TV industry talent schemes open for applications
Howard Lake | 2 March 2018 | News
The Edinburgh International Television Festival is inviting applications to its two talent schemes.
The charitable organisation runs two schemes – The Network and Ones to Watch – as part of its mission “to identify and nurture the next generation of talent from all backgrounds”.
The schemes help talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds across the UK kick-start their careers in the TV industry.
The Network was set up in 1991 to give people with little or no experience their vital first step on the TV ladder. Designed for those who want to work behind the camera, 60 are accepted onto the scheme every year. Successful applicants benefit from a four-day course that takes place alongside the organisation’s TV Festival in August in Edinburgh. This is followed by 12 months of mentoring and paid work placements with some of the TV industry’s most prestigious companies.
Ones to Watch, founded in 1994, is aimed at those who already have three or more years’ experience in TV and are looking to make the next big step in their career.
Each year 30 candidates are selected from all areas of the TV industry – from assistant producers to directors, writers to marketers, schedulers, business and legal. Graduates of the scheme gain access to a series of workshops and masterclasses, led in previous years by prominent industry executives and creatives including Jay Hunt, Charlotte Moore, Vince Gilligan and Vinay Patel. Graduates will also be showcased to over 2,000 delegates at the TV Festival and receive 12 months of training and development “from the best in the business”.
The Debbies
To spread the word of its work and celebrate new and emerging talent in the industry, the charity has just held its inaugural Debbies Awards.
Audience at The Debbies 2018
Hosted by actor and director Femi Oyeniran, himself an alumnus of the Talent Schemes and Creative Director at production company Purple Geko, the TV industry ceremony was held in East London.
Winners in five categories were announced, including the Test Card Award, which gives videographers, filmmakers, and amateur producers an opportunity to submit a fully realised pilot TV show. This year it was awarded to Great Expectations by Pip Swallow – a loose retelling of the famous Dickens story, set in modern times, and “told with bleak comic freshness and a female protagonist”.
All winners will receive a pass to the Edinburgh International TV Festival, taking place in August, to learn about the global TV industry, together with the opportunity to enjoy bespoke career advice and “introductions to some of the biggest names in the industry”.
Submissions to the two Talent Schemes are open until 27 April at 11pm. All applicants must be over 18. Shortlisted applicants will be notified in May.
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.