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Media Archive Traineeships
Application Pack
“I feel very grateful for those whose dedication to film preservation and
archiving allows the brilliance of the past to remain present for us to learn from
and enjoy.”
Richard Ayoade – actor, writer, director (Submarine, 2011; The Double, 2013)
About the Media Archive Traineeships
In 2015, we are partnering with Film London and FOCAL International to bring 10 dedicated
participants the opportunity to become confident new entrants in one of the UK’s most valuable
cultural sectors.
Media archives collect, preserve and restore the moving images in their care so that
audiences, film and TV makers and future generations can be inspired by our media heritage.
Media archives work specifically with screen-based moving image material, within the broader
audiovisual (AV) archive sector, which also deals with audio recordings and photographic
images.
Starting a career in media archive now means you will play a unique part in keeping our media
heritage alive by learning and passing on vital legacy skills. Although only 12% of the librarians
or archivists in the general audiovisual sector are aged 50 years or older, as this generation
retires, we risk losing the vital technical skills and knowledge needed to preserve and restore
older technologies such as celluloid film, creating a real danger that some archives might
become impossible to access.
As a media archive trainee, you will work with the old alongside the brand new, training in the
latest technologies and asset management systems bringing archives to life today.
We are offering paid traineeships of up to 24 weeks in the media archive sector. Applications
are open for 10 entrants to participate in the first round of the scheme, between May and
November 2015.
This programme is supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund, and
by Creative Skillset’s Film Skills Fund, funded by the BFI. Our partners are Film London and
FOCAL International.
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What can I expect from being a trainee?
You will receive on-the-job practical training which will prepare you for an entry-level role in
the media archive sector, encompassing the creative and technical aspects of this vital sector.
During the programme you will experience the range of tasks and skills associated with
working in media archive. You will also be assigned an industry mentor – independent from
your work placements – who will offer advice and guidance through 1-to-1 meetings.
You will complete two courses of two weeks’ class-based training – your initial training and
two weeks’ advanced training after the end of your first placement. Here, you will learn
fundamental archive skills such as film handling, media asset management, intellectual
property rights, digital marketing, as well as the curatorial side of the sector and the role of
heritage and archives in the film and TV industries as a whole.
You will complete two full-time industry work placements with two different companies in the
archive sector. We are working with companies from across the UK who want to benefit from
the enthusiastic and meaningful contribution of a prepared and dedicated trainee. Each
placement will last up to 10 weeks, although the exact length of placements may vary between
host companies.
What will I be doing on a training placement?
The training placement will involve hands-on, work-based experience. At the beginning of the
placement, you will receive a Training Plan, which will help you to work out your training
needs and work towards achieving them. Placements will include supervised practical
experience.
While this is an on-the-job training experience and you will be directly involved with the project
or production, you are not expected to work as part of the core staff or be responsible for tasks
which are deemed crucial to the company’s output.
Your training allowance
Throughout the scheme, you will receive the equivalent of the living wage. The total expected
cost of the training allowance will be stated in your Training Agreement before you start each
placement and will be the equivalent of the living wage according to where the company is
located (the rate for either London or rest of the UK). During the four-week class-based training
you will receive the equivalent of the London living wage.
Read more about the living wage on the Living Wage Foundation website.
How will it help my career?
Our traineeships are a bespoke structured training programme, designed hand-in-hand with
industry employers. By the end of the programme, you can expect to have rapidly increased
your understanding and experience of what it is like to work in the archive and heritage sector
with valuable on-the-job learning.
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Being a participant on the archive trainee scheme will:
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Help you increase your skills, knowledge and networks within the industry;
Help you gain experience with top industry organisations;
Provide you with structured learning in an industry environment;
Let you benefit from the insights and support of an industry mentor;
Increase your chances of gaining paid work in the industry;
Support you with a training allowance (to the equivalent of the living wage) while you
learn;
Enable you to achieve an industry-recognised qualification in Film Archiving. We are
aiming to create a formal qualification that is industry-recognised, which can be
achieved on completion of this year’s scheme.
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for creative or technically minded individuals who can demonstrate a strong
desire to work in the media archive and film and TV heritage sector, archiving, preserving and
digitising film.
As this is a scheme to train people entering the archive sector, we don’t expect you to have
direct experience working in this field. You may have recently finished school or university, or
may have already spent some time working in another area.
Please read the Application criteria below to understand more about the knowledge, skills and
personal qualities we are looking for.
