Production Futures runs a series ON TOUR events throughout the year, where young visitors from all over the UK are able to directly connect with representatives of its brand partners to learn more about and explore employment opportunities in the industry. This year’s flagship event will take place at Production Park in Wakefield on Thursday Sept 28th. This free of charge event will promote employability, transferable skills and paid work opportunities, and is set to attract a wide range of young people from across West Yorkshire.
This flagship event will deliver a packed schedule which includes special guests, talks and panels, including ‘The Future is you, newcomers share their fascinating career journeys’, ‘a 25 year long career at the BBC’, ‘The world of Live Sports Broadcast : communicating live to an audience of millions’, ‘Global Collaboration’, ‘The Life Cycle of an Event from Concept to Show’, ‘Freelancers – Ask Me Anything’, ‘The World of Automation – Creative Ideas Brought to Life’, ‘How to write a killer CV’ and ‘Tour and Project management’
Industry workshops will offer young visitors the chance to engage in a wide range of activities from preparing to be job-ready with industry-oriented CVs, to hands-on exploration of lighting programming, CAD, audio networking, as well as getting under the skin of music production, virtual production and event planning.
In the Production Futures Live Lounge, there will be the opportunity to meet future employers and discuss current paid work opportunities, internships, apprenticeships, freelance opportunities, placements, and full time jobs.
CEO Hannah Eakins is delighted to be bringing this latest ON TOUR event back to West Yorkshire:
“Our ON TOUR events have been a great success, attracting and then inspiring hundreds of young people to pursue careers in what is a hugely exciting and rewarding industry. The significance of the sector to the UK economy shouldn’t be underestimated, and a huge skills shortage across the board means that the next generation is well-placed to make a real impact. Very often, we find that youngsters are simply unaware of the variety of opportunities that fall under the umbrella of the production industry. Our aim is to increase the visibility of these opportunities, and in doing so improve the prospects of the whole industry.
“It’s also important to note that we have adopted a code of conduct for our events which has been developed by the Association For Electronic Music (AFEM). We’ve had this in place at all our events this year, not only to ensure that ours is a safe and supportive environment for the young people present, but also to give visibility to AFEM’s campaign against sexual harassment and gender discrimination. As an organisation whose purpose is to encourage young people to flourish in the production industries it’s vital that we take this issue seriously.”
Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin supports Production Futures’ mission:
“Our creative industries are thriving, and we’re creating more opportunities for people in West Yorkshire to gain vital skills and access to well paid jobs. We want to open doors for our region’s young talent to progress, as we work to build a stronger, brighter West Yorkshire.”
Another feature of the event will be the presentation of the Production Futures Breakthrough Awards, as Hannah explains:
“The Production Futures initiative originated as The Breakthrough Talent Awards and have been a fundamental part of our mission from day one. This expanded format takes us back to the roots of Production Futures and why we wanted to recognise young talent. We began as a very small awards ceremony in 2016 that sought not only to mark the achievements of young people in the production industries, but to inspire the next generation coming through. Since those early days, with the support of key industry partners, we’ve grown to become a community for real opportunity – the last 6 years have produced 22 winners of the Breakthrough Talent Awards who are now occupying significant roles at a wide range of companies, or have become successful, in-demand freelancers with the skills and confidence to meet any challenge. As our Production Futures ambassadors, they continue to be a huge part of our community and we are proud of all they have gone on to achieve.
“We’re pleased to have increased the number of award categories to better reflect the wide range of roles and skill sets required across the production industry which rely heavily on transferable skills such as computer science, architecture, engineering and business management, as well as traditional events management, music, TV, film, media and live technical skills. We’ve attracted a huge number of nominations – the talent is definitely out there, it’s our job to keep finding it!”
Pictured: Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin
