INDIE SCHEME GETS TRAINING AWARD
On the 27th October at a National Training Awards ceremony held at the Banqueting Hall, Whitehall FT2 received for the Independent Companies Researcher Training Scheme a Greater London Training Award for "demonstrating outstanding achievement".
FT2 Director, SHARON GOODE, said:
"I am delighted to accept this award on behalf of the participating independent production companies for whom we manage this project and on behalf of the FT2 staff, board and trainees past and present. We are all very proud of the success of this scheme's former trainees. As highly skilled researchers in factual programming they have contributed to the high standards of British television. Many have progressed to become Associate Producers and several have already gone on to actually Produce or Direct documentaries for our screens."
TOM ROBERTS, Director of October Films and founder of the scheme, said:
"Last night's award won by FT2 is recognition of the high standards that FT2 has always aspired to and has so consistently achieved. It is highly appropriate and well deserved. FT2 has long championed the cause of quality training in an industry which relies heavily of freelance workers and which has taken little care to train them. Thank goodness that FT2 has been there to plug the gap."
This training scheme is funded by contributions from the participating independent companies and by the industry through the Skillset Freelance Training Fund.
DINAH CAINE, Chief Executive of Skillset, the Sector Skills Council for the audio visual industries, said:
"Congratulations FT2 on this exciting achievement. Winning this award is hard earned recognition of the quality of education and training FT2 provides for the industry. It's an overwhelming endorsement of your work and thoroughly well deserved."
LAURA SLATER, Training Manager of Pact (the Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television) and a board member of FT2, who jointly accepted the award with Sharon Goode on behalf of the independent production companies said:
"Congratulations to FT2 - this award recognises their excellent work in managing a successful and innnovative scheme for small indies: companies that understand the need to work together to develop talents."
Former trainee SARAH VEEVERS, now working as a Researcher at Oxford Film and Television comments:
"FT2 and the ICRTS provides an unrivalled opportunity to gain on the job experience supplemented with industry led training. In an industry famous for being difficult to break into, with fierce competition for work experience placements, ICRTS provides its participants with a solid grounding in television research and a fantastic head start in a television production career."