Application criteria
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You must be 18 years old or over at the time of making your application;
You must be available to participate in the scheme during 25 May and 6 November
2015, working full time hours.
You must be eligible to work in the UK.
In your application, we will be looking for:
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An interest in moving image, film, TV or media or;
An interest in the role of technology in preserving history;
A motivation to work in this area of the film, TV and moving image industries, showing
readiness to learn and gain skills to go on to a career in the archive sector in the future.
Knowledge, skills and experience
You will not need to prove industry or work experience in order for your application to be
successful, and we also welcome candidates who have vocational or voluntary experience in
another industry or area of work. The following skills and knowledge would be an advantage:
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Good IT and digital skills. You may have experience of one or more of the following:
social media, blogging, video editing, or using another kind of software or online
platform;
Prior knowledge and understanding of film and video formats;
A sensitivity to the value and power of film and TV and how they tell stories about
the world.
Personal qualities
You should show in your application that you:
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Can work as part of a team and are willing to learn from trainers and supervisors;
Have an enthusiastic and positive attitude towards even the smallest of tasks, with a
high level of attention to detail;
Can approach a technical task with creativity and show problem-solving skills.
Are readily adaptable to new challenges.
Academic qualifications
We encourage all candidates to apply, regardless of their educational background or highest
level of qualification. This scheme is practice-led (the class-based training will aim to have a
direct impact on what you will be doing in your work placements).
Grades A*-C in GCSE English or an equivalent qualification would be an advantage.
However, all applications will be considered on their own merit.
How will my application be assessed?
Your application will be assessed on its merit, with reference to the application criteria outlined
above.
If you are shortlisted for interview you will be expected to complete a practical exercise as part
of the interview process. The exercise will allow us to see your potential as much as your
current skills and knowledge. We expect to shortlist no more than 25 candidates to interview.
Diversity and accessing the scheme
Creating equal access is a priority across all the programmes that Creative Skillset supports.
We welcome all applications, including applicants with non-traditional educational
backgrounds or career paths. We would like to be able to monitor the different types of people
applying for the traineeships and there will be an optional diversity monitoring questionnaire
to complete. This information will not be used to assess your application.
We are consulting with companies around the UK to host placements so that they may be
available in different regions. We will take your current location into account when matching
with placements but you may be asked to relocate for the duration of a placement.
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We can provide hardship bursaries for successful applicants for whom the cost of temporarily
relocating would otherwise prohibit them taking up their place on the programme.
Your application
What do I need to include in my application?
You will need to provide information on the following areas as part of the online application
form:
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A personal statement indicating your reasons for applying and interest in the scheme
(max 500 words);
Your career aspirations;
A CV that is up to date and relevant to the scheme;
Work and voluntary experience;
Relevant or transferable skills;
Education;
Location (both where you live and where you can work);
Availability and contact details.
The link to your profile on Hiive, the Creative Industries social network (optional).
Finally, you will be asked to supply diversity information. This is to help us monitor the uptake
of applications. This is strictly confidential and is not attached to your application.
What should I write in my personal statement?
Your personal statement should give us a good idea about your suitability for a media archive
traineeship.You should demonstrate your enthusiasm and drive to be in the industry, outlining
your reasons for applying for a traineeship.
In writing your personal statement, you should consider the Application criteria which you
can find on pages 3-4 of this Application pack. You should show how your experience and
interests match these criteria and include any relevant experience and skills that you have
developed. You may also want to show which personal qualities you will bring to your
traineeship.
You should prepare your personal statement before accessing the online application
form. Your statement should be a maximum of 500 words long.
To help us evaluate your suitability for a traineeship, we would like to hear about your future
career ambitions. You will also be given a separate space to explain what you would like to
achieve in the next two to five years (maximum 200 words). Your answer will also help us
match you with appropriate placements and with a mentor if your application is successful.
Please focus your answer on your career aims. You do not have to indicate a specific job role
that you aspire towards but it will be useful for us to know the types of long-term interests you
have in relation to work, as well as the kind of places you may like to work, for example.
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What should I include on my CV?
Your CV should list your previous jobs and any work experience relevant to this industry
role.You should include your education, qualifications and skills, including what languages you
speak, whether you have a driver’s licence and any vocational or voluntary experience you
feel is relevant to your application. Get more advice on writing your CV on the Creative Skillset
website.
Who can I ask to be a referee?
