❝ I am a City and Guilds level 3 certified electrician with 15yrs experience across varying different types of electrical work. Before I started at UK Film Training Academy I had done a couple of days with a sparks crew on a small production. I went it to it not really knowing what to expect but knowing I wanted to get into film. It was a complete different world to what I had been involved with work wise previously from equipment to lingo. It was quite a confidence knock trying to break into a different types of crews not knowing anything about equipment or layouts.
A few months later I was put in touch with Rob Gavigan who created UKFTA. He introduced me to his 4 week intensive course (the course covers electrical rigging, derigging and lighting) that he had created for the industry for qualified electricians to use to transfer over into the film industry. After 4 weeks I had gained a wealth of information from equipment identification, equipment uses, and a broad range of lingo used across the industry, which gave me loads more confidence to go out onto jobs and perform tasks correctly and in a timely manor.
Rob was very professional, considerate and super friendly, which made it a pleasure to be learning again. Rob has a great way of breaking down each section into consumable chunks, to test you aren’t too overwhelmed with information and can easily digest and absorb it. Rob also helped me navigate this industry with my disabilities (I have muscular dystrophy and wear braces to help me walk), he helped me feel confident when I felt self conscious of my disability, and showed me how to work at a suitable pace – for this I am super grateful.
The facilities were great and easy to work in. I now carry the confidence and knowledge needed to work professionally and safely in the film industry. ❞
