When Citadel Season 2 set up at Bray Studios in Berkshire, we supported Resource Productions CIC and Screen Berkshire, the BFI Skills Cluster, in turning a single tentpole production into a testbed for inclusive workforce development. What began as one training pilot grew into five connected interventions spanning the production cycle, combining leadership development, trainee placements, apprenticeships and local skills opportunities to create lasting benefits for both the production and the industry at large.
Photo Credit: Resource Productions
The program delivered paid leadership training across three cohorts for 21 Heads of Department and mid-level professionals, including a Unit Production Manager, VFX Supervisor and Financial Controller, followed by three months of one-to-one coaching. The program also featured a pastoral-care pathway for supported trainees through Resource Productions across multiple routes: AMS Crew Training, ScreenSkills Trainee Finder and Prime Video Pathway, placing 24 trainees across 10 departments, including Camera, Costume, SFX, Sound and Post-Production.
The program translated training and work experience into tangible career progression, with four trainees advancing before their placements ended: a Sustainability Trainee stepped up to Sustainability Coordinator, an Electrical Trainee earned her Level 2 qualification, an SFX Trainee went on to work on three high-end TV projects, and a Set Decoration Trainee progressed to Art Department Assistant. In partnership with Windsor Forest Colleges Group, the program also supported a Production Assistant apprenticeship at Resource Productions, a new Level 3 screen apprenticeship standard and two further apprenticeships.
“...if every studio offered something similar across departments, it would greatly strengthen the industry’s practices, culture, and expectations of behaviour.”
Through the Berkshire Film Office, the program also helped bring filming to local locations that had never hosted a production before, while two Berkshire residents earned their first high-end TV credits as Location Marshals. The impact extended beyond Citadel Season 2. VFX Production Manager Mark Koval noted that the leadership training component had an “immediate impact” on how he supported his team, improving skills application and crew morale across the board.