WFTV NI announces Netflix to sponsor its new mentoring scheme
December 18, 2019
Northern Ireland women will shortly be selected to take part in the Women in Film and TV (WFTV) pioneering new mentoring scheme for Northern Ireland, sponsored by Netflix. This innovative programme is designed to help women with more than five years’ experience working in TV production take the next step in their career.
Jannine Waddell, Chair of WFTV NI says: “We are incredibly grateful to Netflix for their support which has made it possible for us to run this innovative scheme. I am really excited about getting this scheme up and running in Northern Ireland. The training and mentoring provided by WFTV is second to none and really helps women working in the industry to take their careers to the next level. By giving local women industry leading skills to assist their own personal development, this scheme will also help to develop the knowledge base of the growing creative industry sector in Northern Ireland.”
Sarah McCaffrey, Mentoring Scheme Producer at WFTV NI, said: “We are delighted that WFTV have chosen to launch their first mentoring scheme outside of London in Northern Ireland – recognising the huge success of our women working in the film and TV industry here. We’ve had a great response so far to our new mentoring scheme, but there’s still time for women working in the television and film industry here to put their names forward as applications won’t close now until Monday 6 January 2020. I honestly can’t emphasise enough what an amazing opportunity this scheme offers the six chosen candidates”.
Liz Tucker, Chair of WFTV UK, said: “The WFTV Mentoring Scheme was launched in response to a 2009 Creative Skillset census that revealed that 4,950 women had lost their jobs in TV since the start of the recession, compared to just 650 men. Not only were the numbers of women declining in the industry, it was noted there was a steep drop in the number of women staying in the industry after the age of 35, and those who remained often struggled to progress to a more senior level. We’ve achieved tremendous results over the years with our London based scheme and are really looking forward to introducing more Northern Ireland women to the programme in 2020.”