The UK screen industry is a major economic and cultural success story, but its continued competitiveness depends on access to the right skills, in the right roles, across the whole production ecosystem. ScreenSkills commissioned Harlow Consulting to undertake research into labour force issues across the screen sector workforce, with a focus on skills gaps, skills shortages and the interventions needed to support a resilient future workforce.

The resulting report, Powering Production: Identifying skills needs in the UK’s screen industry, was launched by ScreenSkills in April 2026. It provides evidence for industry leaders and policymakers to help target investment and training where it is most needed. 

Harlow Consulting designed and delivered a UK-wide research programme, including an online survey of 522 employers between November and December 2025 and 20 follow-up depth interviews with survey respondents. The research captured perspectives from people directly involved in crewing-up and hiring, including line producers, heads of department, post-production supervisors and key grips, with respondents balanced across departments, regions and sub-sectors.

The research found that the UK screen workforce remains highly skilled, but that important skills gaps and shortages persist. Almost two-thirds of employers reported difficulty recruiting over the previous 12 months, with recruitment challenges most commonly linked to a low number of people with the required skills and a lack of experience. Mid-level roles were identified as having the most skills gaps and shortages, particularly where roles require people to step up from task delivery into leadership, management and decision-making.

The report highlighted communication and interpersonal skills, leadership and management, planning and organisation, and resilience as key areas of skills need. It also identified specific shortage roles across the sector, including VFX supervisors, post-producers, production coordinators, producers and directors in unscripted TV.

The research also explored the impact of new technology, including AI. Just over half of employers expected AI to change some working practices, although many were uncertain about how adoption would affect specific roles. This underlined the need for upskilling and reassurance across the screen workforce, alongside a continued focus on human-centred skills such as leadership, communication and adaptability. 

The final report set out policy recommendations for national and local decision-makers.The research has given ScreenSkills a detailed, evidence-based picture of current and future workforce needs across the UK screen sector. It provides a practical foundation for industry-led training, targeted investment and policy engagement to help the UK remain creatively and commercially competitive.