we focused more on skills training and personal development opportunities – including: ‘Professional development toolkit’; ‘Premiere Pro essentials’; ‘P/D bootcamp’; ‘FS7 camera training’; ‘Budgets and schedules for production managers’; ‘Beyond redundancy – setting up as a sole trader’; ‘Commentary writing’; ‘The perfect pitch’; ‘Drones: flying camera and storytelling’; ‘Hiring and managing a team’; ‘Mastering feedback’; ‘Business affairs and copyright’; ‘Equality and inclusion essentials’; ‘Neurodiversity workshops’; ‘Networking and allyship’; and ‘Resilience workshops’. Oneto-one spot coaching sessions were also offered.
We also ran industry sessions highlighting topics such as ‘Creative excellence during Covid’, ‘How TV gives a voice to mental health’ and ‘Inclusive and authentic programming’. Practitioner contribution highlights included David Harewood sharing his story of the making of _Psychosis and Me_ (Films of Record for BBC Two/Open University). Interactive Disability Awareness training sessions resumed online (co-funded with the HETV Skills Investment Fund), with 116 attendees.
Here are some comments from those attending online sessions.
- From a participant on ‘Mastering feedback’: “Very useful, as feedback doesn't happen very often in the freelance world of TV. Listening to others about their fear of speaking
- **“ ”** up or asking for something shows there is a need for courses like this and a need for a culture of change in our industry… Brilliant about showing us how we can start to
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change this culture…. The feedback tools we were shown were constructive as to how to gain a win-win.”
- From a participant on ‘Networking Skills for Freelancers’: “Very good tips that I'm already making use of. Networking isn't usually a skill that is taught so it's great to get
- **“ ”** some guidance on how to do it.”
- From a participant on ‘Stepping into Management 101’: “This was a fantastic and valuable course which hit on many of the core challenges of management. It provided
- **“ ”** practical and realistic ways of being a better manager in the workplace and created effective frames of reference through which to view leadership. I felt supported, valued and acknowledged throughout the course and was comfortable contributing in the conversation. I felt challenged, but not out of my depth, which created a perfect environment for learning. Unlike many management courses, this course was not filled with jargon, and it was expertly tailored to the world of television.”
- From a participant on ‘Navigating the Rights Minefield: Business Affairs and Copyright’: “This course was great… very interesting material and information.”
- **“ ”**
- From a participant in ‘FS7 training for beginners’: “Really interesting and informative. Worked surprisingly well over Zoom.”
- **“ ”**
- From a participant in David Harewood’s session on the making of _Psychosis and Me_ : “Fantastic session – such an incredible insight into this thought-provoking documentary.”
- **“ ”**
During 2020/21 the process and governance details for the new Unscripted TV Skills Fund were discussed and agreed. ‘Task and finish’ group members were regularly involved and updated. Additional broadcasters and streamers signed up to the Fund; and a launch date of 1 June 2021 was approved by Pact, participating broadcasters and the Task and finish group. The BBC and Channel 4 committed to providing ‘start-up’ investment for the Fund’s first two years.
## **5.3.7 Animation CPD**
During 2020/21 £17k of Animation Skills Fund investment supported projects to develop animation talent at all levels. Activities included:
- Another iteration of the Animated Women UK ‘Helen North Achieve’ programme – which helped an additional 24 women working in VFX and animation, at various career levels, to step up in their careers. Additional stand-alone, online workshops were run to help a further 74 participants learn about managing people, presenting their ideas and developing their professional brand.
- The Children’s Media Conference’s ‘SkillBuilder’ pitching workshop (delivered online) – supporting training, knowledge transfer and networking between 95 UK-wide animation professionals.
- Online masterclasses and panel discussions, run in partnership with the Manchester Animation Festival (MAF) – engaging 446 professionals via the MAF and 2,500 overall (the latter figure including new entrant participants).
- Free online ‘Toon Boom Harmony’ software training for 37 animators, technical directors and riggers to hone their skills. 76% of attendees were based outside London and the South East; and gender, LGBT and other inclusion targets were achieved. Many participants went on to work on animation productions in creative communities around the regions, where animation is underrepresented (e.g. Derry-based Dog Ears, Stirling-based Wild Child and Liverpool-based Fourth Wall).
- The ‘Writing for Children’s Animation Workshop’ for fourteen early-career writers – including an online networking session enabling participants to meet producers and commissioners, with more than half of the participants being women and over 40% being from BAME backgrounds.
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- Support for an animation director from a BAME background to ‘step up’, so that they could learn the skills required as a series director on the BBC Children’s production _JoJo & Gran Gran_ .
A ‘High-End Budgeting for Animated Series’ clinic was funded by the Film Skills Fund, supporting cross-over skills development for ten experienced animation professionals.
Here are three examples of feedback on Animation skills development support during 2002/21.
- Noeleen – financial controller at Sixteen South, the award-winning 2D animation studios and production company in Belfast – signed up for a place on ScreenSkills’
- **“ ”** ‘Animation budgeting’ clinic. She commented: "It was a great opportunity to gain exposure to industry experts who provided invaluable guidance. As an accountant working in animation I wanted to bridge the gap between production and finance and understand the connection between scheduling and budgeting and everything in between.” Noeleen shared projects with other participants, discussing how best to address any issues, supported by advice from experts. She said: "It was so beneficial to be paired with a mentor who was specifically selected to work with me on a one-to-one basis”. The mentoring relationship continued after the course.
- Niki was working as a 2D pipeline director on the Netflix show _DeadEndina_ in 2020, when she decided to apply for a ‘Technical direction with ToonBoom’ course. She
- **“ ”** said the five-day course was just what she needed. “I was setting up the Harmony database, so the timing couldn’t have been better. I was able to learn from the course in the afternoon and implement what I had learned into our pipeline the next morning. I learned so much about scripting and the capabilities of it.”
- After benefiting from ScreenSkills-supported mentoring Maisie wanted to explore whether to write for live action or animation. She chose a ‘Writing for Children’s
- **“ ”** Animation’ course. Having learned about different types of animation and children’s TV, as well as opportunities for writers, she explained: “The course was for those with some experience in related fields – those who had either written published children's books or those linked to the animation industry but who had not perhaps had a series produced yet. Having a course leader who has created and sold their own shows was really useful. I’ve had some correspondence with various producers and people on the course since the course finished.”
## **5.3.8 Indie Training Fund (ITF) CPD**
The total 2020/21 ITF income was £312k from membership contributions, course fees and other income – including internal income of £10k from the TV Skills Fund to help deliver projects.
During 2020/21 the ITF team worked with TV Skills Fund colleagues to deliver numerous online sessions across unscripted TV, which supported the screen industry workforce during the Covid-19 lockdown and production restart (see section 5.3.6, above).
## **5.3.9 Children’s TV CPD**
During 2020/21 the Children’s TV Skills Fund invested £122k in CPD. This included support for sixteen ‘Make a Move’ (MAM – see section 5.3.3) scheme participants, providing funding to productions who commit to developing talented individuals by enabling them to ‘step up’ on an active production. MAM-supporting productions have trained people to work across children’s TV in a variety of roles including script editor, line producer, researcher and production manager.
1,028 participants attended at least one of the 57 online sessions which ran to support Children’s TV practitioners, on topics including: ‘Optimising social media for programmes: 13-16 year olds’; ‘How to
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get your idea commissioned’; and ‘Understanding the IP value chain’. The Fund continued to support ‘Get The Knowledge!’ training courses, delivered online in three parts; and, due to the success of these online sessions, it is likely that they will continue being delivered online.
## **5.3.10 E-learning modules**
During 2020/21 ScreenSkills launched its first six e-learning modules – the result of development work started in mid-2019. The e-learning modules are 30- to 40-minute courses which can be completed during a lunch-hour or after work, or they can be included as part of wider learning.
ScreenSkills’ e-learning modules use an effective, structured design which incorporates videos, animations, interactive quizzes and text. Here are the modules available by the end of March 2021, with launch dates and completion numbers to 31 March 2021:
|**Module**|**Launch**|**Completions**|
|---|---|---|
|Coronavirus basic awareness onproduction|July2020|56,025|
|Coronavirus basic awareness in cinemas|August 2020|1,658|
|Tacklingharassment & bullyingat work|May2020|2,026|
|Mentoringfor mentees|April 2020|1,194|
|Mentoringfor mentors|April 2020|385|
|Addressingunconscious bias: basic awareness at work|February2021|928|
The modules have been very positively received: an average of 93% of users are satisfied with this e-learning experience; and 79% would recommend it to a colleague (rising to 90% in some cases).
Towards the end of 2020/21 we started developing three more modules on the topics of employability skills, mental health awareness and inclusive recruitment. The modules are likely to be launched from Summer 2021.
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## **5.4 ScreenSkills bursaries**
ScreenSkills bursaries provide financial assistance to those looking to enter, progress in, return to or transfer into the screen industries. The aim is to ensure that the industry has access – now and in the future – to the skills and talent it needs for continued success, by helping to unlock opportunities across all types of screen work. Supporting an individual with a bursary to develop their career helps the screen industries to respond to skills gaps and priority shortage areas. Our bursaries also support those from groups which are currently underrepresented across the screen industry.
ScreenSkills bursaries address a range of needs – including industry-standard training and associated travel, accommodation and care costs; driving lessons; software licensing; and equipment purchase. The online system provides a single route to accessing bursaries – making the application process as straightforward as possible, regardless of the funding pot or support need.
## **5.4.1 ScreenSkills bursary investment**
1,215 applications were received via the ScreenSkills bursary system from 1 April 2020 to 30 March 2021. During 2020/2021 ScreenSkills committed a total investment of £667k to 717 bursaries. 630 bursaries were solely funded by a specific sector, and 60 were co-funded between sectors[2] . 2020/2021 bursary investment was funded from: the BFI’s ‘Future Film Skills’ (FFS) programme; through industry contributions to the High-end TV and Children’s TV Skills Funds; and through TV Skills Fund investment targeted at improving diversity and inclusion. Applicants may be transferred for other sectors’ consideration if they have a strong application and the funding request more closely matches funding criteria in another sector.
Diversity figures for actioned bursaries during 2020/21 were: those identifying as women – 60%; those from a BAME background – 25%; those saying they had a disability – 16%; those identifying as LGBT – 16%; and those based outside London and the South East – 47%. 51% of approved and actioned bursaries were awarded to applicants at entry or early career-stage. During the year:
- An average bursary amount of £1,273 was applied for across all sectors. An average of £926 was awarded per successful applicant, via approved/actioned bursaries.
- The most frequently supported software packages for which bursary funding was awarded were ‘Final Draft’ and ‘Movie Magic Scheduling’.
- The most frequently funded training was Afro Hair skills courses.
- We supported eight beneficiaries in attending Covid-19 safety-related courses – such as ‘Safe Management of Productions’ (an online course) and ‘Managing Covid-19 Risks on Productions For Freelancers’.
- Despite large periods of time when bursaries for driving lessons were suspended (due to pandemic-related travel restrictions) eight sets of driving lessons and associated costs were funded this year (from FFS investment).
- Bursaries continued to be awarded to support individuals’ career development across departments, via the purchase of specific pieces of equipment: mics and mixers in sound; updated home work-stations for post-production; specialist lenses in camera; starter kit bags in costume; and wet weather gear for location crew members.
- In line with the pandemic-related home-working requirements bursary awards for online courses increased, enabling support for personal development via remote training – including courses on topics such as: Edit Producing; City and Guilds Home Study Electrics, Levels 2 and 3; Colour Grading; and After Effects.
> 2 A bursary ‘commitment’ means that the bursary application has been approved at the application review stage and the funds were committed in the 2019/2020 financial year, to be awarded and paid after the final paperwork has been completed. An ‘approved/actioned’ bursary means that the bursary was approved, the award has been confirmed to the applicant, the acceptance paperwork has been completed and the initial payments have been made.
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## **5.4.2 ‘Future Film Skills’ programme investment in film-related bursaries**
During 2020/21 around £557k was committed from the FFS programme, supporting 545 bursaries in film and VFX as well as additional applicants from sectors including Animation, HETV and Unscripted TV (i.e. applications were transferred where a strong application more closely matched funding criteria in another sector). FFS co-funding supported bursaries with Animation, Children’s TV, HETV and unscripted TV (the latter via the TVSF). The total of 569 FFS-funded bursaries helped to support increased screen workforce diversity. 56% were awarded to applicants who identified as female; 27% went to applicants from BAME backgrounds (up from 21% the previous year); 16% said they had a disability; 17% identified as LGBT; and 45% were based outside London and the South East. 52% of approved and actioned bursaries were awarded to applicants at entry or early career-stages.
## **5.4.3 Animation bursaries**
£15k of Animation funding was invested in eighteen animation bursaries (including three co-funds by Animation and another sector). Fifteen other animation applications were funded by FFS. 50% of animation skills funded bursaries (sole- and co-funded) were awarded to applicants who identified as female; 33% went to applicants from BAME backgrounds; 28% said they had a disability; 11% identified as LGBT; and 72% were based outside London and the South East. 55% of approved/actioned bursaries were awarded to applicants at entry or early career-stages.
## **5.4.4 VFX bursaries**
£25k of FFS funding was allocated to seventeen VFX-related bursaries. 41% of funding was awarded to applicants who identified as female; 12% went to applicants from BAME backgrounds; 6% said they had a disability; 24% identified as LGBT; and 41% were based outside London and the South East. 43% of approved/actioned VFX bursaries were awarded to applicants at entry or early career-stages.
## **5.4.5 HETV bursaries**
£66k of HETV funding was committed to 121 HETV-related bursaries (sole- and co-funded). 121 HETV-funded bursaries were awarded, helping to support increased screen workforce diversity. 77% of HETV-related bursaries were awarded to applicants who identified as female; 14% went to applicants from BAME backgrounds; 12% said they had a disability; 13% identified as LGBT; and 48% were based outside London and the South East. 45% of approved/actioned HETV bursaries were awarded to applicants at entry or early career-stages.
