Sargent-Disc
We take the drama out of production
Age of Progression
Summary
As Sargent-Disc celebrates a quarter century of providing payroll services to the UK film industry, we undertake a statistical analysis, going back over the last three years, to look at the representation of the youngest and oldest across a range of production departments in the UK. We look at how the workforce is changing and where the best opportunities are for starting in the industry.
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Where to start?
We begin by looking at the youngest members of the workforce to
see where the best opportunities are to start in the UK film
industry and to discover the impact they have in terms of career
progression. Over the three years of our sample, the three
departments with the highest number of 16 - 20 year old employees
are construction, props and the production office. Over half of
16-20 year olds start their careers in the construction and props
departments.
- 39% of 16 - 20 year olds work in construction, mainly as first, second and third year apprentices, and carpenters.
- 13% of 16 - 20 year olds work in props, mainly as props trainees.
- 10% of 16 - 20 year olds work in the production office, as production runners and assistants.
These departments have structured apprenticeship schemes or offer
trainee positions particularly in technical and craft skills.
Interactive chart
To help visualise this information we have created an interactive chart for fifteen production departments.
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Career progression
Between 2008 - 2011,the largest proportion of the 20 - 30 age group, over 22%, work in the production office with the majority still working as runners and assistants, but a wider range of roles are undertaken including; production secretary, assistant production co-ordinator, production co-ordinator, and producer's assistant. Those in the 20 - 30 age group are also finding work across a much wider range of departments and a variety of roles.
- 12.4% of 20 - 30 year olds work in the art department, mainly as art department assistants, junior draughtsmen, and standby art directors.
- 9.6% of 20 - 30 year olds work in the camera department, mainly as camera trainees, clapper loaders and 2nd assistant camera.
- 9.6% of 20 - 30 year olds work in direction, mainly as runners, 3rd assistant directors and 2nd assistant directors.
- 6.6% of 20 - 30 year olds work in costume, mainly as costume assistants, costume trainees and costume makers.
The construction and props departments appear to offer good long
term employment prospects. Along with the transport department,
they have the highest proportion of over 60s with a healthy 8% of
the construction department in that age group.
59% of production office in 20 - 30 age group
By contrast, it is noticeable that after 30, far fewer people
remain in the production office. In fact 59% of the production
office is in the 20 - 30 age group and numbers then fall very
quickly. It suggests that the production office is a good initial
place to learn about production, before moving into other
departments. Our analysis suggests a natural progression to the
locations department where 50% of the department is 30 - 40 year
olds, mainly working as location assistants and assistant location
managers.
An aging workforce?
Today older generations expect to live and work longer than ever
before. A recent Office of National Statistics report (1) showed
that, because of a growing workforce, the number of people in work
in the UK has increased, however, at the same time, unemployment
has risen. This was found to be due in part to an ageing
population, with 75% of jobs created in the year up to March 2011
going to the over 50s.
Looking at the UK film industry between 2008 and 2010, we also
find a shift towards an older workforce. Between 2008 and 2009 the
proportion of jobs going to the 40-50 age group increased by over
6%. Between 2009-10 the proportion of the workforce in the 50-60
age group increased by 23% and the share of jobs going to the over
60s age group went up by over 25%.
Our results also indicate that people are working longer, but do
not answer the question whether this is out of choice or necessity?
The only other age group to grow as a proportion of the workforce
was the 16 to 20 age group, which may reflect an increased emphasis
on vocational training and apprenticeships in the UK film
industry.
Conclusion
So what are the best career prospects for young people? The
youngest members of the workforce often enter the industry in
unskilled and manual roles, in construction, props and in the
production office. It seems that construction and props offer more
stability, a 'job for life', yet with returns that are amongst the
lowest for the over 60s. The production office remains very
attractive to young people, to 'learn the ropes', and although few
older people tend to work here, the financial rewards are
significant. What would you chose?
1 Office of National Statistics. (2011). Labour market
statistics, March 2011 Retrieved 06 05, 2011, from www.statistics.gov.uk
