The grips department is a critical part of the production process for film and TV. The UK grips industry is recognised worldwide for its expertise, experience and skills, which are championed and carefully guarded by the Certified Grips Branch of BECTU. One of its key strengths is the set of industry-supported competency qualifications that have been established for over 20 years as a way to assess and recognise professional competence at intermediate and senior level, and to enable grips to progress in their careers. These started life as NVQs and then more recently evolved into competency qualifications, in the process moving between City & Guilds, UAL and now AIM Awards as awarding organisation.
For many years, ScreenSkills have financially supported the delivery of these qualifications through its industry skills funds, in a mixed model where the individual grip also contributes to the cost of their programme (currently £1000 for Level 2, and £1500 for Level 3). As our most recent grant comes to an end, and the qualification moves to AIM Awards, we are looking for a training provider to continue the delivery and assessment of these key qualifications during 2023, in this case funded by our HETV skills fund.
Key requirements
We would like to appoint a training provider to carry out the following role:
- To manage, deliver, assess and certify up to 35 candidates completing Grips & Crane Technicians Level 2 and 3 Diploma qualifications (c. 25 at Level 2, 10 at Level 3) between January 2023 and mid-to-late 2024, in order to work in scripted drama across high-end TV and film productions
- To promote the details of the qualifications online so we can encourage a wide and diverse range of applications
- To liaise with the Certified Branch to monitor new incoming applications for the qualifications
- To proactively manage applications so these are only accepted where they can be completed within budget funding and contract duration
- To proactively encourage applications from candidates from diverse backgrounds and regions and nations of the UK outside London and the south-east
- To receive payments from candidates and process these towards project costs
- To liaise with AIM Awards to register and pay for applications, submit completions, complete moderation process, and award certifications to successful candidates
- To contract and work with trained Grips and Crane assessors and verifiers to support and evaluate candidates’ portfolios, including processing their travel and accommodation expenses
- To use candidates’ awards to apply for ScreenSkills Production Safety Passport
- To provide central administration services to support delivery of qualifications, including finance, MIS, exam support etc.
- To independently audit your final project accounts.
How to apply
Applications should include:
- A short (<5pp) proposal for your work on this project, including:
- Your track record delivering and assessing similar qualifications
- Your understanding of similar roles in the screen/creative industries
- What added value your organisation would bring to delivery of these qualifications
- How you would manage the programme to ensure maximum diversity and inclusion
- A completed ScreenSkills budget template covering the period of January 2023 to July 2024, to cover the expected duration of all qualifications, and including a risk register
Application documents should be submitted via the 'apply now' button below.
Deadlines
- Given the complex delivery model of this qualification, we would encourage interested training providers to contact us to discuss and answer queries, before submitting their application.
- Applications should be submitted via the 'apply now' button below by 8 December 2022.
- Successful applicants will be notified during the week commencing 19 December 2022, to facilitate a January 2023 start date.
- Any queries should be sent to Director of Vocational Skills Tim Weiss .