## **5.4.6 TV Skills Fund (TVSF) bursaries**
Around £10k of TV Skills Fund (TVSF) income was committed to 30 unscripted TV-related bursaries (9 of which were co-funds with other sectors). 73% were awarded to applicants who identified as female; 17% went to applicants from BAME backgrounds; 27% said they had a disability; 13% identified as LGBT; and 87% were based outside London and the South East. 53% of approved/actioned bursaries were awarded to applicants at entry or early career stages.
## **5.4.7 Children’s TV bursaries**
Seven bursaries were awarded, with total committed investment of just under £1k. FFS funding was invested in three additional bursaries.
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## **5.5 Accreditation: ScreenSkills Select**
## **5.5.1 Select strategy and planning**
ScreenSkills Select’s strategy is overseen by an industry advisory group (which meets quarterly), comprising ten senior industry figures from film, TV, animation and post-production. Their insight and advice on employment and recruitment was crucial during the pandemic, helping ScreenSkills to refocus Select benefits so that course leaders, tutors and students could stay across industry and skills changes. Select support during 2020/21 included: online industry insight sessions for students and course leaders; an employability toolkit and industry panel events for final-year students delivered between May 2020 and March 2021; ‘Train the Trainer’ sessions for course tutors, run in June and September 2020; and our first ScreenSkills Select Annual Congress, run in March 2021.
|**Events**|**Audience**|**Dates**|**Participants**|
|---|---|---|---|
|Employability events|Students|May 2020–March 2021|1792|
|Industry insight events|Students and educators|May 2020|442|
|Train the Trainer3|Educators|June–Sept 2020|81|
|Annual Congress|Educators and industry|March 2021|183|
There were 3,193 final-year student beneficiaries of ScreenSkills Select courses during 2020/21. Almost 2,500 delegates also accessed ScreenSkills Select benefits during 2020/21.
## **5.5.2 Select endorsement and annual reviews**
During 2020/21 we endorsed 37 courses through ScreenSkills Select. Fourteen course applications (ten undergraduate and four post-graduate programmes) were submitted and assessed through the Select endorsement process. These institutions submitted applications: University of Bradford; University for the Creative Arts; Falmouth University; Norwich University of the Arts; Screen and Film School; Solent University, Southampton; Warwickshire College Group; and University of Westminster. 23 courses from the previous ‘Tick’ accreditation scheme were successfully converted to Select during 2020/21, through the new annual review process. A total of around 100 courses across 44 institutions were endorsed under ScreenSkills Select by the end of March 2021.
During the year we introduced an enhanced annual review process for Select courses, completing 81 reviews. The online annual review meeting enables discussion, guidance and support between the course team, industry evaluator and Select team members – and it also generates feedback on the range and quality of Select benefits. Discussion points include: how courses are responding to the changing needs of industry (and, during 2020/21, to pandemic-related challenges); potential improvements; and progress against the development areas raised during the endorsement process.
## **5.5.3 Student testimonials from Select-endorsed courses**
Morgan, a year 3 BA (Hons) Animation student at Edge Hill University, commented: “The ScreenSkills Select employability toolkit session was extremely helpful. I genuinely couldn’t recommend it enough – it gave me a positive insight into starting to build my portfolio and skills towards interviews _.”_
> 3 During 2019/20 we developed and piloted ‘Train the Trainer’ courses to help those delivering screen industry short courses to improve the quality and effectiveness of their training. We quickly adapted the third pilot course in March 2020 to run via Zoom (due to Covid-19 restrictions) and to focus on effective practice in online training. This helped trainers working with ScreenSkills to move their training programmes online during the pandemic.
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Caleb took the Film Production BA, a ScreenSkills-endorsed degree course, at the University of Portsmouth. “I applied for a Select-endorsed degree because I trusted the course to keep up with film industry changes,” he said. “Because equipment improves rapidly it was important to choose a course that’s up-to-date with current industry standards. We were able to borrow pieces of equipment whenever we wanted so we could learn how to use them in our own time and at our own pace.” The university also encouraged students to attend industry events to build a network. Caleb met the managing director of a rental house and secured an internship, which starts after lockdown. Until then he is working as a freelance camera trainee on commercials and music videos. “There is so much to learn and I really want to nail the fundamentals before progressing.”
## **5.5.4 Select course leader testimonials**
Penny Holton is Course Leader for the BA (Hons) Computer Character Animation at Teesside University. She explained: “ScreenSkills Select has been an invaluable help to us during the pandemic. By far the biggest impact has been the ‘Train the Trainer’ sessions about teaching online. The sessions focused on the real challenges and opportunities created by delivering online and allowed us to meet fellow ScreenSkills Select course lecturers around the country. The industry insight sessions gave university staff and students a fascinating peep into a number of industry roles. Being an endorsed ScreenSkills Select course has been a real benefit this year to both staff and students.”
Kieron Butler, Course Leader for Television Production Degrees at Solent University, Southampton said: “In the last year during Covid and lockdown, ScreenSkills Select have supported us with invaluable resources and opportunities. ‘Train the Trainer’ sessions helped our course team understand online teaching. Their industry guest talks and workshops are second to none; and, recently, ScreenSkills Select held another excellent employability panel event for our students.”
## **5.5.5 Federation for Industry Sector Skills & Standards (FISSS) certification**
As part of our responsibility as a member of the Federation for Industry Sector Skills & Standards (FISSS) ScreenSkills is the certificating body for various qualification frameworks and provider institutions. 74 certificates were issued during 2020/21 (with some certification responsibilities transferring from FISSS to IfATE). Details of the certificates issued between April 2020 and March 2021 are shown below (with no certificates issued in Wales):
- England: total number of certificates issued – 60 (58 issued through the Creative and Digital Media framework)
- Scotland: total number of certificates issued – 14 (all issued through the Creative and Digital Media framework)
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## **5.6 ScreenSkills UK-wide mentoring network**
During 2020/21 ScreenSkills built on the good mentoring practice established in 2019/20, grew its mentoring community and provided further resources to mentors, mentees and those supporting the mentoring partnerships. These are some of the main achievements during the year:
- The number of applications from organisations requesting mentoring funding doubled against the previous year (2019/20) – with over £415k being awarded to fifteen mentoring programmes.
- 1,454 mentees were matched and introduced to mentors across the ScreenSkills Mentoring Network – which includes the ScreenSkills Mentoring Programme plus funded and non-funded partner programmes’ mentees. 447 of these mentees were matched and introduced to mentors as part of the ScreenSkills Mentoring Programme.
- Of the 1,454 mentees supported: 66% were women; 37% were from a BAME background; 17% said they had a disability; and 19% identified as LGBT. ScreenSkills mentoring exceeded FFS programme targets for supporting underrepresented groups.
- Additional support for mentees and mentors included a series of webinars on development areas – such as building resilience, remote working and learning styles. Networking webinars were also offered to mentees, in response to feedback.
- Information on the screen industry and on learning and development topics was strengthened during the year and regularly distributed.
- Additional support for mentees and mentors on funded and non-funded programmes included free training, guidance and resources. A new leaflet was developed with Leonard Cheshire to help mentors to: understand a best practice approach to disability; spot the signs that a mentee may be facing barriers during mentoring; have effective conversations about barriers and adjustments; and consider how to work inclusively with the mentee during their mentoring partnership.
- 1,393 mentors across the ScreenSkills Mentoring Network (The ScreenSkills Mentoring Programme, funded and non-funded partners) registered during the year.
Some examples of mentee feedback on their 2020/21 experience are shown below:
- “I've been lucky enough to be partnered with a wonderful mentor who has offered me invaluable advice on how to build up my CV, how to handle opportunities, interviews
- **“ ”** and contacts and how, basically, to move forward to get my footing in the industry.”
- “The negotiation tips have already helped me get access to a location that previously was off limits. Management tips were also great and have helped me run my team
- **“ ”** better. It’s particularly interesting to hear about my mentor’s job and their perspective and experiences – it’s things you don't normally get to talk about with people in high-up places. Mentoring has already improved my skills in negotiating and management – things that are we don't usually get taught in TV.”
- “My mentor was absolutely amazing. Thanks to his advice I was employed as a researcher for a prime-time television documentary… In a year where the industry
- **“ ”** slowed down, and was hit hard due to Covid, my mentor helped me retain hope that a career in this industry was possible and helped me progress within it.”
- “My mentor has helped me to have confidence in my skills and sell them in my CV without the usual ‘imposter syndrome’.”
- **“ ”**
- “ScreenSkills’ mentoring programme…has helped me to understand better the workflow of sound post-production as well as to expand my network with fellow sound designers.”
- **“ ”**
- “An amazing scheme for a producer, where there is less formal support out there when you are starting out… I have received incredible insights and advice so far.”
- **“ ”**
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These comments from mentors show how they have benefited from the mentoring experience:
- “I really gained insight into how hard it can be to get your foot in the door. However what my mentee and I discovered is that you have to persevere and keep at it, and
- **“ ”** you will slowly reach the goals you wish to achieve.”
- **“ ”**
- “You offer mentors first-class training and support.”
- “I got so much out of it and gained a friend in the process – which, after this difficult year, has been most welcome. Being a mentor with ScreenSkills will be the best
- **“ ”** thing you’ll ever do, and I promise you’ll get more out of it than you thought possible.”
These feedback comments are from mentees and mentors participating in programmes run by ScreenSkills-supported mentoring partner organisations:
- “Crossroads mentoring offered me an opportunity to learn from someone in the industry that I've long admired. Their insight made me look at how I develop ideas in
- **“ ”** a fresh light – and my approach to each project (especially international projects) is noticeably stronger for it. I've really enjoyed the experience so far.”
- “Through this mentor programme I've managed to connect with a top industry professional I never would have had the confidence to have approached otherwise. It
- **“ ”** has helped to focus my career goals and, through meeting with my mentor, navigate an achievable path into a genre of TV I've only dreamed of working in. I'm really enjoying the experience – just having someone so you can ask questions, and having them share their wealth of experience openly and honestly, is so beneficial and helpful.”
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## **5.7 Marketing, communications and engagement**
## **5.7.1 Industry and influencer engagement**
The pandemic year transformed our engagement with industry and influencers, as well as our delivery. Face-to-face meetings and briefings were replaced with a large and fast-moving programme of events and masterclasses. This generated high-level engagement with commissioners and other industry leaders who agreed to speak at and lead online sessions. It also fostered a strong sense of community among tens of thousands of those working across the industry. Industry practitioners’ positive feedback demonstrated their appreciation of ScreenSkills’ support and the sense of community with other industry professionals during a challenging year.
ScreenSkills events included three high-level debates with ‘Broadcast’ magazine on key industry issues – including freelancers, leadership and diversity – with the latter session (‘How to make 2020 a year of genuine change’) chaired by David Olusoga. These events attracted audiences of over 500. An industry-wide audience of nearly 800 attended another important session on ‘Production after lockdown – working with the Covid-19 guidance’.
Leading industry figures – including the teams behind HBO’s _Avenue 5_ and _Little Mix – The Search_ along with ScreenSkills’ Deputy Chair, Alex Hope – addressed the inaugural ScreenSkills Select Congress in March 2021. The event fostered stronger links and understanding between education and industry.
ScreenSkills patrons – a group of influential senior industry figures such as Lord Puttnam and Lord Grade – continued to provide advice and support our Government lobbying. Other advocacy supporters included the _Bond_ producer, Barbara Broccoli, and Andrew M. Smith, Pinewood’s Corporate Affairs Director. We also engaged with MPs and peers on key issues through the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on the media, for whom we write occasional articles and with whom a discussion was held on diversity and inclusion in post-Covid film and TV. ScreenSkills engaged with Government departments including the DCMS, DfE, the Department of International Trade (DIT) and the Treasury on issues including the Apprenticeship Levy and virtual production. National Lottery publicity featured examples of how Lottery investment has supported ScreenSkills alumni in its advocacy with the public and with Government, including a feature in ‘Politics Home’.
A new ScreenSkills patron, Amma Asante, backed the launch of ‘Film Forward’, a mid-career film progression programme for talent from minority ethnic backgrounds. A new group of ambassadors – including the broadcaster, actor and writer Mim Shaikh and the composer Nainita Desai – took part in the Discover! Creative Careers Week.
## **5.7.2 Press coverage and other promotion**
Positive press coverage during the year included reports in the national, regional and trade press – film, TV and animation titles as well as education press – for ScreenSkills Select and our apprenticeship work. Media monitoring indicated just under 1,000 items of print coverage and references. Here are some examples of significant coverage:
- The Coronavirus basic awareness module, Covid-19-related events and our research into the impact of Covid-19.
- The run-up to the launch of the new Unscripted TV Skills Fund.
- Regional and local press, including the Yorkshire Post, Manchester Evening News, Bradford Telegraph & Argus and London Evening Standard – on topics such as freelancers and initiatives such as ‘Skills to Screen: Aviation’, ‘Flip the Script’ and the Centre of Screen Excellence: Yorkshire.
- A range of mentoring initiatives including those with Women in Film and Television (WFTV), the Female Pilot Club for women comedy writers, ITV Studios, BBC Studioworks, the SOUL Fest for black producers and programmes in Northamptonshire and Bradford
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- Apprenticeships – including ScreenSkills’ reaction to Levy reform, the announcement of new standards and the launch of the pilot Programme.
- Virtual production (VP) standards – with DCMS and Department for International Trade (DIT) Ministers supporting the announcement in their departmental release and via their own social media.
- • Young Animator of the Year.
- Issues such as inclusion, with the launch of Film Forward, and mental health, bullying and harassment – with CEO comment pieces on both topics in ‘Broadcast’. The BFI and Bafta promoted the bullying and harassment e-learning module in their Action List.
