YouTube and the BBC have launched a nationwide training program in partnership with the National Film and Television School (NFTS) to develop skills among media professionals across the United Kingdom.

The program, which kicked off at a Create x Connect event in Birmingham on May 14, will deliver workshops and events to 150 TV producers, digital creators, and journalists. Sessions will run both online and at BBC hubs in Birmingham, Salford, Glasgow, Newcastle, Belfast, and Cardiff. Industry body ScreenSkills is also supporting the initiative.

The training initiative forms part of a broader content partnership announced in January, under which the BBC will produce original programming tailored for YouTube’s platform across entertainment, documentaries, children’s channels, news, and sport.

Skills Gap

YouTube’s Creator Consultation found that only 17% of UK creators report having access to adequate training. The same research found that 13% said they had sufficient access to studio spaces, and 9% felt they had enough support securing filming locations.

Alison Lomax, Managing Director for YouTube UK and Ireland, said the industry had not kept pace with the “scale or speed of today’s digital talent.” 

“By launching this nationwide partnership, we are aiming to bridge that gap, providing the digital strategies and practical expertise needed to empower extraordinary talent in every corner of the UK,” she said in a statement.

Program Structure

Organizers said the program combines the NFTS’s technical training, the BBC’s content expertise, and YouTube’s platform reach. 

Pedro Pina, VP, YouTube Europe, Middle East and Africa, described the training initiative as “a deep investment in the UK’s creative pipeline designed to empower the next generation of British talent to lead the global Creator Economy.”

BBC Interim Director General Rhodri Talfan Davies said the broadcaster was “championing the next generation of leading content creators and helping supercharge UK storytelling,” adding that the BBC offers hundreds of existing apprenticeship and training schemes in broadcast and related areas.

The program aligns with the UK government’s Creative Industries Sector Plan. Organizers said it represents an investment in UK creative skills and is designed to ensure participants, regardless of location, have access to professional-level training.

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