Referees can be people who have worked with you or someone who is familiar with you in a
work, school, college or university setting and who can tell us about how and what you’ve
learned.
One referee must be able to account for your abilities in a learning/training environment, such
as a teacher or a supervisor. Only one referee may be included for a character reference. You
may submit two referees from the same period of work experience.
Preparing for your application
It’s important that you show in your application that you have an understanding of what you
will be doing on the traineeship and what’s expected of you.
Archives perform many different functions for the film and TV industries. You might want to
carry out some online research and look at the services and websites of UK media archives,
such as FOCAL International, Film Archives UK or the BFI National Archive, to help you get a
feel of the industry and see the events taking places or the issues that professionals are talking
about.
You can refer to Creative Skillset’s website for information about the type of job roles that exist
for archive professionals, such as:
Head of Technical Development
Archive Consultant
Senior Media Librarian
The jobs above are only a glimpse into the wide range of job roles that working with and for
archives can lead you into. You may be interested in working within the archive unit of a major
broadcaster, such as the BBC or ITV, whose vast archival collections are used for many
different types of productions from sport, to arts, to natural history. You may be interested in
learning the skills that are involved in the restoration of 35mm prints, to make them available
for the public to view in the best possible condition, in the cinema or on blu-ray. The specialists
who are responsible for this type of archival work are often employed in post-production
houses and will use similar skills when working with contemporary film productions too.
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Our placements may also see you learning in a public sector archive that is dedicated to
preserving and digitising rich collections of films and videos from that region of the UK. These
archives are windows into earlier worlds and how technology helps us to keep these worlds
alive and accessible for future enjoyment.
We do not expect you to know about the various roles available to you as you progress in your
career, but we would like to see that your career aspirations show interests that align with the
kinds of roles the traineeships will prepare you for.
Check out our Media Archive page on Hiive for more inspiration about archives, to ask
any questions and to join in the discussion.
You can also download the FAQs here.
Remember, you should prepare your personal statement before accessing the online
application form.
Your personal statement should be a focused and confident piece of writing but also try to
showcase your personality alongside a professional attitude. You can find advice online about
how to write your personal statement – for example here on the Guardian careers website.
Adding your Hiive profile
Hiive is Creative Skillset’s new social and professional network for the Creative
Industries. You can use Hiive to showcase your creative work and interests.
We’ll ask you to submit a link to your Hiive profile during the online
application form.
Watch this Youtube video of how to create your Hiive profile.
Click here to join Hiive and create your profile.
Why should I create a Hiive profile?
You don’t need a Hiive profile to make your application. This question is optional on the
application form. We will not look at your Hiive profile as part of assessing your application
and your application will not be disadvantaged if you do not create a profile.
We ask you to create your Hiive profile now as we will use Hiive throughout your
traineeship if you are successful. Now you have a profile on Hiive, you’ll find it’s a great
way to find out more about working in the Creative Industries.
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Using the online application form
Please apply using the online application form accessed by this link:
Click here to start your online application.
You should have the following ready before accessing the online application form:
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Your personal statement of maximum 500 words;
Your response about your career ambitions of maximum 200 words;
An up to date CV;
The link to your Hiive profile (optional).
You will able to save and return to your application at any time during the online form, by
pressing the Save and continue button at the bottom of the page. Important: to return to the
form, you must save the URL you receive on the next page. You can click this URL and return
to the same page of the form, as you left it. We recommend that you both note down the URL
you receive and also give your email address to receive an email with the URL link. If you
cannot find this email, please also check your junk inbox.
When you have submit your application you will reach a page which confirms that you
have successfully submitted your application, and which will allow you to download or
print your responses. If you are concerned that your application has not been submitted,
please contact us. We cannot accept responsibility for any late or incomplete applications and
regret that these will be rejected.
We will be in touch with all applicants after the application closing date to let you know if your
application has been successful in this round and whether you will be progressing to an
interview.
Contact us
For any questions about the Media Archive Traineeships, please first check the discussion
and FAQs in Resources on the Media Archive Traineeships page on Hiive.
For remaining questions you can contact:
Madeline Bates
Archive Partnership Manager
e: [email protected]
t: 0207 713 9800
Key dates
Deadline for applications: Noon, Monday 30 March 2015 (deadline has now been
extended from 23 March)
Interviews will take place between: 7-17 April 2015
Programme dates: Monday 25 May to Friday 6 November 2015
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