The announcement that the next Star Wars film will be made in the UK was warmly welcomed by excited British fans of the franchise over the weekend, but film buffs aren’t the only individuals greeting the move with open arms. It even put a smile on the Chancellor’s face, with George Osborne laughingly declaring “it looks like the force is strong with this one”. The government’s tax incentive scheme for production companies, which has run for the past five years and brought the filming of franchises such as Harry Potter and James Bond to our shores, will pump billions of bounds into the British economy.
And those of us within the recruitment industry should be equally happy about Lucasfilm’s latest decision, as it will surely result in thousands of jobs being created across a vast variety of sectors. As more and more films are made in Britain, obvious vacancies arising include acting jobs, directorial roles and production posts. But that’s not something we here at Omni are habitually outsourced to fill. What does excite us is the huge potential this trend could create within manufacturing and construction sectors; the backbone of the British economy.
Those who have visited a film set will understand the great deal of time, energy and manual labour involved with creating these vast venues, long before filming of any description can begin. Plumbers, electricians, builders and carpenters will all be required in the very early stages of the upcoming Star Wars project, which could result in jobs being created as early as this year. With the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply recently providing a promising snapshot of manufacturing health, suggesting it is on the cusp of expansion, this will comes as an additional boost to the industry.
Another crucial sector that will benefit when Star Wars comes to town is technology. Here, the UK has traditionally suffered with a skills shortage due to young talent often heading overseas in search of better career prospects; something we’ve covered previously in our IT in recruitment blog series. But the production of science-fiction films, and others that also use techniques such as green screens, could encourage future generations to train within these areas and keep their skills on home soil. Ultimately, this would make the UK far more competitive and able to win back some of the lost ground against the likes of the US and China.
In the meantime, now’s the time for recruiters to start considering the vast spread of opportunities the film industry could bring to Britain. And businesses across all industries would be wise to assess whether they are competitive and attractive enough to play a part in this new direction.