During 2020/21 ScreenSkills agreed or renewed various key partnerships and sponsorships to support and promote our work in skills, training and talent development plus action on areas such as inclusion. Examples included:
- ‘Screen Stars of Tomorrow’ – with an agreement to include more behind-the-camera roles among the named ‘stars’.
- A partnership with ‘Broadcast’ showcasing HETV’s work, with editorial on initiatives in areas such as leadership, management and inclusion. The HETV Skills Fund also sponsored a Bafta Craft Award to highlight work in craft and technical roles. The winner, Shabier Kirchner, led a ScreenSkills masterclass.
- The ‘Brit List’ of the best unproduced scripts.
- The ‘Screen’/’Broadcast’ Restart conference – where ScreenSkills, with National Lottery funds awarded by the BFI – held a session on the topic of ‘People post-pandemic – why investing in an inclusive workforce is the route to recovery’.
ScreenSkills’ CEO participated in other industry events – including an RTS panel with ‘Televisual’ on the content-streamers’ impact on UK production; a Creative Cities Convention ‘Thinking Aloud’ session on training, talent and the nations and regions; a DIT session on the future of film-making in the UK; and a well-received session on virtual production.
The ‘Find Your Future in film and television’ campaign, featuring ScreenSkills alumni, ran again when cinemas re-opened – with advertising slots donated by industry. In order to support careers outreach to a broad audience the campaign was also shown via the ITV Hub and All4 towards the end of the financial year.
ScreenSkills also ran a number of promotions on the theme of: ‘You can’t make great film, television and animation without investing in the people’, via its own social media channels.
## **5.7.3 ScreenSkills website**
During 2020/21 we continued to develop and update the ScreenSkills website, through a comprehensive programme of technical development (supported by our website partner, Technical Labs), with developments including:
- a new central booking system that allows training, events and programmes to be managed centrally, with standardised tracking and reporting;
- a training and opportunities directory – centralising training, events and programme listings;
- ScreenSkills’ online learning platform – including testing, certification and verification systems;
- a ‘one front door’ approach to external training listings; and
- a new information and resources directory.
By the end of March 2021 a total of over 106,000 user accounts had been set up, with D&I data, via the website. Responses to questions asked to those registering new accounts showed the following numbers of unique beneficiaries had heard of ScreenSkills: 18,888 through ‘word of mouth’; 6,927 through social media; 4,359 through online searches; 15,260 through a school or education route; 1,314 through the trade press, 1,053 via an article; and 12,438 through another route.
46
## ScreenSkills Limited
TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
Between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021 the total average number of website users was 1,224,015 **,** with 10,260,487 total pageviews. 2020/21 website traffic is summarised below.
Our largest spike was on 30 June, with 13,632 users on that date. This coincided with the launch of our Coronavirus basic awareness online training modules. March 2020/21 website traffic is summarised below.
The biggest website user group includes those aged 25 to 34 and based in London – but there is a geographical spread across major cities, topped by Bristol, Manchester and Glasgow. User groups are summarised below – grouped by age and location.
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## ScreenSkills Limited
TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
The most visited areas of the website during 2020/21 (other than the ScreenSkills homepage) were the opportunities section, the Coronavirus training details/sign-up and the job profiles. Page visits are summarised below.
The number of subscribers to all newsletters continued to grow during 2021/21. Subscribers to the core newsletter stood at just over 68,500 by March 2021, a rise of 36% over the previous year, with an average 28% open-rate and 13% click-through (compared to 25% and 13% in the last year). All subscribers receive the core newsletter; and they can also request dedicated newsletters, with subscriber figures as follows:
- Film – 24,408 (77% subscriber increase on 2019/20 and 32% open-rate)
- HETV – 21,556 (71% increase on 2019/20 and 33% open-rate)
- Children’s TV – 9,056 (106% increase 2019/20 and 36% open-rate)
- Unscripted TV – 22,391 (106% increase 2019/20 and 30% open-rate)
- Animation – 5,599 (142% increase 2019/20 and 33% open-rate)
Our Twitter following by the end of March 2021 was just under 70,000. During 2020/21 our Facebook followers increased to around 22,840; and we had almost 22,500 LinkedIn contacts.
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ScreenSkills Limited
TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **5.8 ScreenSkills beneficiaries during 2020/21**
## **5.8.1 ScreenSkills’ community**
ScreenSkills’ community (those with a ScreenSkills account or ‘profile’) increased by 76,340 during 2020/21 (compared with an increase of 20,726 during 2019/20). Much of this growth was linked to the launch of the Coronavirus basic awareness module (which needed to be accessed and completed via the ScreenSkills website).
ScreenSkills online delivery capability – our website engagement and online modules – were invaluable to the screen workforce during the pandemic year. We engaged and supported around 68,500 beneficiaries during 2020/21. 1,182 activities were delivered; and there were over 131,000 interactions (i.e. beneficiaries participated in an average of almost two interactions each).
The delivery experience gained during 2020/21 will inform ScreenSkills’ ongoing delivery planning from 2021 – for example: moving to more blended learning delivery, so that beneficiaries can combine online and face-to-face learning in the most effective way. ‘Effectiveness’ includes various factors: the ability to access skills support around the UK – sometimes without the time and cost involved in travelling and overnight stays; the most appropriate delivery for different skills support – face-to-face or online – to achieve the best outcomes; and the targeting of key groups – given the ongoing moves towards UK-wide production hubs and virtual production.
## **5.8.2 Diversity and inclusion (D&I)**
Diversity and inclusion (ED&I) are at the heart of ScreenSkills’ delivery plans and activities. Diverse teams are essential for generating the creative ideas and content that drive screen industry success. ScreenSkills helps to develop a diverse industry talent pipeline by providing screen skills development opportunities which are accessible to people from all backgrounds and locations. This enables employers to develop workforces which reflect their screen audiences and users.
These are the statistics for ScreenSkills’ online-registered community by the end of 2020/21, along with the targets against which ScreenSkills tracked much of its activity: 50% of beneficiaries identifying as female (target: 50%); 15% of beneficiaries saying that they are from a BAME background (target: 20%); 8% of beneficiaries saying they have a disability (target: 10%); 55% based in the nations and regions (against a target of 75%); and 14% of beneficiaries identifying as LGBT (target 10%).
ScreenSkills’ Skills Councils and industry working groups advise on skills initiatives which strengthen workforce diversity and inclusion. D&I delivery targets are varied, when appropriate, for specific initiatives: for example, where a scheme is being run specifically for underrepresented groups in the South East and an ‘outside London and the South East’ beneficiary target would be inappropriate and unachievable.
D&I were reflected throughout ScreenSkills’ activity programme during 2020/21. Given the pandemic-related changes to our delivery during 2020/21 – e.g. most activity having to be delivered online – ScreenSkills’ support was even more easily accessed around the UK. Some delivery areas, such as bursaries, focused investment on support that would enable people to work or learn during lockdown; and other areas, such as mentoring, moved to remote (rather than face-to-face) sessions. Some support will continue to be delivered online, as it proved so inclusive in 2020/21.
ScreenSkills is committed to strengthening and tracking its own workforce diversity. This was our organisational diversity profile at 31 March 2020: 71% identified as female and 29% as male; 18% said they were from BAME backgrounds; 3% said they had a disability; 5% identified as LGBT; and there were the following age-group profiles: 20-29 – 26%; 30-39 – 23%; 40-49 – 26%; 50-59 – 21%; and 60+: 4%.
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ScreenSkills Limited TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **6. Plans for 2021/22**
## **6.1 Context for 2021/22 planning**
Screen industry growth and change are creating more demand for skills training than current investment can support.
During 2021/22 ScreenSkills will continue to address key skills shortages and inclusion – also helping to future-proof the screen industry through action on new and evolving skills, such as virtual production. However, with skills shortages and gaps being one of the most significant risks to continued sector growth, ScreenSkills’ 2021/22 delivery will take place alongside longer-term strategic thinking with partners and Government on how best to achieve a unified screen skills plan and to increase screen skills investment to ensure that the UK has enough people with the right mix of skills to sustain the UK’s screen industry success in a competitive international market.
The 2021/22 business plan was reviewed in March 2021 to reflect industry priorities on skills and the predictions on sector growth and change. During 2021/22 we will revisit our current strategic priorities (shown in section 4.2), aiming to align internal planning with our work with partners in order to deliver an integrated screen skills strategy that minimises duplication and maximises effective action.
## **6.2 Revised priorities for 2021/22**
From January to March 2021 the Board reviewed evidence showing strong recovery from the Covid-19 impact. The UK remains a world-leading centre for film and TV production, and the industry needs a workforce of the right size and with the right skills, at the right level, to support recovery and growth. Many of the current skills shortages and gaps are at mid- to senior-level – requiring more specific (and, sometimes, more expensive) interventions to meet demand than at entry-level.
In early 2021 the Board highlighted the following as being key external and industry factors shaping our 2021/22 delivery planning:
- Workforce changes due to the impact of Covid-19 and Brexit.
- Government priorities – e.g. levelling up in the nations and regions, vocational skills and inclusion.
- Government endorsement of screen as a key sector to help drive post-Covid-19 recovery.
- Increased uptake of remote working and virtual production/other new technologies due to Covid-19.
- • Strong recovery and growth, evidenced by increases in production spend, new studios and new or expanding production hubs.
- The need for new skills and a bigger screen workforce to support sector recovery and change.
The overall aim of ScreenSkills’ 2021/22 planning is to build an inclusive UK-wide screen workforce with the skills to support economic recovery and growth. In March 2021 the Board endorsed the following delivery priorities for 2021/22:
## **Skills and learning**
- Priority skills – core competencies through to key skills gaps and new production technology skills.
- Professionalisation across screen skills and screen industry careers.
- More vocational learning opportunities which work for both employers and trainees, plus standardised onboarding to the industry.
- Flexible, blended learning (online and face-to-face) to support sector growth and change.
- UK-wide accessibility, with D&I embedded in all ScreenSkills delivery.
- Resources and training to support the industry to take action to build a more inclusive workforce, including inclusive recruitment and safeguarding.
- Improved trainer quality UK-wide, with a focus on strengthening workforce D&I.
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TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **Research and data**
- Robust information on current skills needs, plus projections to support longer-term funding bids.
- Beneficiary data, feedback and tracking used to inform delivery planning and marcomms.
- Development of ScreenSkills’ digital platform to engage the growing beneficiary community and enable the effective delivery of more blended learning.
## **Influencing and engagement**
- Industry advocates, and evidence of the quality and impact of ScreenSkills delivery, used to strengthen ScreenSkills’ profile and reinforce its UK-wide leadership on skills issues.
## **Finances and organisation**
- A medium-term funding strategy incorporating Skills Funds, Government funding and other funding.
- • Continued organisational change and simplification, where required, to meet industry needs.
This is a summary of our 2021/22 delivery and investment plans – with the caveat that industry skills needs and funding may vary, given post-pandemic recovery and other factors, so plans will be regularly reviewed (and adjusted, if appropriate).
|**2021/22**
**priorities**|**Outcome headlines**|**Estimated**
**investment**|
|---|---|---|
|**Influence on**
**skills policy and**
**funding**|
• Industry insight linked to screen recovery/growth needs
• Effective, timely Government and stakeholder engagement
• More secure fundingto enable medium-termplanning|£200k+|
|**UK-wide**
**support for**
**priority skills**
**and roles –**
**across existing**
**workforce, mid-**
**career**
**transfers and**
**new entrants**|• Skills development – existing/new skills – across areas such as:
production management; scriptwriting; editing; remote/virtual
production; targeted craft and tech skills; business skills; wellbeing
management – supporting underrepresented groups, returners and
transferers where appropriate
• Courses/schemes including: Trainee Finder, Make a Move, First
Break, Leaders of Tomorrow, transferer/returner schemes, Open
Doors and boot-camps
• More consistent industry standards and training quality
• More UK-wide delivery and promotion, supporting skills development
in new studios andproduction hubs|£9.1m+|
|**Wider**
**engagement –**
**plus impact-**
**tracking to**
**inform reporting**
**and planning**|
• Strengthened engagement: workforce, industry, stakeholders, funders
• Improved delivery targeting, based on data/feedback
• Blended learning solutions, accessible UK-wide
• More accurate reporting on beneficiary progression and workforce
impact, supporting funding cases and lobbying
• Wider awareness of ScreenSkills’ role and value
• More credit back for the screen industry’s skills investment and the
sector’s role in economic recovery/growth|£499k|
The following provisional 2021/22 KPIs were agreed. They will be reviewed against post-pandemic and industry growth developments during the year.
- **Beneficiaries – direct:** 1,000+ trained/supported at entrant/early stage – including apprenticeships and Trainee Finder; 3,000+ trained/supported via CPD – including via targeted sector skills courses; and D&I targets met.
- **Beneficiaries – engagement:** 20,000 additional user accounts set up, with D&I data; up to 15,000 contacts supported (virtually or face-to-face) – e.g. via online advice, masterclasses and careers sessions; and 750 industry supporters engaged.
- **Priority projects (some activities extending into 2022/23):** the ScreenSkills Apprenticeship Programme pilot successfully delivered against measures agreed with partners; and the new Unscripted TV Skills Fund successfully launched and established (with ITF and TVSF transition plans, a governance framework and a business model in place for the new Fund’s first phase).
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ScreenSkills Limited TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **7. Financial review**
As a charity our generated income is categorised into unrestricted and restricted funds. Our total income for 2020/21 was £11.65m (2019/20: £13.22m), made up of £6.43m unrestricted income and £5.22m restricted funds.
Our restricted funds include ScreenSkills’ Skills Investment Funds (SIFs), the TV Skills Fund (TVSF), the Indie Training Fund (ITF), the Creative Careers Programme (CCP) – Job Profiles, the ScreenSkills Apprenticeship Pilot (SAP), the Aviation Skills to Film and the Digital Discover Week.
The table below summarises the split of income and the resources expended in the year.
|||||Surplus/|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||b/fwd|Income|Expenditure|(Deficit)|Transfer|c/fwd|
||£m|£m|£m|£m|£m|£m|
|**SIFs**|4.50|4.34|3.17|1.17|0.05|5.72|
|**TVSF**|0.26|0.38|0.38|-|-|0.26|
|**ITF**|0.04|0.31|0.28|0.03|0.01|0.08|
|**SAP**|0.15|-|0.01|(0.01)|-|0.14|
|**Aviation Skills to Film**|-|0.10|0.10|-|-|-|
|**Digital Discover Week**|-|0.08|0.08|-|-|-|
|**CCP**|-|0.01|0.01|-|-|-|
|**Restricted**|4.95|5.22|4.03|1.19|0.06|6.20|
|**Unrestricted**|1.01|6.43|5.73|0.70|(0.06)|1.65|
|**Total 2021**|5.96|11.65|9.76|1.89|-|7.85|
## **7.1 Funds**
## **7.1.1 Unrestricted funds**
Unrestricted income supports the delivery of work-readiness support through training, continuing professional development (CPD) and accreditation. In 2020/21 this amounted to £6.43m (2019/20: £6.47m), which includes voluntary income from broadcasters, Arts Council England (ACE) and British Film Institute (BFI) funding for ‘Future Film Skills’ (FFS) programme delivery. Income is also generated through projects co-funded through public and private investment.
Unrestricted expenditure in 2020/21 amounted to £5.73m (2019/20: £6.13m. During 2020/21 FFS funding of £5.4m successfully supported various strategic priorities across skills forecasting, careers, accreditation, vocational training, bursaries, CPD, mentoring and the Centre of Excellence. The focus of the spend is decided in consultation with the BFI on an annual basis.
The unrestricted surplus for the year after the transfer of funds is £0.64m (2019/20: surplus £0.34m). The surplus increased the unrestricted reserves to £1.65m.
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ScreenSkills Limited TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **7.1.2 Restricted funds**
ScreenSkills manages a range of restricted funds which enable the charity to support skills development for those wanting to join the screen skills industry and those already working in the industry (freelancers and employees). Contributions to the funds are made by industry. Total restricted income was £5.22m (2019/20: £6.75m) with expenditure at £4.03m (2019/20: £5.72m). The net surplus of £1.25m increased the brought-forward reserves of £4.95m from 2019/20. The restricted funds carried forward reserves are £6.2m. Restricted funds are explained in sections 7.1.2.1 to 7.1.2.7.
## **7.1.2.1 ScreenSkills’ Skills Investment Funds (SIFs)**
Skills Investment Fund income for the year was £4.34m (2019/20: £5.25m), made up of voluntary levies collected across the film, HETV, children’s TV and animation sectors. Fund investment supports growth in the film, HETV, children's TV, animation and visual effects (VFX) sectors, with funds received being disbursed as grants, direct spend and also paying for the management and administration of the Skills Investment Funds. The surplus of £1.22m increased the reserves to £5.72m (2019/20: £4.50m) and will be allocated into the budgeted spend for 2021/22.
## **7.1.2.2 TV Skills Fund (TVSF)**
The TV Skills Fund supports the unscripted TV sector. In 2020/21 the fund received £0.38m from broadcasters (2019/20: £0.41m). Expenditure in 2020/21 was £0.38m (2019/20: £0.53m), mainly used to fund bursaries for individuals and grants to training providers who run courses for a range of TV industry professionals. The reserves closed at £0.26m (2019/20: £0.26m).
## **7.1.2.3 Indie Training Fund (ITF)**
The Indie Training Fund (ITF) generates income through membership contributions and fees from open courses and bespoke training. Fund income for the year was £0.32m (2019/20: £0.47m). A surplus of £0.04m increased the reserves to £0.08m (2019/20 £0.04m). The ITF fund contributions closed at the end of March 2021.
## **7.1.2.4 Creative Careers Programme (CCP)**
ScreenSkills worked with Creative and Cultural Skills (CCS), to secure £64k of DCMS extension funding to deliver the ‘Creative Careers’ programme. ScreenSkills will be developing new job profiles, aiming to strengthen sub-sectors which are currently relatively weak including architecture, radio, journalism, design and marketing. During the year £6k out of a total of £26k (2019/20 £0.49m) was invested to deliver this activity and the programme will complete during the first quarter of 2021/22.
## **7.1.2.5 ScreenSkills Apprenticeship Programme (SAP)**
The ScreenSkills Apprenticeship Programme is an innovative pilot programme to enable more people to join the film and TV industries through an apprenticeship. The programme is run in partnership with WarnerMedia and Netflix, and it is supported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS). Due to the pandemic, the pilot was put on hold during the year and had £10k of project management costs during the year, resulting in carried forward reserves of £0.14m.
## **7.1.2.6 Aviation Skills to Film**
The Aviation Skills to Film programme of £92k was funded by Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to improve employment outcomes or prospects of future employment outcomes for long-term unemployed individuals and groups facing the most complex and intractable barriers to work and to help individuals access and/or re-integrate into the labour market. It was also supported by Enterprise M3 with a contribution of £5k. The programme successfully completed during the year.
## **7.1.2.7 Digital Discover Week**
ScreenSkills in collaboration with Creative and Cultural Skills (CCS), secured £75k of Arts Council England (ACE) funding to deliver the ‘Digital Discover Week’ programme. The programme successfully completed during the year.
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ScreenSkills Limited TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **7.2 Investments**
All of ScreenSkills’ funds are invested in bank accounts held at HSBC. Interest received for the year was £26k (2019/20: £54k). Our investment policy is regularly reviewed to ensure that effective measures are taken to maximise funds and generate sustainable and reliable income to support ScreenSkills’ objectives, in line with Charities Commission guidelines. Due to investment timelines balances are held in cash, to ensure certainty of returns and easy access of funds.
## **7.3 Balance sheet**
## **Fixed assets**
Fixed assets decreased to £59k (2019/20: £129k). During the year £3k was invested in new laptops and £13k was invested in implementing a new purchase order, invoicing and expenses system.
## **Current assets less liabilities**
Cash increased from £9.2m to £10.9m and is held at a sufficient level to meet current liabilities, which were £5m at the end of the year, and to keep minimum reserve levels in each fund.
The debtors balance decreased to £2m (2019/20: £2.4m).
Creditors due within one year also decreased by £0.6m to £5.1m (2019/20: £5.7m), mainly within grants payable for programmes completed during 2020/21.
Creditors due after one year decreased by £116k to £17k (2019/20: £133k). By the end of March 2021 three grants were due to be completed after March 2022 (2019/20: nine grants were due to be completed after March 2021).
## **7.4 Reserves Policy**
The Finance and Audit Committee regularly reviews the Reserves Policy, and the level of holding reserves are reviewed on at least a quarterly basis. The Committee takes into account the Charity Commission’s guidance on charity reserves and considers what level of reserves is appropriate to achieve a balance between delivering against the charity’s objectives and maintaining financial sustainability.
The Committee’s view is that the target amount of funds to be held as unrestricted ‘free reserves’ by ScreenSkills – defined as unrestricted reserves, excluding fixed assets – should be in the region of £675k. The Committee arrived at this amount after taking into account potential financial risk factors, working capital requirements and areas of future business development. The amount represents an equivalent of six months’ core running costs.
Unrestricted funds at the end of March 2021 increased to £1.65m (2019/20: £1.01m). Free reserves increased to £1.56m (2019/20: £877k). This is higher than the targeted reserves position of £675k. The targets were set following a review of ScreenSkills’ Reserves Policy during June/July 2019, which ensured that levels remained appropriate. Targets were reviewed during the business planning process in 2020 and, again, during reforecasting related to the Covid-19 pandemic. During this very challenging and unpredictable year it was decided to ring-fence an additional reserve of £0.3m to be able to adapt to possible resulting loss of income or unforeseen costs. At the same time, during shutdown, business development spend of £0.2m was put on hold to be deferred until there is a clearer picture of post pandemic needs and delivery. In 2021/22 we are anticipating a reduction in Broadcaster central contributions of £0.3m. Provision for this reduction has also been built up in the unrestricted reserves while we adapt our cost model to reflect changes in central funding.
Monitoring and oversight of the reserves held by the charity are undertaken throughout the year through monthly management accounts processes, monthly cash-flow monitoring and quarterly financial
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ScreenSkills Limited TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
reporting and forecasting. The reserves levels are reviewed formally by the Finance and Audit Committee and confirmed by the Board as part of the annual strategic and business planning process. Additional reviews are undertaken if there is a material change to the charity’s operations and/or risk profile.
As with unrestricted reserves ScreenSkills has considered what would be an appropriate target level of restricted reserves in order to demonstrate appropriate financial management and stewardship and to ensure the restricted funds’ sustainability.
At the end of March 2021 reserves held within restricted funds were £6.2m, mainly related to the voluntary HETV, film and children’s skills funds. These Skills Investment Funds were established following the introduction of tax relief for these sectors. The investment management process of these Funds includes a focus on ensuring that they have a targeted level of reserves to be reinvested in skills development addressed at identified skills gaps.
The Skills Investment Fund reserves are relatively high but, given the uncertainty around income due to Covid-19, they will provide the Funds with an element of flexibility to help support the industry as production restarts. The intention is to reduce the Skills Funds’ reserves over the next few years, now that industry-led working groups have been established, and to align spend to a clearer perspective on future income streams.
## **7.5 Risk management**
ScreenSkills is committed to managing risk efficiently and effectively in order to deliver against its strategic priorities; and we aim to follow best practice in the identification, assessment and control of risk in making decisions and in implementing our strategic and operational plans. We have applied a standard risk management model to evaluate risks. We have reviewed the potential severity of each risk’s likely impact and occurrence – using an overall weighting towards impact. Each risk is assessed to reflect the level of risk before and after mitigation.
The Board delegates responsibility for setting parameters of the risk management process to the Finance and Audit Committee. The Committee requires the ScreenSkills Senior Management Team to regularly to review its risks and controls and to report back on the findings.
The Senior Management Team maintains a Corporate Risk Register, which contains all significant (high- and medium-level) risks affecting ScreenSkills and its work. This Register is updated on a regular basis and is reviewed by the Finance and Audit Committee. The findings are then reported to the Board for further review and overall approval.
Risks recognised in the Register are those which could have a significant impact on some or all of the following areas:
- governance and strategy
- operations
- finance
- external factors –pandemic, public opinion, Government policy, and funder relationships
- legal and regulatory compliance.
The Covid-19 pandemic led to a significant review of ScreenSkills delivery, although the impact of Covid-19 on ScreenSkills revenues has largely declined, the delivery remains largely remote as we move to a hybrid working. The latest review of the Corporate Risk Register by the Finance and Audit Committee took place in early September 2021, with a focus on ensuring that this Register reflects an updated understanding of the Covid-19 impact in the context of ScreenSkills’ updated strategic direction and plans. The summary below shows the Senior Management Team’s assessment of the major risks, along with recommended actions and mitigations – for the Trustees’ September 2021 review and approval.
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## ScreenSkills Limited
TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
||**Risk**|**Impact**|**Key mitigations**|
|---|---|---|---|
||External risk
Failure to adapt to
consequences of current
pandemic and related
challenges to delivery, team
coherence and funding.
Loss of skills fund revenues
extend for longer periods with
long term reductions in
revenue.|Challenge to maintain industry
led delivery and growth as
pandemic subsides.
Maintain focus on a robust
business model with returning
income streams, -
appropriately targeted as the
impact on industry becomes
clearer and new
requirements/solutions are
established|Maintain operational focus, while
delivering efficiencies. Strong
communication with SMT, Staff
and Stakeholders. Focus on
varied online delivery methods
and identify new and evolving
opportunities while industry plans
recovery.
Ongoing management of uplift in
requirements as delivery builds.|
||Strategic risk
Failure in ability and speed to
adapt to effectively support
industry delivery resulting from
the current pandemic, evolving
priorities and potential
growth/changes in funding|Inability to deliver - on
schedule and effectively -
against industry-agreed but
evolving objectives|Industry guided evolving delivery,
flexible planning to meet changing
requirements. Growing culture for
effective matrix working. Progress
reports to Councils & Board|
||Strategic risk
An increasingly
fragmented/devolved skills and
Diversity & Inclusion space.
Failure to provide leadership
and cohesion and deliver
through key strategic
partnerships, ensuring UK-
Wide coverage across Nations
& Regions.|Inability to achieve industry-
agreed outcomes and negative
reputational impact (generally
and/or with specific
stakeholders and influencers)|Champion business need for
cohesion. Build strategic
alliances, e.g., Pact, broadcasters
and streamers, CCS, ACE,
screen agencies, local enterprise
partnerships in key hubs across
Nations and Regions and govt,
DMCS, DWP, DIT, DfES, BEIS.
Effective contracting, (e.g.NFTS)
account relationship and
performance management|
||Strategic risk
Perception of failure to deliver
against strategic priorities with
finite resources in an emerging
market and with COVID-19
and Brexit impacts|Negative impact on reputation,
funding and industry skills-
base as Skills demand grows
as industry recovery and
growth continues.|Effective delivery planning and
implementation; communication
of what ScreenSkills does;
expectation management and
exploring smart alignment
wherever possible.
Continual demonstration of agile
response to changing industry
needs.|
||Financial risk
Loss or reduction in significant
income stream against which
operational plans have been
developed and resources
committed. Timeline of new
BFI Strategy results in an
interruption in industry delivery
and impacts central funding.
Delays in establishing long
term central funding.|Negative impact on ability to
deliver on time and against
industry-agreed objectives,
with related impact on
reputation. Core ScreenSkills
support is restricted by funding
model.|Effective financial planning, fund
growth and stakeholder
engagement/management.
