The Stage

PACT to pay for indie in-house training

Published Tuesday 2 August 2005 at 13:20 by Liz Thomas

Producers’ trade association PACT is launching a new £100,000 scheme for independent television companies to help pay for in-house training.

The initiative, which has been put together with charity The Independent Production Training Fund, offers a £5,000 package for each company. It will be delivered by training consultancy Creative People, which is managed by former LWT and Pearson Television human resources director Helen Black.

The money was made available after the IPTF commissioned research into the amount and nature of spending in the independent sector. It found that a lot of money and resources were spent on training staff and freelances on the job.

A spokesperson from PACT said the scheme aimed to provide bespoke but structured training and the money would be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

The package is already being piloted with a number of small indies, including the company behind Derren Brown’s programmes, Objective Productions, and Cash in the Attic producer Leopard Films.

The scheme is open to all companies that agree to sign up to the PACT code of practice for work experience and trainees and contribute to IPTF through its training levy. For more information visit www.pact.co.uk

• Abi Morgan, who penned Channel 4’s award-winning production Sex Traffic, is developing a new drama about the Boxing Day tsunami, scheduled to be broadcast on BBC1 next year. She will be working with Kudos, the indie that makes hit series such as Spooks and Hustle. The three-hour drama will be based in Thailand.