EXCLUSIVE: The BFI has outlined the allocation of £11.9m of National Lottery funding over three years to its Skills Clusters Fund, with £9m for seven existing clusters and £2.9m to broaden the programme’s geographical reach.
The £2.9m will allow for the creation of new skills clusters where there is evidence of a need to build strong crew bases. Applications will open from early July 2026.
The BFI Skills Clusters Fund was created as a result of a 2022 skills review and in response to below-the-line production skills gaps and shortages across the UK screen sector. The fund will continue to enable the same seven regional lead delivery partners to work collaboratively with local industry, education and training providers, with the same amount allocated per cluster for 2026-29 as received in 2023-26.
The lead partner then distributes some of the funding to further partners to look after strands of the programme delivery. Scotland, Wales and the West Midlands all receive additional funding from their respective local government bodies.
The clusters are:
- Berkshire: £0.6m
Lead delivery partner: Resource Productions
Further partners: University of Reading, Shadowbox Studios Shinfield, Berkshire Film Office, Amazon MGM Studios
- Metro London: £2.2m
Lead delivery partner: Film London
Further partners: NFTS, London Higher, New City College
- North of England: £2.3m
Lead delivery partner: Screen Yorkshire
Further partners: Liverpool Film Office, North East Screen, Screen Manchester - Northern Ireland: £0.9m
Lead delivery partner: Northern Ireland Screen
Further partners: Studio Ulster, QUB MediaLab - Scotland: £1.1m
Lead delivery partner: Screen Scotland
Further partners: Bectu Vision, MG ALBA, Final Pixel Academy
- Wales: £0.9m
Lead delivery partner: Sgil Cymru
Further partners: Screen Alliance Wales, BBC Studios
Further partners: Creative Wales and BBC Studios
- West Midlands: £1m
Lead delivery partner: Create Central
Further partners: WMCA, Production Central West Midlands
According to the BFI, from April 2023 to September 2025, over 26,000 people benefitted from training thanks to the Skills Clusters Fund, working with 291 education partners.
The BFI has a total of £35.6m of National Lottery funding across three years for skill and workforce development.
Sara Whybrew, director of skills and workforce development at the BFI, said: “Earning and spending in the same place is good for local economies, and enabling more people to pursue, develop, and sustain a career in screen on their doorstep also makes the sector accessible to a greater diversity of people.”
“This investment through the BFI Skills Clusters programme will ensure that people across the whole country have the opportunity to build real careers in this industry, which is one of the key aims of the government’s Creative Industries Sector Plan,” added creative industries minister Ian Murray.
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