No Description The College of Production website, part of the BBC Academy, went live on 21 February 2011. To visit the website click here. The first of its kind for the production community in the UK, the website will provide practical advice on all aspects of TV, Radio and Online production and will be available to the production community and general public for free.

It is hoped that the website will become a valuable asset not only for training BBC staff, but an authoritative and useful resource for the wider broadcasting industry, for people seeking to enter the industry and for other interested audiences. More than 1.4 million learners studied on Skillset recognised media courses in the UK in 2008/9 and over half a million people were employed in the Creative Media Industry – a massive number of potential users for the site. Like the College of Journalism website, the College of Production website will also be freely available in the UK and will play an important role in helping us to deliver our remit, under the terms of the BBC’s Charter Agreement, to train the wider industry.

The best made easy
‘The best made easy’ is the premise behind the creation of the site, says Amanda Lyon, the launch editor. ‘Through filmed talks, short radio programmes and videos, broadcasting innovators, creatives and experts will freely share their experience with the production community in a distilled and focused form.’

The site will offer content on all areas of TV and Radio production. And each video or short radio programme aims to answer a single question – simply and usefully. Short VTs provide practical advice on a vast array of subjects from health and safety to self shooting, editing and interviewing. Short radio programmes feature experts in conversation on single topics, such as how blogs can be used to add value to programme content.

There are currently around 100 VTs on the site and, throughout 2011, Amanda and her team will continue to grow the website, in consultation with users and key stakeholders. There will be around 300 items on the site by the end of the year.

’There is huge demand across the industry for this kind of innovative training resource’, says Anne Morrison, Director of the BBC Academy. _

‘At the BBC we are taking a lead in this area to help reach as wide an audience as possible. The BBC relies on an increasingly mobile workforce, with many freelancers or people working on short term contracts. We aim to share as much of our training as possible with the wider UK broadcasting industry, for free, equipping people with skills they need for a lifetime of
employability in an ever-changing media landscape.’_

For further information, please contact BBC Academy Communications: