Training ground for the next generation

Sky Studios Elstree is a new state-of-the-art film and television studio. Talent Manager Lauren Christy tells us all about it.

Sky Studios Elstree is based in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, and has 13 sound stages set across 27.5 acres. This world class studio will become home to a range of productions from across the world and Sky have already welcomed their first production onto site.

“As one of the biggest businesses in Hertsmere, we are committed to supporting our neighbouring community and ensuring the benefits of us being here are felt directly by residents,” said Lauren.

“This means new jobs and training opportunities, plus using local suppliers, minimising our environmental impact, and supporting more initiatives, charities, and projects as a long-term partner.”

The company chose Hertfordshire and, in particular, Borehamwood, because of the “rich heritage the area has in the film and TV industry.”

“The area has supplied our screens with TV and film that the nation and the world loves,” she said.

“Because of that, there is a highly skilled workforce in the area that productions can tap into.

“However, there is an industry-wide talent pipeline issue that we want to address at Sky Studios Elstree. Whilst there are more production jobs than ever before, there is a huge shortage of young people choosing to go into these roles. That’s why we want to use Sky Studios Elstree as a training ground for the next generation of talent, and my role, as Talent Manager, means that I’m putting together the plans to help us do this with a particular focus on hiring locally. Over the last few months we’ve been out visiting local schools and universities, with the hope that we’ll inspire more young people to explore jobs in this exciting and thriving industry.” Being part of the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce has helped the company on this journey.

“And we’re only just at the beginning,” added Lauren. “Having connections from across the county and sharing learnings and ideas has proved invaluable, especially when it comes to looking at school-leavers or university graduates who live nearby to our site and ideas on how to attract them.

“I recently attended the Herts Chamber Women in Leadership Conference where I ran a session that shared details on how we’re looking to hire inclusively at Sky Studios Elstree. It was incredible to hear from businesses and leading women from across the county as we shared ideas and thoughts. I took away many ideas which has fed into our future thinking.

“We’re now on the path to creating many opportunities for local young people, in fact, we just closed applications for our next Content Academy cohort. This is a 12-month programme which gives school-leavers and graduates first-hand experience in a buzzing studio facility – everything from lighting and rigging, client services and operations. Last year, we were lucky enough to be able to hire over 70% of the team from the local area and we’re aiming for even higher this year, so watch this space as there’s plenty more to come from Sky Studios Elstree.”

Members of the 2023 Content Academy team

Find out more at https://careers.sky.com/earlycareers/