Ensure ongoing delivery against
updated objectives, with
contingency planning and
prioritisation of spend aligned to
changes in income. Develop and
evolve new central delivery model
and revenue streams to replace
Broadcaster Central Funding and
reflect post-Covid-19 business
model.|
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## ScreenSkills Limited
TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
||**Risk**|**Impact**|**Key mitigations**|
|---|---|---|---|
||Operational risk
Failure to deliver against
specific industry objectives and
targets – including against
one/more major funder-
identified skills development
priorities (e.g., ScreenSkills
Select, Centres of Excellence
or ScreenSkills Apprenticeship
Pilot).|Major negative impact on
reputation, funding and
industry skills-base.|Effective delivery planning,
prioritisation and responsible
delegation and performance
management.
Ongoing assessment of Industry
needs, particularly reflecting
pandemic effects, to ensure that
delivery remains targeted and
reflects Industry's renewed
commitment to inclusivity.|
The Trustees believe that – through the Risk Register process – a wide range of risks faced by the organisation have been identified and quantified. The Trustees ensure that, where appropriate, action is being taken and will be taken to manage the identified risks.
## **7.6 Grant-making policy**
ScreenSkills awards funding up to a maximum of £3k per twelve-month period to individuals who are freelancers in the screen industries. By providing funding we are subsidising the cost of training, which is often a barrier to developing the right skills to progress a career. These awards support our objectives of improving entry-level work-readiness and professional development. The overall bursary structure has been consolidated across all ScreenSkills’ funds.
ScreenSkills also commissions training and co-invests in organisations which deliver training that directly addresses identified skills gaps and shortages. The amount available depends on the individual programme and its funding guidelines. By partnering with industry we ensure that our investment supports industry business activity and growth by developing skilled professionals to work across the screen skills industry. Industry partnerships can also generate additional funding opportunities, delivering added value to the award. Our interventions also help training providers and educational institutions to develop and deliver courses that address industry skills needs. Applications are sought throughout the year by publishing on our website the guidelines for our various funding programmes. Funding decisions are made regularly with advice taken from groups of industry experts.
ScreenSkills reserves the right not to approve any recommendation or nomination if, through its decision-making, it determines that the resulting grant would not be charitable or would conflict with the organisation’s stated policies.
The majority of grants are issued for the current year. If there are any multi-year grants the contract is only issued for a year, and a contract variation to extend the term to the following year is issued once the current year has been completed satisfactorily.
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ScreenSkills Limited TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **8. Key management personnel and Remuneration Policy**
## **8.1 Key management personnel**
The Trustees, the Chair, the Chief Executive Officer and the Director of Finance & Operations are ScreenSkills’ key management personnel.
## **8.2 Remuneration Policy**
All salaries are usually reviewed annually. The following factors are taken into consideration during the review:
- whether there should be a standard increase for all staff; and
- whether there have been significant changes to any roles (monitored throughout the year and addressed when it becomes clear that responsibilities have changed).
The salary review process usually takes place in March each year. If a standard increase is awarded it is implemented in April of that year. A standard increase may be agreed with the Finance and Audit Committee, taking into account the:
- funding available for ScreenSkills to increase salaries; and
- national economic climate (with factors including the Retail Price Index, inflation rate and benchmarking where possible).
A standard salary increase for the CEO is part of the above process, and any additional increase is approved by the Board of Directors.
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ScreenSkills Limited TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **9. Going concern**
Although Covid-19 had a significant impact on ScreenSkills’ income and delivery during 2020/21, by the last quarter of the year key fund contributions had returned to pre-pandemic levels or higher. This demonstrated a robust Industry, adapting to pandemic requirements, showing continuing support for Skills investment and ScreenSkills delivery. ScreenSkills’ business plans for 2021/22 were prepared to flex to three different scenarios low-mid-high to incorporate varying impact levels for income due to the pandemic. The mid-level scenario was taken forward to base the 2021/22 business plan with the exception of funds where income was confirmed. The income projections from this mid-case scenario were significantly exceeded.
As part of business planning, the five-year income outlook was prepared till 2024/25 showing gradual increase over the years. Going forward, the organisation has a solid base due to the following:
- Unrestricted fund reserves at April 2021 were £1.65m, and free reserves (unrestricted funds less fixed assets) increased to £1.56m. This level was achieved through reduced development spend and other central savings during the pandemic. This will allow the organisation to adapt to a changing funding model, the ongoing impacts of the pandemic and the development of new delivery. The Broadcasters’ central contributions will need to be replaced by other central funding and contributions from the new Unscripted Fund.
- 2020/21 restricted reserves increased to £6.2m (2019/20: £4.95m), reflecting the challenges of some direct delivery during the initial months of the pandemic. Delivery expenditure is scaled to aligned with reserves held and income received during the year.
- The BFI confirmed the invitation (in an e-mail sent during September 2021) for ScreenSkills to apply for roll-over funding in respect of 2022/23 extension funding. 2022/23 delivery is being agreed with the BFI, with the target that outline delivery is agreed during September 2021.
- The HETV Skills Fund is now receiving contributions ahead of pre-pandemic levels, while the Film Skills Fund contributions are also exceeding 2019/20 levels.
- The Unscripted TV Skills Fund launched in June 2021, is expected to bring in around £0.9m of income during 2021/22, gradually increasing to c£3.0m at the end of March 2024.
- The Arts Council England (ACE) has extended their funding at the same annual level of £0.3m until March 2023.
- At the end of March 2021 there was a cash balance of £10.87m. The forecast cash flow shows a healthy position throughout 2021/22, with a higher-level forecast to March 2023.
The Board of Trustees has assessed the organisation’s sustainability and has expressed its confidence in the organisation as a going concern. The Trustees are satisfied, based on: their role in the organisation's strategic planning for 2021/22 and beyond; and their review of ScreenSkills’ budget scenarios, cash flow forecasts and partner organisations’ commitments.
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## **10. Funds held as custodian**
The following funds are held as custodian as at 31 March 2021:
David Fraser Bursary Fund £35,838
David Fraser was a well-respected figure in the television industry who, tragically, died at a young age. He was very committed to our industry’s skills and talent development and, before that, to theatre skills development.
A trust fund was established in David Fraser’s memory, with contributions from organisations and individuals. The fund’s purpose is to make bursaries available to support up-and-coming theatre directors in gaining experience of working in television. ScreenSkills manages the fund’s finances and administers the fund on behalf of the Trustees.
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ScreenSkills Limited
TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **11. Trustees’ liability insurance**
Trustees’ liability insurance premiums charged to the accounts were £657 (2019/20: £657).
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ScreenSkills Limited
TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **12. Auditor**
RSM UK Audit LLP has indicated its willingness to continue in office.
As far as each of the Trustees is aware:
- (a) There is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditor is unaware; and
- (b) Trustees have taken all appropriate steps to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.
The Trustees’ Report, which includes the Strategic Report, is being signed by the Trustees in their capacity as Directors.
Signatory on behalf of the Board:
## Richard Johnston
Trustee: …………………………………… Richard Johnston (Sep 24, 2021 10:25 GMT+1)
RICHARD JOHNSTON (ScreenSkills’ Board Chair)
Date: 24 September 2021
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ScreenSkills Limited TRUSTEES’ REPORT, including Strategic Report, for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities**
The Trustees (who are also Directors of ScreenSkills Limited for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) – (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.
Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the income and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements the Trustees are required to:
- Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently.
- Observe the methods and principles in the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP).
- Make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent.
- State whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements.
- Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis, unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and, hence, for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdiction.
The Trustees confirm that they have complied with their duty in Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. The Trustees further confirm that the activities of ScreenSkills are carried out in line with its objects, for the public benefit.
63
ScreenSkills Limited
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF SCREENSKILLS LIMITED for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **Independent auditor’s report**
## **Opinion**
We have audited the financial statements of Screenskills (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2021 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion the financial statements:
- give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2021 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;
- have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
- have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended).
## **Basis for opinion**
We have been appointed auditor under section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and under the Companies Act 2006 and report to you in accordance with regulations made under those Acts.
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
## **Conclusions relating to going concern**
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
## **Other information**
The other information comprises the information included in the Trustees’ Report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the Trustees’ Report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
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ScreenSkills Limited
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF SCREENSKILLS LIMITED for the year ending 31 March 2021
Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
## **Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006**
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
- the information given in the Directors Report and the Strategic Report, prepared for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
- the Directors’ Report and the Strategic Report included within the Trustees’ Report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
## **Matters on which we are required to report by exception**
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Directors’ Report or the Strategic Report included within the Trustees’ Report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
- adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
- the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
- certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
- we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
## **Responsibilities of trustees**
As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities set out on page 60, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
## **Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements**
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are
65
## ScreenSkills Limited
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF SCREENSKILLS LIMITED for the year ending 31 March 2021
considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
## **The extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud**
Irregularities are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. The objectives of our audit are to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding compliance with laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, to perform audit procedures to help identify instances of non-compliance with other laws and regulations that may have a material effect on the financial statements, and to respond appropriately to identified or suspected non-compliance with laws and regulations identified during the audit.
In relation to fraud, the objectives of our audit are to identify and assess the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements due to fraud, to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the assessed risks of material misstatement due to fraud through designing and implementing appropriate responses and to respond appropriately to fraud or suspected fraud identified during the audit.
However, it is the primary responsibility of management, with the oversight of those charged with governance, to ensure that the entity's operations are conducted in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations and for the prevention and detection of fraud.
In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud, the audit engagement team:
- obtained an understanding of the nature of the sector, including the legal and regulatory frameworks that the charitable company operates in and how the charitable company is complying with the legal and regulatory frameworks;
- inquired of management, and those charged with governance, about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities, including any known actual, suspected or alleged instances of fraud;
- discussed matters about non-compliance with laws and regulations and how fraud might occur including assessment of how and where the financial statements may be susceptible to fraud.
As a result of these procedures we consider the most significant laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the financial statements are FRS 102, Charities SORP (FRS 102), Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended), Charities Act 2011, the charitable company’s governing document, tax legislation and Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016. We performed audit procedures to detect non-compliances which may have a material impact on the financial statements which included reviewing the financial statements including the Trustees’ Report and remaining alert to new or unusual transactions which may not be in accordance with the governing documents.
The most significant laws and regulations that have an indirect impact on the financial statements are those in relation to the General Data Protection Regulations. We performed audit procedures to inquire of management whether the charitable company is in compliance with these law and regulations and inspected minutes.
The audit engagement team identified the risk of management override of controls as the area where the financial statements were most susceptible to material misstatement due to fraud. Audit procedures performed included but were not limited to testing manual journal entries and other adjustments, evaluating the business rationale in relation to significant, unusual
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ScreenSkills Limited
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF SCREENSKILLS LIMITED for the year ending 31 March 2021
transactions and transactions entered into outside the normal course of business and challenging judgments and estimates.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at http://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.
## **Use of our report**
This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
HCatchpool HCatchpool (Sep 24, 2021 11:21 GMT+1)
………………………………………………..
HANNAH CATCHPOOL (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of RSM UK AUDIT LLP, Statutory Auditor Chartered Accountants 25 Farringdon Street London, EC4A 4AB
Date: 24 September 2021
RSM UK Audit LLP is eligible to act as an auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006
67
## ScreenSkills Limited
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (incorporating the income and expenditure account) for the year ending 31 March 2021
|Note
**Income**
Donations and legacies
1
**Income from charitable**
**activities**
Industry Intelligence and
Influencing
2
Entry Level Diversity and Work
Readiness
2
Professional Development
2
Products and Services
2
**Other trading activities**
Rental Income
Investment Income
Other
**Total income**
**Expenditure on**
**Charitable activities**
Industry Intelligence and
Influencing
Entry Level Diversity and Work
Readiness
Professional Development
Products and Services
**Total expenditure**
**4**
**Net income**
**Transfer**
**15**
**Net movement in funds**
Total funds brought forward
**Total funds carried forward**|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
£
452,000
351,055
666,374
4,815,591
-
-
5,583
143,424
6,434,027
188,461
596,443
4,931,467
12,912
5,729,283
704,744
(58,620)
646,124
1,006,313
1,652,437|**Restricted**
**Funds**
£
4,706,849
-
85,160
407,043
-
-
20,127
-
5,219,179
6,680
1,459,236
2,568,612
-
4,034,528
1,184,651
58,620
1,243,271
4,952,814
6,196,085|**2021**
**Total**
£
5,158,849
351,055
751,534
5,222,634
-
-
25,710
143,424
11,653,206
195,141
2,055,679
7,500,079
12,912
9,763,811
1,889,395
-
1,889,395
5,959,127
7,848,522|**2020**
**Total**
**£**
6,209,913
412,235
1,422,325
5,105,729
9,420
(125)
54,336
1,780|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||13,215,613|
|||||432,731
3,074,310
8,315,320
24,572|
|||||11,846,933|
|||||1,368,680
-|
|||||1,368,680
4,590,447|
|||||5,959,127|
68
## ScreenSkills Limited BALANCE SHEET as at 31 March 2021 Company Registration Number 02576828
|Note
**Fixed Assets**
Tangible Assets
7
Intangible Assets
7a
Investments
7b
**Current Assets**
Debtors
8
Cash at bank and in hand
**Creditors : Amounts falling due within one year**
9
**Net Current Assets**
**Total Assets less Current Liabilities**
**Creditors: Amounts falling due after more than one**
**year**
10
**TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES**
**CAPITAL AND RESERVES**
Unrestricted funds
Restricted funds
15|**2021**
**£**
58,517
31,001
1
89,519
1,981,843
10,869,659
12,851,502
5,075,769
7,775,733
7,865,252
16,730
**7,848,522**
1,652,437
6,196,085
**7,848,522**|**2020**
**£**
99,662
29,803
1|
|---|---|---|
|||129,466|
|||2,381,759
9,237,765|
|||11,619,524
5,656,560|
|||5,962,964|
|||6,092,430
133,303|
|||**5,959,127**|
|||1,006,313
4,952,814|
|||**5,959,127**|
The Financial Statements on pages 68 to 96 were approved by the Board and authorised for issue on 24 September 2021.
