Breaking into film and TV is tough if you're young and black

The need to have a vast array of personal contacts and to be able to work for months without pay is making it difficult for many young black and Asian media students to break into the film and broadcasting industry in London, according to new research published today.

Undertaken for the Southern and Eastern Region of the TUC (SERTUC), Skillset and BECTU by the Working Lives Research Institute at London Metropolitan University, the research says that whilst black and Asian employees make up 32 per cent of the capital's workforce, only 8 per cent of the people working in film and TV in London are from ethnic minorities.

According to the report, 'Making the transition from college to work: Experiences of media, film and television students in London's audio-visual industries', around a quarter of the UK's audio visual companies are based in London, employing a workforce of some 125,000. Given that every year around 25,000 students nationally graduate from media related courses, it's not easy for young people to get a foot in the door.

One of the key findings of the study which questioned almost 250 final-year and recently graduated students was that the freelance nature of the industry - over two-thirds (65 per cent) of the 21-30 year olds working in film and TV in London do so on a freelance basis - meant that an address book of contacts was key to finding work.

The report also refers to a recent survey which found that three-quarters of youngsters aged 20-23 had found it necessary to work for free for up to three months before finding permanent paid work. Some had put in up to six months unpaid work experience. And those fortunate enough to be able to take up work placement opportunities complained that they were often ignored, or seemed to spend their whole time delivering parcels or making tea and sandwiches.

'Making the transition' says that working as an unpaid runner for months on end is simply out of reach of the overwhelming majority of black and Asian students who tend to come from lower income backgrounds. Leaving college with student debts, combined with the high cost of living in London, meant that working for nothing - especially as the salary for those starting out in the audio visual industry can be as little as £12,000 - was simply not an option for most of the students surveyed.

The black and Asian students questioned by the researchers were also often critical of their colleges for not making the courses practical enough and for not helping them be prepared enough to enter the world of work. It was felt that better and earlier careers advice would help, as would the forging of stronger links with industry and the setting up of more work placements.

SERTUC Regional Secretary Mick Connolly said: "With so many film and TV wanabees leaving college every year desperate to work in film and TV, it's never going to be possible for everyone to land their dream job. But with the dice clearly loaded against students from lower income families, many of whom will be from ethnic minority backgrounds, they are going to find it much tougher than friends from more privileged backgrounds."

Dinah Caine, Chief Executive of Skillset, said: "Research such as this is critical if we are to support making sure that diversity is at the top of the agenda. Our workforce must be representative of our society if the content we produce is to reach the widest audience and be successful economically and culturally. Skillset has been working with the industry to address the issue but there is still more to be done, by every party involved."

Janice Turner, diversity officer at BECTU, said: "This research proves
what we'd known anecdotally for a long time ­ that to get a foot in the door
and build a career you need contacts or money and preferably both, and
many newly qualified black and Asian youngsters have neither. The fact that there is such appalling under-representation of workers from ethnic minorities in the industry shows that real action needs to be taken. This is why BECTU has undertaken its two-year Move on Up initiative, aiming to bring together industry executives and young black and Asian professionals keen to get on in film and broadcast."

The research is to be presented later today to a seminar at SERTUC's offices in Congress House, attended by senior executives from film and TV companies in the capital.