The BFI has opened applications for specialist partners to deliver activity dedicated to improving working practices in the screen sector.

With £1.5m available as part of the BFI Skills Fund (from good cause National Lottery funding), the Good Work Programme for Screen will support a strategic and practical drive to address long-reported poor working practices across the industry. It will provide targeted advice, training and support – largely for SMEs, industry leaders and HoDs.

Other aims include building awareness of employee and worker rights and responsibilities; strengthening operational management and recruitment practices; encouraging industry leaders to embed inclusive ways of working and improving contracting approaches for freelancers.

The programme is a response to the recommendations of the recent Good Work Review, commissioned by DCMS. The deadline for applications is 3 April; more details can be found on the BFI website. The deadline for applications: Wednesday 3 April 2024.

Sara Whybrew, BFI’s Director, Skills and Workforce Development, said: “The UK’s screen sector makes world leading content, but our operational management practices fall below par. We want this to change so the way in which we go about making our content, exhibiting it, and preserving it, also achieves world leading status.

“We are seeking a partner to deliver an ambitious Programme that proactively and strategically addresses the many reports, the data, and countless testimonies that highlight the widespread bad practices across the sector.

“I hope to attract the right expertise to carry out this vital work, and effectively provide our workforce with the knowledge and tools needed to bring about long-term positive change. This Programme can also be a catalyst in bringing together some brilliant work already undertaken and build on this to create a single support programme for the sector’s managers and leaders to access with ease.”

The BFI will host an information webinar about the new Fund on 7 February 2024, for anyone interested in submitting, or partnering in, an application to deliver the Programme.