Signed on behalf of the Board by:
## Richard Johnston
> Trustee………………………….. Richard Johnston (Sep 24, 2021 10:25 GMT+1)
RICHARD JOHNSTON (ScreenSkills’ Board Chair)
> 24 September 2021
69
ScreenSkills Limited STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS for the year ending 31 March 2021
|Note
**Cash flow from operating activities**
Net cash provided by operating activities
14
**Cash flow from investing activities**
Interest income
Purchase of fixed assets
**Net cash provided by / (used in) investing activities**
Net increase in cash and cash equivalent
Cash and cash equivalent at the beginning of the year
**Cash and cash equivalents at the end of year**|**2021**
**£**
1,622,717
25,710
(16,533)
9,177
1,631,894
9,237,765
10,869,659|**2020**
**£**
1,179,453
54,336
(151,097)|
|---|---|---|
|||(96,761)|
||||
|||1,082,692|
|||8,155,073|
|||9,237,765|
The Accounting policies and Notes to the Financial Statements on pages 71 to 96 form part of these accounts.
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ScreenSkills Limited ACCOUNTING POLICIES for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **Accounting policies**
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) – (Charities SORP (FRS 102), revised 1 January 2019) the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.
Accounts are presented in sterling rounded to the nearest £, the functional currency of the charity.
## **Company information**
ScreenSkills is a charity registered in England and Wales and a company limited by guarantee without share capital. It was incorporated on 24 January 1991 (Company number: 02576828) and registered as a charity on 23 November 1992, (Charity number: 1015324). It is also a charity registered in Scotland (Charity No: SC039556).
## **Public benefit entity**
ScreenSkills meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.
The Trustees confirm that they have complied with their duty in Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. The Trustees further confirm that the activities of ScreenSkills are carried out in line with its objects, for the public benefit.
## **Going concern**
The Trustees have prepared the financial statements on the going concern basis. The Trustees are satisfied that this basis is appropriate as a result of their role in the organisation's strategic review (setting out plans for 2021/22 onwards including high level financial forecasts to March 2023) and having reviewed the budget scenarios and cash flow forecasts along with partners’ ongoing commitments and support.
As a result of the impact of COVID-19 going concern assumptions have had further scenario testing. The Trustees have been presented with an updated business plan for 2021/22 geared to protecting Skills Fund and other reserves, with spend being linked to the return of industry activity and related Skills Fund income. A more detailed explanation of the going concern review is covered in Section 9 of the Trustees’ Report (page 59).
## **Income**
Income represents the value, excluding value added tax (VAT), of contributions receivable from organisations in the United Kingdom.
Charitable and voluntary income is recognised when entitlement has been established and as soon as the amount and receipt can be adequately measured and is probable. Performance-related grants are recognised as services are performed. Contractual income is recognised based on the level of activity carried out. All other income is recognised on the basis of entitlement.
## **Grants and contracts**
Grant income that is subject to conditions that require a level of performance before the charity is entitled to the funds is deferred and not recognised until: either those conditions are fully met; or the fulfilment of those conditions is wholly within the control of the charity and it is probable that
71
ScreenSkills Limited ACCOUNTING POLICIES for the year ending 31 March 2021
such conditions will be fulfilled in the reporting period (see note 3). Equally when work has been performed and conditions have been met income may be accrued for the period to which it relates (see note 8).
## **Expenditure**
Liabilities are recognised as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to the expenditure. All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Expenditure is allocated to the particular activity where the cost relates to that activity. The costs of governing the charity and supporting the charitable activities are based on specific costs and overheads apportioned on a headcount and delivery spend basis and are attributed to each activity. Note 4 explains the allocations and the apportionment basis used.
## **Grants payable**
Grants payable are payments made to training providers or individuals to deliver training or to receive training that is in line with the furtherance of the charitable objects of the charity. Across all funds, financial liabilities are recognised from the time an offer is made and are included in grants payable. The notification gives the recipient a reasonable expectation that they will receive funding and the chance of funds being withdrawn before acceptance is received is unlikely. An award is only ever not paid when there has been a breach in contract and the award is rescinded or the awardee advises they are no longer able to deliver.
The majority of funds awarded are expected to complete delivery within one year leaving a few exceptions that are due to complete in more than one year (see note 10). Should any reporting requirements be outstanding 10% of the grant is usually withheld until they have been met. As at 31 March 2021 no grants had any amounts withheld (2019/20: nil).
## **Support costs**
Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but cannot be directly attributable to specific charitable activities. Support costs include governance costs, office costs, premises and staff costs not directly attributable to activities. These are allocated per activity headcount and delivery spend. Governance costs reflect strategic and organisational costs and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements and are included within support costs.
## **Value Added Tax (VAT)**
The charity is registered for VAT and is engaged in a mixture of non-business activities, exempt supplies and taxable supplies. In 2013 ScreenSkills applied to HMRC and was successful in achieving a Partial Exemption special combined method in respect of recovering residual input tax incurred by the charity for taxable supplies. We are able to recover costs solely in relation to commercial activity.
Irrecoverable VAT is charged against the expenditure heading for which it was incurred.
## **Taxation**
ScreenSkills is a registered charity and, as such, is exempt from taxation on its income to the extent that it is applied for charitable purposes.
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ScreenSkills Limited ACCOUNTING POLICIES for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **Fund accounting**
Unrestricted funds support the infrastructure costs for delivery and underpinning activities, such as research and development, of the organisation. These funds are not considered 'restricted' as per Charities SORP FRS 102. Restricted funds are used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor or grant making body. Expenditure which meets the necessary criteria is allocated against the funds, together with a fair allocation of support costs when permitted by the funding conditions. The individual assets and liabilities of each fund are shown in note 16.
## **Pensions**
ScreenSkills offers membership to a Group Personal Pension Scheme with Aviva, which is a defined contribution scheme. This operates on a salary sacrifice basis. The standard contribution is 4% from the employer and a minimum of 4% from the employee. For joiners to the scheme prior to 31st July 2014 the percentages are 3-10% with an employee minimum contribution of 0-3%. Benefits are eventually dependent on investment performance with Aviva and the subsequent underlying value of funds at retirement. Employees become eligible to join the scheme on completion of three months’ service. The amount charged to the statement of financial activities in respect of pension costs and other post-retirement benefits is the contributions payable in the year. Differences between contributions payable in the year and contributions actually paid are shown as either accruals or prepayments in the balance sheet.
## **Redundancy/termination payments**
Termination benefits are payable when employment is terminated before the normal retirement date, or whenever an employee accepts voluntary redundancy in exchange for these benefits. The charity recognises termination benefits when it is demonstrably committed to either (i) terminating the employment of current employees according to a detailed formal plan without possibility of withdrawal or (ii) providing termination benefits as a result of an offer made to encourage voluntary redundancy. Redundancy payments are made to staff that have over two years’ continuous service as an employee of ScreenSkills (not including service before age 18). This does not include agency temps, apprentices, consultants or freelancers who are not employees of ScreenSkills. Redundancy and termination payments are accounted for in the period in which they are agreed. Payments are calculated on the basis of the following which is inclusive of Statutory Redundancy Pay.
## **Leased assets and obligations**
All leases held are ‘operating leases’ and the annual rentals are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities on a straight-line basis over the lease term.
## **Tangible fixed assets**
Fixed assets are stated at historical cost. Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets at rates calculated to write each asset down to its estimated residual value evenly over its expected useful life, as follows:
|
rates calculated to write each
useful life, as follows:|
asset down to its estimated residual value e|
|---|---|
|Office equipment|over 3 years|
|Fixtures and fittings|over 3 years|
|IT equipment|over 3 years|
|Leasehold improvements|over the lower of lease term or 5 years|
73
ScreenSkills Limited ACCOUNTING POLICIES for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **Intangible fixed assets**
Intangible fixed asset costs capitalised represent software costs capitalised in accordance with FRS 102. These are stated at historical cost and amortised on a straight-line basis over the period in which revenue is expected to be generated. ScreenSkills considers three years to be the expected useful life from the year of acquisition for all computer software. All assets over a value of £1,000 are capitalised. Assets of a lower value are also capitalised if they are expected to have a useful life of three years or more.
## **Financial instruments**
The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments and are not considered to be of a financing nature. Basic financial instruments, which comprise cash at bank and in hand, together with trade and other debtors and creditors, accrued income and expenditure, are originally measured at their transaction value and then subsequently at settlement value.
Cash at bank and in hand is defined as all cash held in instant and short-term deposit accounts. Grants receivable and payable that are non-contractual/non-exchange are not financial instruments.
## **Key accounting estimates and areas of judgement**
Estimates and judgements are reviewed on an ongoing basis and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. ScreenSkills makes estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The resulting accounting estimates and assumptions will, by definition, seldom equal the related actual result.
Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
There were no significant estimates or judgements made in these Financial Statements. In arriving at our going concern assessment, we have made appropriate assumptions while preparing budgets and forecasts based on conservative view of current pandemic situation.
74
ScreenSkills Limited NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **1 Donations**
|Broadcasters
BFI (*)
Voluntary levy
SAP
**Total**|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**Total**
**2021**
**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**Total**
**2020**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
452,000
441,480
893,480
465,000
434,125
899,125
-
-
-
-
(36,664)
(36,664)
-
4,265,369
4,265,369
-
5,172,452
5,172,452
-
-
-
-
175,000
175,000|
|---|---|
||**452,000**
**4,706,849**
**5,158,849**
**465,000**
**5,744,913**
**6,209,913**|
* BFI - The negative BFI income during 2019/20 relates to fall-ins (rescinded/under-utilised) of grants issued under the programme that closed during 2018/19 and reserves remain nil.
75
ScreenSkills Limited NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **2 Unrestricted Projects Summary**
|**Industry Intelligence and Influencing**
Arts Council England
Central Support
British Film Institute
**Total Industry Intelligence and Influencing**
**Entry Level Diversity and Work Readiness**
Arts Council England
Welsh CCP
Central Support
British Film Institute
**Total Entry Level Diversity and Work Readiness**
**Professional Development**
Apprenticeships
British Film Institute
**Apprenticeships**
Accreditation - Select
British Film Institute
**Accreditation/ Quality provision**
Unscripted TV Skills Fund
Skills Development Scotland
British Film Institute
**CPD**
British Film Institute
**Centres of excellence**
British Film Institute
**Mentoring**
British Film Institute
**Bursaries**|**Income from**
**Charitable**
**Activities**
**£**
181,886
-
169,169|**Expenditure**
**On Charitable**
**Activities**
**Surplus /**
**(Deficit)**
**£**
**£**
11,688
170,198
5,032
(5,032)
171,741
(2,572)|
|---|---|---|
||351,055|188,461
162,594|
||**£**
123,634
19,500
-
523,240|**£**
**£**
7,945
115,689
12,716
6,784
52,257
(52,257)
523,525
(285)|
||666,374|596,443
69,931|
||**£**
1,063
451,077|**£**
**£**
19
1,044
451,322
(245)|
||452,140
78,291
714,886|451,341
799
-
78,291
715,274
(388)|
||793,177
-
51,099
1,320,036|715,274
77,903
21,800
(21,800)
29,367
21,732
1,320,752
(716)|
||1,371,135
435,341|1,371,919
(784)
435,578
(237)|
||435,341
733,693|435,578
(237)
734,091
(398)|
||733,693
1,030,105|734,091
(398)
1,030,664
(559)|
||1,030,105|1,030,664
(559)|
76
ScreenSkills Limited
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
|Central Support
**Central Support**
**Total Professional Development**
Products and Services
**Total Unrestricted Projects**|**Income from**
**Charitable**
**Activities**
**£**
**Expenditure**
**On Charitable**
**Activities**
**£**
**Surplus /**
**(Deficit)**
**£**
-
192,600
(192,600)|
|---|---|
||-
192,600
(192,600)
4,815,591
4,931,467
(115,876)|
||-
12,912
(12,912)|
|||
||5,833,020
5,729,283
103,737|
## **3 Government Grants receivable for furtherance of the charity’s objectives**
During 2020/21 ScreenSkills received below Government grants:
Welsh Government – An unrestricted grant of £24,999 was received during the year for Welsh translation of Creative Careers website and National Occupational Standards (2019/20 £nil)
UK Government – HMRC – An unrestricted Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) grant of £143,424 was received during the year (2019/20: £nil).
Department of Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) – A restricted grant of £6,475 was received to develop Creative Careers Programmme job profiles. (2019/20: A total of £567,825 of which £492,825 was for Creative Careers Programme (CCP) to develop a creative industries toolkit and apprenticeship standards and £75,000 for ScreenSkills Apprenticeship Programme)
Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) - The Aviation Skills to Film programme was funded by DWP of £92,000 to improve employment outcomes or prospects of future employment outcomes for long-term unemployed individuals (2019/20: £nil).
There were no unfulfilled conditions at year end for the grants listed above.
