Working Title Films is launching a nation-wide search for three trainees who will work for a year at the UK's leading film company.

The scheme, titled Action, aims to cut through film industry nepotism by providing a route into film for people without personal connections in the sector.

Instead, the company, whose credits include Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill and the upcoming Thunderbirds, will pay a year's bursary of around £12,000 to three people with a proven commitment to working in the film industry.

"We're looking for people who are old enough to have some office experience," said Working Title's literary executive Amelia Granger, who is overseeing the programme with ceo Angela Morrison. "We want people who have good creative instincts and who can talk eloquently. They should also be interested in a broad range of films. We all like Lost In Translation but they also have to be able to appreciate a commercial film such as The Last Samurai."

The year-long course is flexible but will probably include stints working on the main development slate, the development slate at low-budget arm WT2, and in production. Trainees could also work with marketing, distribution and music executives.

"This is a pilot scheme and we hope to do it annually," Granger said. "We'll be helping people develop the right tools, a set of contacts and a set of relationships."

Short-listed applicants will be asked to write a script report in May and placements are expected to start in June. Would-be applicants should contact action@unistudios.com or see the Working Title website at workingtitlefilms.com.