Professional Practice

Professional PracticeYoure Hired!Caroline OfficerAdvanced Academic PracticeJuly 2012 Professional PracticeThe development of a 2 day professional development course for undergraduates and postgraduates graduating from a television specialist degree course.

Non-accredited with the focus on preparing for a freelance career

Welcome This session is about the development of a 2 day course aimed at School of Media BA and MA students and delivered at the very end of their course, it is non accredited and aims to pull together some of the content they would have been taught during their time at University, but also includes new information to help them prepare for the world of work. The course I am going to focus on here was piloted in April and delivered by industry professionals, not course tutors and has been adapted from a longer form 20 credit continuing professional development (CPD) MA module aimed television professionals. This course was aimed at students who were television specialists, but the course structure and content can easily be adapted for any vocationally focused course.

So what qualifies me to develop this course. I worked in television for 18 years and for ten years I was a senior producer at Endemol and headed up their Midlands office. A career in television production is not for the faint hearted, new recruits can expect a succession of short term contracts which can result in a nomadic lifestyle, but it can also be very rewarding and exciting.

I interviewed many graduates over the years for production roles and so therefore had a clear idea of the knowledge and skills they required.

2Professional PracticeThe Birmingham School of Media is a Creative Skillset Media Academy

The Creative Skillset Media Academy network collectively delivers a Build Your Own MA to industry professionals as continuing professional development (CPD) http://courses.creativeskillset.org/build_your_own_ma

New modules written after extensive industry market research I joined the University full time at the beginning of 2009, teach on the Media and Communications course and Course Leader for the MA Television Production course. I also manage our engagement with Skillset, the Sector Skills Council for the Creative Industries and with industry, as an Academy network, we developed an innovative MA programme aimed at industry professionals who want to address their skills gaps and gain an academic qualification in the process. The MA has been validated by 12 Academies, we share and recognise each others modules, it is centrally managed by Skillset and participants can choose from 160 industry focussed modules and take up to 5 years to complete their degree. Last year I carried out extensive market research to inform module development out of which the Professional Media Practice module emerged and it was from this 20 credit Level 7 module that I adapted the content for this 2 day course from.

I am also the Skillset Employment Engagement Manager, the role included the development of an innovative post graduate programme aimed at industry professionals 3Professional PracticeProfessional development is already embedded in all School of Media courses BA Professional StudiesMA Personal Development Planning

So why develop this course?.......

In the School of Media, professional development is already embedded in the courses, on the BA professional studies is a core module throughout the three year course and includes CV and professional profile sessions and assessments plus compulsory work placements. Our MA courses have personal development planning embedded in all of the courses and the emphasis is on the development of independent, professional and entrepreneurial practitioners, in addition, all of our students are encouraged to participate in professional practice whenever possible. So we feel we prepare our students well for the world of work. So why develop this course? Over time we all forget things and it made sense that just before our students left us to embark on their career, they should be given a parting gift from us all. The course would aim to sharpen their professional skills and ensure that they were in really good shape when they apply for jobs, go to interviews and start their first jobs.Also, with the advent of the 9,000 a year fee, it is important that we all think of ways of delivering value for money to our students and this is a great way of doing that. We give them a valuable and useful parting gift which also hopefully leaves them with a lasting impression that they were well prepared for the next step in their lives. 4Professional PracticeImportant information delivered during 3 year course is forgotten

Course would sharpen students professional skills and ensure they were in good shape when applying for jobs, interview skills and for the world of work

Also with the advent of the 9,000 fee, it is important to find ways to deliver value for money and to leave a lasting impression that our students were well prepared for the next stage of their lives. A valuable and useful parting gift.

So who should deliver the course? Television Productions are run by two key people, the producer and the production manager, in simple terms, the producer takes care of the creative side and the Production Manager takes care of the money and logistics. Hilary was my Production Manager at Endemol and has been working closely with us to develop the modules for the Build your own MA and Katy Charles has wide range of experience in helping people achieve their full potential with career development coaching for both companies and individuals. 5Professional PracticeThe course tutors were industry professionals who shared useful tips and covered subjects that had not been addressed during the academic course Tax and types of contracts were highlighted as very useful information.

Hilary Jones BBC Production Manager Current Production - Countryfile

Katy Charles Business Consultant

Professional PracticeStructure of the Course

Two Days 9.30am 5pm

First Day: Sector Specific Information

Second Day: Generic Personal Development Skills CV & Interview Techniques See Handout Schedule for both days. So, in order to adapt this 2 day course to your sector, its on day one that you want to bring in an industry professional, in this case production manager, Hilary Jones, who can share insider knowledge and will help you to focus on the practical aspects of working in the sector. We decided to focus on what it means to be a freelancer from the mental preparation for short term contract working to knowing how to deal with the practical elements like tax and holiday pay entitlements and negotiating a contract. These in particular are often not included in the academic sessions and in fact one or two students singled out the tax and national insurance session as the most valuable of the day. We then looked at networking skills and effective use of social media platforms, both of which are vital tools in the Media industry. And then we rounded off the day with a short workshop encouraging the students to look at their own profiles and career ambitions and overnight got them thinking about their personal marketing plan.

For the second day, Hilary was joined by business consultant, Katy Charles and was wholly focused on the individual students preparation for a clear career path, great CV and interview techniques. The course content could be applied to a wide range of professions, however, it was great to have Hilary there to interpret some of the hints and tips Katy was covering and apply them specifically to TV production.

7Professional PracticeI learnt an awful lot about how to be a professional.it has made things much clearer and less frightening.

It was an honest and frank course that highlighted things that you might not have thought about or even not known about like different types of contract8

Professional Practice Summary

Use industry professionals Include sector specific and generic course contentDevelop some Moodle pre course contentProvide a pack of useful information for the students to take away with themIncorporate a one to one CV workshop and mock interview if possibleSchedule it at the very end of the students degree course Conclusions - 9Professional Practice