77
ScreenSkills Limited NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **4 Total Expenditure**
## **a) Breakdown of Total Expenditure**
|Industry Intelligence
and Influencing
Entry Level Diversity
and Work Readiness
Professional
Development
Products and Services
**Total 2021**
**Total 2020**|**Direct Costs**
**Grants**
**Support Costs**
**Total 2021**
**Total 2020**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
156,664
19,950
18,527
**195,141**
**432,731**
1,169,463
664,586
221,630
**2,055,679**
**3,074,310**
3,334,256
3,425,311
740,512
**7,500,079**
**8,315,320**
12,554
-
358
**12,912**
**24,572**|
|---|---|
||**4,672,937**
**4,109,847**
**981,027**
**9,763,811**
**11,846,933**|
||**5,821,362**
**4,944,311**
**1,081,260**
**11,846,933**|
## **b) Total Expenditure - Restricted Funds**
|Industry
Intelligence and
Influencing
Entry Level
Diversity and Work
Readiness
Professional
Development
Products and
Services
**Total 2021**
**Total 2020**|**Direct**
**Costs**
**Grants**
**Support**
**Costs**
**Total 2021**
**Total 2020**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
6,001
-
679
**6,680**
**40,118**
701,851
627,080
130,305
**1,459,236**
**2,270,763**
1,076,714
1,293,802
198,096
**2,568,612**
**3,406,547**
-
-
-
**-**
**-**|
|---|---|
||**1,784,566**
**1,920,882**
**329,080**
**4,034,528**
**5,717,428**|
||**2,505,788**
**2,983,126**
**228,514**
**5,717,428**|
78
## ScreenSkills Limited
## NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **c) Total Expenditure - Unrestricted Funds**
|Industry
Intelligence and
Influencing
Entry Level
Diversity and
Work Readiness
Professional
Development
Products and
Services
**Total 2021**
**Total 2020**|**Direct**
**Costs**
**Grants**
**Support**
**Costs**
**Total 2021**
**Total 2020**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
150,663
19,950
17,848
**188,461**
**392,613**
467,612
37,506
91,325
**596,443**
**803,547**
2,257,542
2,131,509
542,416
**4,931,467**
**4,908,773**
12,554 -
358
**12,912**
**24,572**|
|---|---|
||**2,888,371**
**2,188,965**
**651,947**
**5,729,283**
**6,129,505**|
||**3,315,574**
**1,961,185**
**852,746**
**6,129,505**|
## **d) Analysis of support costs**
|Industry
Intelligence and
Influencing
Entry Level
Diversity and
Work Readiness
Professional
Development
Products and
Services
**Total 2021**
**Total 2020**|**2021**
**2020**
**Staff**
**Costs -**
**Indirect**
**Premises**
**Comms**
**Governance**
**Other**
**Total**
**Total**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
8,675
527
120
793
8,412
18,527
37,334
95,255
5,474
1,246
8,231
111,424
221,630
273,450
338,816
20,176
4,591
30,337
346,592
740,512
769,029
213
37
8
56
44
358
1,447|
|---|---|
||**442,959**
**26,214**
**5,965**
**39,417**
**466,472**
**981,027**
**1,081,260**|
||**774,223**
**55,722**
**9,371**
**31,851**
**210,093**
**1,081,260**|
Support costs of £0.98m (2019/20: £1.08m) include staff costs, general overheads, central services charges and recovery that ScreenSkills considers to be core staff and overheads, and shows a reduction of 9% on prior year. Any staff and associated costs including marketing, communication and events which are solely associated with fund programmes, are allocated as direct costs. Direct costs in 2020/21 include overall programme delivery staff, marketing, events, performance audits, systems and evaluation costs.
79
ScreenSkills Limited NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **4 (e) Analysis of Governance Costs**
||**2021**|**2020**||
|---|---|---|---|
||**£**|**£**||
|Meeting costs|-|20||
|Legal and professional fees|1,707|1,021||
|Auditors remuneration|37,710|30,810||
|**Total governance costs**|39,417|31,851||
|**5 Net Income**||||
|||**2021**|**2020**|
|||**£**|**£**|
|**Net Income is after charging:**||||
|Depreciation on tangible fixed assets||44,276|31,305|
|Amortisation on intangible fixed assets||12,203|1,090|
|Amounts payable to RSM UK Audit LLP and its associates in||||
|respect to both audit and non-audit services are as follows:-||||
|- Statutory audit 20/21||31,425|-|
|- Statutory audit 19/20||-|25,675|
|- Statutory audit 18/19||-|1,000|
|- Remuneration for non-audit work||5,220|10,000|
|Operating leases:||||
|- Land and Buildings||123,521|152,026|
|- Office Equipment||5,871|5,871|
80
ScreenSkills Limited NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **6 Employees**
|**Employees**|||
|---|---|---|
|**Staff costs**
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs
Redundancy
**Total**|**2021**
**£**
2,787,456
289,437
111,446
19,071
**3,207,410**|**2020**
**£**
2,978,511
312,771
109,615
8,323|
|||**3,409,220**|
Redundancy costs paid for the year were £19,071 (2019/20: £8,323).
The average number of employees are calculated on the basis of average monthly headcount:
|Direct project staff
Support activity staff
Total|**2021**
**No.**
48
16
64|**2020**
**No.**
50
17|
|---|---|---|
|||67|
The number of employees whose emoluments amounted to over £60,000 in the period was as follows:
|£ 60,001 - £ 70,000
£ 70,001 - £ 80,000
£ 80,001 - £ 90,000
£ 90,001 - £ 100,000
£ 100,001 - £ 110,000
£ 160,001 - £ 170,000
£ 170,001 - £ 180,000|**2021**
**No.**
5
1
1
-
1
-
1
**9**|**2020**
**No.**
5
3
-
1
1
1
-|
|---|---|---|
|||**11**|
8 employees out of a total of 9 employees (2019/20: 10 out of 11 employees) earning over £60,000 were members of the group personal pension scheme with Aviva and People’s Pension. They benefitted from employer's contributions at rates varying between 3% and 10%
The aggregate total of employer’s pension contributions made on behalf of employees earning over £60,000 was £37,123 (2019/20: £41,176).
81
## ScreenSkills Limited NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
The key management personnel of the charity were the Trustees, the Chair, Chief Executive Officer and the Director of Finance & Operations. The total employee costs of the key management personnel is detailed below.
|Salaries
National Insurance
Pension payments|**2021**
**£**
278,417
34,035
21,308
**333,760**|**2020**
**£**
272,800
34,691
20,808|
|---|---|---|
|||**328,299**|
Trustees’ Liability insurance premiums charged to the accounts was £657 (2019/20: £657).
## **Trustees’ Remuneration and Expenses**
There were 4 gifts given to Trustees during the year: Iain Smith - leaving gift of £255.00, Ivan Dunleavy - leaving gift of £206.90, Christine Healy - congratulations gift of £28.00 and Louise Grainger - leaving gift of £35.93 (2019/20: £ Nil).
No remuneration, pension or national insurance contributions were made on behalf of Trustees. There were no travel expenses reimbursed during the year (2019/20 £ Nil). For further details on Trustees Related Party Transactions see note 20.
## **7 Tangible Fixed Assets**
|**Cost**
1 April 2020
Additions
**31 March 2021**
**Depreciation**
1 April 2020
Charge for year
**31 March 2021**
**Net Book Value**
**31 March 2021**
**31 March 2020**|**Office**
**Equipment**
**Fixtures &**
**equipment**
**IT**
**Equipment**
**£**
**£**
**£**
90,037
4,483
187,944
-
-
3,131
**90,037**
**4,483**
**191,075**
90,037
4,483
88,282
-
-
44,276
**90,037**
**4,483**
**132,558**
-
-
58,517
-
-
99,662|**Total**
**£**
282,464
3,131|
|---|---|---|
|||**285,595**|
|||182,802
44,276|
|||**227,078**|
||||
|||58,517|
||||
|||99,662|
82
ScreenSkills Limited NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **7a Intangible Fixed Assets**
|**Cost**
**1 April 2020**
Additions
Disposals
**31 March 2021**
**Amortisation**
**1 April 2020**
Charge for year
Disposals
**31 March 2021**
**Net Book Value**
**31 March 2021**
**31 March 2020**|**IT Software**
**£**
63,335
13,402
-
**76,737**
33,532
12,204
-
**45,736**
**31,001 **
**29,803**|**Total**
**£**
63,335
13,402
-|
|---|---|---|
|||**76,737**|
|||33,532
12,204
-|
|||**45,736**|
||||
|||**31,001 **|
||||
|||**29,803**|
## **7b Investments**
Creative Skillset Trading Ltd, Company number 11433230 is a private limited company which is 100% subsidiary of ScreenSkills Ltd. It was incorporated on 26 June 2018. The subsidiary has been excluded from consolidation on the basis of immateriality. The subsidiary has a balance sheet value of £1. The subsidiary is dormant and there were no trading activities during this year and prior year.
## **8 Debtors**
|**Due within 1 year**
Trade Debtors
Other debtors
Prepayments and accrued income
**Total**|**2021**
**£**
129,730
2,654
1,849,459
**1,981,843**|**2020**
**£**
250,899
22,718
2,108,142|
|---|---|---|
|||**2,381,759**|
83
ScreenSkills Limited NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **9 Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year**
||**2021**|**2020**|
|---|---|---|
||**£**|**£**|
|Trade Creditors|122,660|253,052|
|Other Creditors (*)|68,631|87,662|
|Other taxation and social security costs|52,549|51,882|
|Funds held in trust for 3rd party (Note 18)|35,838|35,838|
|Accruals|835,734|760,862|
|Deferred income (Note 19)|40,340|126,501|
|BFI Lottery grants payable|1,495,397|1,644,244|
|Other grants payable|2,424,620|2,696,519|
|**Total**|**5,075,769**|**5,656,560**|
* Other Creditors include £39k (2020: £39k) received for Employer Ownership Pilot Programme (EOP), in previous years, which was not fully utilised. This programme is now closed. Balance of fund will be used in line with the objectives of the restricted fund.
## **10 Creditors: Amounts falling due in more than one year**
|Amounts payable by instalments falling due:
BFI Grants payable
Other Grants payable
**Total**|**2021**
**£**
6,730
10,000
**16,730**|**2020**
**£**
78,804
54,500
**133,304**|
|---|---|---|
## **11 Cash & cash equivalents**
|Bank – Current Accounts
Bank – Deposit Account*
Cash Cards
Petty Cash
**Total**|**2021**
**£**
6,868,572
4,000,000
740
347
**10,869,659**|**2020**
**£**
5,835,799
3,400,000
1,495
471|
|---|---|---|
|||**9,237,765**|
* Deposit account is a 31 day notice account.
84
ScreenSkills Limited NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **12 Reconciliation of net funds**
|Cash at bank and in hand
Debt due within one year
**Total**|**2020**
**£**
9,237,765
-
**9,237,765**|**Cash**
**flow**
1,631,894
-
**1,631,894**|**2021**
**£**
10,869,659
-
**10,869,659**|
|---|---|---|---|
## **13 Operating Lease Commitments**
As at 31 March 2021 the charity had total non-cancellable operating leases as follows:
|**Land and Buildings**
Payable within 1 year
**Office Equipment**
Payable within 1 year
Payable within 2-5 years
Total Lease Commitment|**2021**
**£**
57,010
57,010
5,871
2,777
8,648
**65,658**|**2020**
**£**
76,013|
|---|---|---|
|||76,013|
|||5,871
8,648|
|||14,519|
||||
|||**90,532**|
## **14 Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash flow from operating activities**
|Net income
Add back amortisation and depreciation charge
Deduct interest income
Decrease/(Increase) in debtors
Increase/(Decrease) in creditors|**2021**
**£**
1,889,395
56,479
(25,710)
399,916
(697,363)
**1,622,717**|**2020**
**£**
1,368,680
32,395
(54,336)
(276,830)
109,544|
|---|---|---|
|||**1,179,453**|
85
## ScreenSkills Limited
## NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **15 Charity Funds**
|
**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
ScreenSkills’ Skills
Investment Funds (SIFs)
TV Skills Fund (TVSF)
Indie Training Fund (ITF)
ScreenSkills
Apprenticeship Programme
(SAP)
Aviation Skills to Screen
Digital Discover Week
Creative Careers
Programme (CCP) Job
Profiles
**Total Restricted**
**Total**|**Bal b/fwd**
**01 April**
**2020**
**£**
1,006,313
4,503,736
254,190
42,101
152,787
-
-
-
4,952,814
5,959,127|**Income**
**£**
6,434,027
4,343,893
384,417
312,394
-
97,000
75,000
6,475
5,219,179
11,653,206|**Expenditure**
**£**
(5,729,283)
(3,174,579)
(379,316)
(291,726)
(10,432)
(97,000)
(75,000)
6,475
(4,034,528)
(9,763,811)|**Transfer***
(58,620)
45,913
-
12,707
-
-
-
-
58,620
-|**Bal c/fwd**
**31 March**
**2021**
**£**
1,652,437
5,718,963
259,291
75,476
142,355
-
-
-|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||6,196,085|
|||||||
||||||7,848,522|
## Unrestricted Funds
Unrestricted funds are received from various parties with no conditions attached as to how they may be used other than for the general purpose of achieving the charitable objectives. Unrestricted income supports the delivery of work-readiness through training, continuing professional development (CPD) and accreditation. In 2020/21 this amounted to £6.43m which includes voluntary income from broadcasters, Arts Council England (ACE) and funding from the BFI’s ‘Future Film Skills’ Fund (FFS). Income is also generated through projects co-funded through public and private investment. The unrestricted surplus after the transfer of funds of £0.65m increased the reserves to £1.65m.
*Transfer of unrestricted funds of £58,620 to restricted funds relates to Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) grant income received in respect of employees working for restricted funds.
86
ScreenSkills Limited NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
## Restricted Funds
ScreenSkills manages a range of restricted funds which enable the charity to support skills development for those wanting to join the screen skills industry and those already working in the industry (freelancers and employees).Restricted funding is received from various parties under strict terms, which determine how the monies can be used. Such funding is ring fenced as restricted funds and specific expenditure and a reasonable proportion of overheads are allocated against the income.
## ScreenSkills Limited's Skills Investment Funds (SIF)
ScreenSkills Limited's Skills Investment Fund, through income received from industry, offers opportunities for the growth of the film, High-end TV, children's TV, animation, games and visual effects (VFX) industries.
The funds received are disbursed as grants and also pay for the management and administration of the fund. The funds generated a surplus of £1.2m which increased the reserves to £5.7m and will be allocated to the budgeted spend in 2021/22.
