Name: Return to Work in Craft and Tech | Session 5
Start: 2023-03-27T18:30:00+01:00
End: 2023-03-27T20:30:00+01:00

Are you sitting at home, curled up on the sofa, watching brilliant TV drama series and wishing you could find a way you could return to work in HETV?

Are you asking yourself how on earth could I find a way back in because you can’t work the same way you used to?

Are you lacking confidence in how to approach returning to working in TV?

This FREE-TO-ATTEND, online Return to Work training programme is here to help you work out how you can find a way back to doing the work you want to do in HETV and importantly in a way that will work for both you and your production.

This course is designed to assist experienced craft and tech freelancers looking to return to work after a career break, to help you think differently about how you could bring your services to a production. The course will provide you with the tools you need to seek opportunities, return with confidence, work successfully as a freelancer, and re-build a sustainable career in HETV.

The course is taught by Alison Grade and Sarah Mccaffrey who are both experienced industry trainers. In addition to the training course there are up to 6 funded placements available for eligible participants.

By the end of this course, participants will have the knowledge and confidence to return to HETV.

We are looking to help people who:

Have been out of the screen industries for 9+ months
Have previous track record working in scripted TV (approx. 5+ years) with some experience within HETV
Are looking to gain insight into the current HETV workplace
Are wanting to rebuild confidence
Are looking to reconnect and rebuild networks
Are preparing or thinking about returning to work in HETV
Want to make work, work for them

If you are thinking about returning to HETV following a break from TV and you work in a craft or tech department but not sure where to start then this course is for you.

Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis.

We welcome applications from all individuals, if you would like support completing the application form and/or would like us to send it to you in an alternative format please email training@mission.guru.

Delivery team

Our Funders

This training is supported by the ScreenSkills High-end TV Skills Fund with contributions from UK high-end TV productions.

WHO IS THE COURSE FOR?

This Return to work programme is designed to assist experienced craft and tech freelancers in the industry looking to return to work after a career break and provide them with the tools they need to seek opportunities, return with confidence, work successfully as a freelancer, and re-build a sustainable career in HETV.

The sessions will be highly interactive, and all participants will be encouraged to contribute to the discussions. Reflection time will also be included within the sessions to cement learning.

This programme is aimed to help those who have:

Costume
Hair and Make-up
Art department
Locations
Cameras
Sound

We will be looking to recruit 12 participants from across the following grades:

Been out of the screen industries for 9+ months
previous track record working in scripted TV (approx. 5+ years) with some experience in HETV

COURSE DATES

This course will be fully online both group sessions and individual 1-2-1 coaching sessions. At the end of the course we plan to arrange an in-person event to meet other participants across this and our other return to work course alongside industry professionals and those looking to crew up.

In addition to the group sessions, each participant will have 5 hours of 1-2-1 support. 3 of these will be with one of our course tutors between the group sessions with an initial one before the first in-person day. Two will be with our CV and interviews expert and will be focussed on prepping you for getting work.

Date	Time	Location
Monday 6th February 2023	10:00 – 14:00	Zoom
Monday 13th February 2023	10.00 – 14.00	Zoom
Monday 27th February 2023	18.30 – 20.30	Zoom
Monday 6th March 2023	18.30 – 20.30	Zoom
Monday 13th March 2023	18.30 – 20.30	Zoom
Monday 20th March 2023	18.30 – 20.30	Zoom
Monday 27th March 2023	18.30 – 20.30	Zoom
Monday 17th April 2023	10:00 – 14.00	Zoom
Monday 24th April 2023	IRL Final session in-person OPTIONAL	Location TBC

COURSE OUTLINE

The training will include groups and individual career coaching, confidence in returning to the workplace sessions and ‘soft skills’ training. It will combine positive psychology and strategies to optimise performance both within a team and individually. It will focus on helping individuals explore where they are now versus where they want to be. The aim is to examine behaviour and thought processes and implement positive changes with practical tools that can enhance professional and personal growth.

Date	Session number	Training course step	Course Content
Monday, 6 February 2023	Session 1a	1. Where am I?	How to assess and reflect on your current situation Resilient thinking and challenging thoughts How to establish and work with a growth mindset What’s holding me back from returning to work?
Monday, 6 February 2023	Session 1a	2. What is my Secret Sauce?	What are my ‘soft skills’? How do my ‘soft skills’ add value to my knowledge and experience Why me? Why will productions hire me?
Monday, 13 February 2023	Session 1b	3. What’s happening in the industry?	Macro picture of context of UK HETV industry Localised picture for nations / regions of participants How important is geography today? Remote / hybrid / location working
Monday, 27 February 2023	Session 2	4. Where do I want to be?	Defining career goals What does success mean to me? Breaking goals down into manageable steps What are the challenges and opportunities?
Monday, 6 March 2023	Session 3	5. Communicating my offering	Understanding my communication style Building rapport with others Creating a CV for different jobs/clients Creating a portfolio for different jobs/clients Developing professional profiles online
Monday, 13 March 2023		1-2-1 session	1-2-1 session / Guest speaker covid session
Monday, 20 March 2023	Session 4	6. References and supporters	Mid point check in and reflection on learning Where are you now? Who do I want to work with? Identifying my supporters Re-building relationships with my supporters
Monday, 27 March 2023	Session 5	7. Re-building my networks	Who is in my networks? How do I reach out to people? Identifying networking opportunities that work for you Remote networking tactics Face to face networking strategies
Monday, 17 April 2023	Session 6a	8. Sealing the deal – interviews / pitching for work	Types and styles of interviews (formal/informal) Strategies for managing questions Responding effectively to difficult question
Monday, 24 April 2023 (OPTIONAL) IRL Final session combined with Prod Off and industry hirers.	Session 6b	9. Moving onwards and upwards	Re-building your reputation Further developing your skills and abilities Finding new opportunities How to embrace and feel comfortable with new opportunities Maintaining boundaries Knowing when to say NO

PLACEMENT OUTLINE

Following the training, it is planned that six participants will be supported with a funded placement. We work with the ScreenSkills HETV team to source and set up funded placements for up to six people on high-end television productions.

BY THE END OF THE COURSE...

By the end of training course participants will have:

Gained insight into the current marketplace and opportunities in HETV
Built confidence in their ability to return to work
Prepared to re-enter the workplace
An action plan to market themselves to potential productions
Re-connected with those in their networks

By the end of this course, participants will have the knowledge and confidence to return to HETV.

Course Tutors

Alison GradeCourse Director

Alison founded and runs Mission Accomplished. The company regularly delivers training courses for ScreenSkills. Alison is an experienced Line Producer and Production Manager as well as a Nesta Accredited Creative Enterprise Trainer. She regularly delivers training that enables creatives to take their careers to the next level. Alison is the author of Penguin published book, The Freelance Bible and offer many workshops and training programmes to support freelancers

Sarah MccaffreyCourse Tutor

Sarah has extensive experience delivering training programmes for ScreenSkills. She founded independent mental health and training company Solas Mind in 2019. Sarah is a fully qualified psychotherapist and offers mental health services including counselling and training in the film and tv industry. Sarah regularly runs mental health workshops, leadership and management training for ScreenSkills and Solas Mind supports the trainee finder trainees.