More than two thirds of media professionals are graduates according to new research. 69% of people working in the media have a degree compared to 16% of the UK workforce[1] as a whole. 44% are media graduates and 56% have a degree in other subjects.
Almost 7000 people working in the media participated in the survey by Skillset, the Sector Skills Council for the audio visual industries which reveals that 62% of the workforce is male; 38% had done unpaid work during their careers; and 70% got their first job informal routes such as via contacts.
Compared with the wider UK workforce, where 36% are under 35 years and 26% are aged 50 or more, those working in the audio visual industries are relatively young with nearly half under 35 and only 15% aged 50+. Additionally the results show that, unlike the wider UK workforce there are proportionally more older men in the audio visual workforce than there are older women and proportionally more younger women than there are younger men; 45% of women in the workforce are aged between 25 and 34 years in comparison with 37% of men, and 18% of men are aged 50 years and over compared with 10% of women.
Despite a highly qualified workforce the survey highlights significant training needs to meet the skills demands of an industry characterised by change particularly cutting edge advances in technology. Two thirds of the workforce (62%) reported a training need mainly to keep up to date with or improve current work (60%) and to develop new technical skills (49%). Of those who sought training 84% reported experiencing barriers such as fees were too high (42%), and difficulty assessing the quality of training (34%).
Dinah Caine, Chief Executive of Skillset, said:
“Continually improving and adding to your portfolio of skills is an absolute necessity for people working in this industry. The speed of change – technically, editorially, commercially – is breathtaking, and to achieve career longevity people have to keep their skills up to date. As the results reflect this can be expensive and time consuming. The industry, through Skillset, is addressing these issues by funding discounted short courses and by highlighting quality training through our accreditation schemes. The industry has prioritised skills, recognising that the talent of the workforce will greatly determine its future success.”
Media professionals work on average 44.6 hours a week earning a mean salary of £32,239pa. This compares to a national average of 33.8 hours and £24,300 for the UK workforce[2] as a whole. However, the survey also shows that the majority of the media industries are based in London and the South East where the average salary and working week is £33,867pa and 44.9 hours.
Martin Spence, Bectu:
“The results debunk some of the glamorous myths about working in media. The hours are long and although on face value the average salary looks high, when you consider the costs of living and working in London, which most media professionals do, it’s not a huge income.”
The survey also shows nearly a quarter of respondents earned less than £20K in the past 12 months. 38% also reported doing unpaid work during their career. More than a third earn between £30,000 and £49,999 and a further 11% earn £50k+. However, it remains a difficult industry to break into and progress within - only 27% heard about their most recent job through a traditional recruitment route such as an advertisement.
Estelle Morris, President of Skillset’s Patrons,:
“A reliance on contacts and nepotism has adversely affected the diverse make up of the workforce as shown in Skillset’s survey. It’s always going to be a people business and contacts will always play a part in a persons career but, although the industry is waking up to the problem, it needs to introduces more formal recruitment methods if any meaningful change is to happen.”
Highlights from Skillset’s workforce survey which will be published in full shortly at www.skillset.org ) include:
Representation
Representation of women is highest in cable and satellite TV (57%) and broadcast TV (50%), and lowest in computer games (8%) and studio/equipment hire (22%).
Nearly half the workforce is aged under 35, compared with one third of the whole UK workforce, and 15% is aged 50 years and older compared with 26% of the wider UK workforce[3]. In computer games, over three quarters of the workforce is aged under 35, and in web design, nearly three fifths.
5% of the workforce has a disability – a similar proportion to that reported by the wider UK workforce[4].
7% of the workforce is from a black or minority ethnic origin, a similar proportion to the UK workforce as a whole[5]. However, around half the workforce is based in London in which 24% of the working population are from a black or minority ethnic origin.
A higher percentage of men than women have dependents aged under 16 than women (30% compared with 21%).
Recruitment
Commercials, digital special effects, animation and independent production rely particularly on less formal approaches to recruitment.
One third of the workforce entered the industry before 1990, representing an increase since 2003 from a quarter. Two fifths during the 1990s and just under a third since 2000. However, only 8% of those in computer games entered the industry before 1990, and 17% of those in web design.
38% of men entered the industry before 1990, compared with 24% of women.
40% of people from ethnic minorities entered the industry since 2000, compared with 28% of white people.
Working Hours
People work an average of 9.3 hours per day in the audiovisual industries, with some sectors reporting a longer average day such as commercials (11.1 hours), independent production, studio and equipment hire (both 10.1 hours) and corporate production (10.0 hours). People working in computer games, web design and radio reported an average working day of fewer than 9 hours.
Make up and hairdressing people reported the longest working day (12.7 hours) closely followed by costume and wardrobe (11.7 hours) and camera (11.1). Respondents working in animation, interactive media, library and archives, radio broadcasting and programme distribution occupations all reported working fewer than 9 hours during and average working day.
Salaries
The mean salary earned from audiovisual work in the past twelve months was £32,239. Nearly a quarter of respondents earned less than £20,000, and one in ten earned £50,000 or more.
Men earned more on average than women - £34,420 compared with £29,115. More female respondents reported earning less than £20,000 than male (27% compared with 19%) and 7% of female respondents said they received £50,000 or more annual gross income compared with 15% of men.
White respondents earned more on average than ethnic minorities - £32,676 compared with £27,603.
38% of the workforce had undertaken unpaid work during their career in the audiovisual industry. This is most common in commercials, animation, corporate production and independent production.
Freelancers
Seven out of ten respondents were on permanent contracts; the remainder were working freelance or as sole traders.
Freelance working is more prevalent among men and older segments of the workforce.
The proportion of freelancers in the workforce is highest in commercials (91%), corporate production (78%), and animation (72%); it is lowest in transmission (6%), computer games (15%) and web design (19%).
Among occupational groups, freelancing is most prevalent in make up and hairdressing and special physical effects (both 96%), followed by costume and wardrobe (78%), lighting (64%) and camera (63%).
Since 2001, the percentage of respondents becoming freelance to gain better quality of work and valuable experience has increased greatly from 4% to 27%.
42% of freelancers reported having gone freelance for the incentive of greater freedom and 24% to increase their earning power. 40% reported going freelance because of fear of redundancy or actually being made redundant. The latter is more prevalent among men and older workers.
The average number of days worked in the industry in the past twelve months was 187, but considerably lower among those working in commercials (130) and corporate production (162).
The average number of hours worked during an average week by freelancers was 45.
Qualifications and Training
The proportion of graduates is highest in web design (80%), and animation (78%), and lowest in studio and equipment hire (52%) and corporate production (55%).
83% of those who entered the industry since 2004 were graduates, compared with 52% who entered before 1990.
78% of women are graduates compared to 63% of men, and 82% of ethnic minorities compared to 68% of whites.
The proportion of the workforce reporting training needs is highest in animation (71%), web design (70%), and cable and satellite TV (67%), and lowest in computer games (47%).
Since 2003, there has been an increase in the proportion of respondents reporting employers not willing to give time off or pay for training (24% compared with 15% and 33% compared with 15%).