## TV Skills Fund (TVSF)
The TV Skills Fund supports the unscripted TV Sector, which is funded by a small number of contributors from the TV broadcasters. Funds are used to support training for those that work in the TV industry by way of awarding grants and commissioning training.
## Indie Training Fund (ITF)
The Indie Training Fund (ITF) generates income through membership contributions and fees from open courses and bespoke training. While its courses are open to all companies and individuals members receive various benefits (including bespoke training support). The ITF Council advises on training investment priorities.
## ScreenSkills Apprenticeship Programme (SAP)
ScreenSkills Apprenticeship Programme is an innovative pilot programme to enable more people to join the film and TV industries through an apprenticeship in partnership with WarnerMedia and Netflix, which is being supported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS).
## Aviation Skills to Screen
The Aviation Skills to Film programme was funded by Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to improve employment outcomes or prospects of future employment outcomes for long-term unemployed individuals and groups facing the most complex and intractable barriers to work and to help individuals access and/or re-integrate into the labour market. It was also supported by Enterprise M3 with a contribution of £5k. The programme successfully completed during the year.
## Digtial Discover Week
ScreenSkills in collaboration with Creative and Cultural Skills (CCS), secured £75,000 of Arts Council England (ACE) funding to deliver the ‘Digital Discover Week’ programme. The programme successfully completed during the year.
## Creative Careers Programme (CCP)
87
ScreenSkills Limited NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
ScreenSkills worked with Creative and Cultural Skills (CCS), secured extension funding from DCMS to deliver the ‘Creative Careers’ programme. ScreenSkills will be developing new job profiles, aiming to strengthen sub-sectors which are currently relatively weak including architecture, radio, journalism, design and markeing. During the year £6k out of a total of £26k was invested to deliver this activity and the programme will complete during the first quarter of 2021/22.
## **15a Charity Funds comparatives**
|
**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
ScreenSkills’ Skills Investment Funds (SIFs)
British Film Institute Lottery delegation (BFI)
TV Skills Fund (TVSF)
Indie Training Fund (ITF)
Creative Careers Programme (CCP)
ScreenSkills Apprenticeship Programme
(SAP)
Anne Tyrell Fund (ATF)
**Total Restricted**
**Total**|**Bal b/fwd**
**01 April**
**2019**
**£**
674,968
3,483,802
-
373,882
49,819
-
-
7,976
3,915,479
4,590,447|**Income**
**£**
6,460,850
5,244,117
(36,664)
407,371
472,114
492,825
175,000
-
6,754,763
13,215,613|**Expenditure**
**£**
(6,129,505)
(4,224,183)
36,664
(527,063)
(479,832)
(492,825)
(22,213)
(7,976)
(5,717,428)
(11,846,933)|**Bal c/fwd**
**31 March**
**2020**
**£**
1,006,313
4,503,736
-
254,190
42,101
-
152,787
-|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||4,952,814|
||||||
|||||5,959,127|
## **16 Analysis of net assets between funds**
|Fixed assets
Cash at bank and in
hand
Other net
assets/(liabilities)
**Total**|**Unrestricted Restricted**
**Total**
**Funds**
**Funds**
**2021**
**£**
**£**
**£**
89,519
-
89,519
1,761,567
9,108,092
10,869,659
(198,649)
(2,912,007)
(3,110,656)
**1,652,437**
**6,196,085**
**7,848,222**|**Unrestricted Restricted**
**Total**
**Funds**
**Funds**
**2020**
**£**
**£**
**£**
129,466
-
129,466
897,754
8,340,011
9,237,765
(20,907)
(3,387,197)
(3,408,104)|
|---|---|---|
|||**1,006,313**
**4,952,814**
**5,959,127**|
88
ScreenSkills Limited NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **17 Grants Payable in furtherance of charitable objectives**
|**Awards**
BFI
Skills Funds
TVSF
Total
Awards
**No of Grants to**
**organisations**
**Bursaries**
ATS
BFI
Skills Funds
TVSF
No of
Bursaries
Total Awards and
Bursaries
**Total number of**
**Awards and Bursaries**|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**Total**
**2021**
**£**
**£**
**£**
1,753,656
-
1,753,656
-
2,258,983
2,258,983
-
60,000
60,000
1,753,656
2,318,983
4,072,639
59
337
396
**£**
**£**
**£**
-
-
-
556,508
-
556,508
-
98,472
98,472
-
12,270
12,270
556,508
110,742
667,250
545
172
717
2,310,164
2,429,725
4,739,889
604
509
1,113|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**Total**
**2020**
**£**
**£**
**£**
1,712,427
- 1,712,427
-
3,020,740 3,020,740
-
220,201
220,201|
|---|---|---|
|||1,712,427
3,240,941 4,953,368|
|||59
483
542
**£**
**£**
**£**
-
8,000
8,000
415,633
-
415,633
-
146,149
146,149
-
36,627
36,627|
|||415,633
190,776
606,409|
|||483
244
727|
|||2,128,060
3,431,7175,559,777|
|||542
727
1,269|
- a) The aggregate value of grants payable to organisations for the year ended 31 March 2021 was £4,072,639 (2019/20: £4,953,368).
b) The aggregate value of bursaries payable to individuals for the year ended 31 March 2021 was £667,250 (2019/20: £606,409).
c) Total grants and bursaries awarded in 2020/21 are listed under note 21
89
ScreenSkills Limited NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **18 Funds held in trust for a third party**
The following reflects the movement in funds held for a third party which have not been included in the statement of financial activities:
|Brought forward
Funds expended
**Carried forward**|**David Fraser Fund**
**£**
35,838
-|
|---|---|
||**35,838**|
Amounts held at the year-end are reflected in the creditors balance per note 9.
## **19 Deferred income**
The following reflects the movement in the deferral of incoming resources. The deferred income relates to bespoke training income where income is deferred for any training that has not happened.
|Brought forward
Released income to charitable activities
Income deferred in year
Carried forward|**2021**
**2020**
**£**
**£**
126,501
177,064
(126,501)
(177,064)
40,340
126,501|
|---|---|
||40,340
126,501|
90
## ScreenSkills Limited
## NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
> _* March 2020 closing balances for The Production Guild and BBC have been restated._
91
## ScreenSkills Limited
## NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
## Continued…
_** March 2020 closing balances have been added for ITV and Netflix due to the staff members from these organsations joining ScreenSkills' board during 2020-21._
92
## ScreenSkills Limited
## NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
93
## ScreenSkills Limited NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
94
ScreenSkills Limited
## NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
## **21 Grants Awarded**
|**21 Grants Awarded**|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Grant**||**No**||**Increased/**|**Grant**|
||**Creditors**|**Granted in**|**of**|**Paid in**|**Rescinded**|**Creditors**|
||**2019/20 b/f**|**2020-21**|**grants**|**2020-21**|**in 2020-21**|**2020/21 c/f**|
|**Awards**|**£**|**£**||**£**|**£**|**£**|
|NFTS|867,185.64|785,000.00|8|(1,176,335.78)|(21,433.51)|454,416.35|
|DV Talent Ltd|34,945.00|76,934.00|4|(34,778.22)|(12,100.78)|65,000.00|
|Elstree Screen Arts Academy|-|67,300.00|1|-|
-|67,300.00|
|Talking Point Ltd|13,400.00|64,245.00|4|(14,999.92)|(629.30)|62,015.78|
|Mama Youth Project|20,000.00|61,600.00|2|(37,886.00)|-|43,714.00|
|BBC Academy|100,000.00|60,000.00|1|(83,000.00)|(17,000.00)|60,000.00|
|BBC Grafton House Productions|-|59,591.00|9|-|
-|59,591.00|
|Thecallsheet.Co.Uk Ltd|110,407.83|56,352.00|1|(85,101.02)|(79,931.85)|1,726.96|
|Media Trust|-|53,600.00|2|(26,070.70)|-|27,529.30|
|The Production Guild Limited|134,033.74|52,722.80|1|(79,940.48)|(51,085.92)|55,730.14|
|Independent Cinema Office|33,511.08|52,000.94|2|(85,121.43)|-|390.59|
|Sgil Cymru|52,480.00|49,520.00|2|(70,000.00)|-|32,000.00|
|Post Super|-|48,450.00|1|(38,600.00)|-|9,850.00|
|British Independent Film Awards|15,260.00|48,389.00|2|(44,668.22)|(2,244.45)|16,736.33|
|Screen Yorkshire|154,093.91|48,000.00|1|(84,794.41)|(34,210.21)|83,089.29|
|Creative Media Skills Ltd|7,044.12|45,796.40|2|(47,064.30)|(2,605.22)|3,171.00|
|BBC Childrens Productions Ltd|21,090.00|44,820.00|12|(33,205.00)|(11,155.00)|21,550.00|
|Thinkbigger! Ltd|44,870.00|67,092.86|2|(59,250.00)|(7,142.86)|45,570.00|
|Escape Studios|15,000.00|41,550.00|2|(14,388.00)|(612.00)|41,550.00|
|Dancing Ledge Productions|-|40,000.00|2|(3,000.00)|-|37,000.00|
|Punch|-|40,000.00|1|(10,600.00)|-|29,400.00|
|Shoe Bucket Ltd (Ted Lasso)|-|35,400.00|5|-|
-|35,400.00|
|Mission Accomplished Ltd|12,250.00|35,392.50|3|(31,717.50)|-|15,925.00|
|104 Projects CIC|-|35,000.00|1|-|
-|35,000.00|
|Sister (Landscapers) Ltd|-|30,800.00|4|-|
-|30,800.00|
|Every Sense Ltd|-|30,288.00|2|(30,288.00)|-|-|
|The Research Centre|4,367.71|39,531.00|4|(43,898.71)|-|-|
|BBC Studios|15,000.00|29,200.00|5|-|
-|44,200.00|
|Supreme Works Prod.II UK Ltd|-|28,200.00|5|-|
-|28,200.00|
|Fully Focused Productions|10,000.00|27,520.00|2|(9,000.00)|-|28,520.00|
|Eleventh Hour Films Ltd|-|27,000.00|5|-|
-|27,000.00|
|Mammoth Screen (End8) Ltd|-|27,000.00|5|-|
-|27,000.00|
|Playground|-|27,000.00|4|-|
-|27,000.00|
|UMSI Productions Ltd|-|27,000.00|8|(14,700.00)|-|12,300.00|
|NFTS Scotland|-|26,000.00|1|-|
-|26,000.00|
|Film Design International Ltd|9,041.82|24,400.00|1|(18,037.13)|-|15,404.69|
|Lightforge Academy|-|24,225.00|1|(18,512.50)|-|5,712.50|
|Physical Folk|-|24,000.00|1|(20,782.80)|-|3,217.20|
|Talking Point Film & TV Ltd|14,151.92|22,450.00|1|(30,569.37)|(1,333.82)|4,698.73|
|Kudo Film & Television|49,520.00|22,360.00|3|(51,200.00)|-|20,680.00|
|ITV Vera Ltd|-|22,020.00|3|-|
-|22,020.00|
|CA2 Productions Limited|-|22,000.00|4|-|
-|22,000.00|
|First Option|-|21,910.00|1|-|
-|21,910.00|
|**Subtotal**|1,737,652.77|2,471,660.50|131|(2,297,509.49)|(241,484.92)|1,670,318.86|
95
## ScreenSkills Limited
## NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ending 31 March 2021
||**Grant**||**No**||**Increased/**|**Grant**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Creditors**|**Granted in**|**of**|**Paid in**|**Rescinded**|**Creditors**|
||**2019/20 b/f**|**2020-21**|**grants**|**2020-21**|**in 2020-21**|**2020/21 c/f**|
|**Awards (b/fwd)**|**£**|**£**||**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**Subtotal**|1,737,652.77|2,471,660.50|131|(2,297,509.49)|(241,484.92)|1,670,318.86|
|House Lal Ltd|-|21,900.00|4|-|-|21,900.00|
|The Forge Entertainment Ltd|-|21,853.00|3|-|-|21,853.00|
|Jettison Productions Ltd|5,090.00|21,730.00|4|-|-|26,820.00|
|Kudos (SAS) Ltd|-|21,000.00|3|-|-|21,000.00|
|Sister (Hurt) Ltd|-|21,000.00|3|-|-|21,000.00|
|Mam Tor Productions Ltd|-|20,400.00|2|-|-|20,400.00|
|Number Three Films Limited|-|20,400.00|3|-|-|20,400.00|
|Kudos (Grantchester Six) Ltd|-|20,140.00|4|-|-|20,140.00|
|Northern Ireland Screen|22,000.00|20,000.00|1|(8,611.11)|-|33,388.89|
|Prospect / Bectu Sector|93,219.49|20,000.00|1|(62,515.92)|(8,393.39)|42,310.18|
|Vertigo Films Ltd|-|20,000.00|1|-|-|20,000.00|
|**Grants to companies< £20k**|2,409,634.55|1,372,555.29|236|(1,686,722.65)|(324,394.66)|1,771,072.53|
|**Bursaries (amounts paid to**|206,469.09|667,249.77|717|(591,805.79)|(55,768.54)|226,144.53|
|**Individuals)**|||||||
|**Total**|4,474,065.90|4,739,888.56|1113|(4,647,164.96)|(630,041.51)|3,936,747.99|
96
Trustees' Report + Accounts for year ending 31 March 2021_FINAL FOR SIGN-OFF at 15 09 21
## Final Audit Report 2021-09-24
Created: 2021-09-24 By: Honey-Lee McLoughlin-Thompson (honey-lee.mcloughlin-thompson@screenskills.com) Status: Signed Transaction ID: CBJCHBCAABAABNRrgLOHU68toOWKzyPT2m2pAFRoFnS0
## "Trustees' Report + Accounts for year ending 31 March 2021_FI NAL FOR SIGN-OFF at 15 09 21" History
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