The report, written by consultant David Duffy of the Governance Company, finds that collaboration between the education sector and the Irish screen industry is “unstructured and ad hoc” at third level, graduate level and for ongoing professional development.“To be workplace ready one needs ‘flying hours’ to gain experience, but these flying hours are hard to access,” it states.
More bridging programmes are required to prepare graduates for the workplace, it recommends. But it also observes a “lack of investment” by employers in long-term professional development because of the cyclical nature of project-to-project work. Producers need “to be more forthcoming with information” on the potential dates for upcoming projects to help avoid a “classic chicken-and-egg situation” in which productions find it difficult to source crew – especially experienced crew – because workers unable to plan ahead migrate instead to the UK or the US in search of more continuous employment.
“Despite the skills shortages, there is no effective and efficient way to identify crew who are available for jobs or for crew to be able to identify what positions are available,” the report notes. “For many, the industry is vocational rather than professional. For the industry to succeed, the dial needs to move to a more professional mindset with the appropriate infrastructure and support, otherwise the industry will not be able to scale in a sustainable manner, despite the apparent global opportunities.”