Screen and Media

Employment snapshot

The Screen and Media sector is reflected in the employment data from both the Motion Picture and Sound Recording Activities and Broadcasting (excluding Internet) industries.

Employment in the Motion Picture and Sound Recording Activities industry has fluctuated greatly since 2001, declining to 19,300 in 2008 and reaching a high of 43,800 in 2018. After decreasing to 21,800 in 2020, employment levels increased 72% in 2021 to 37,600 and are projected to increase to 34,400 by 2025.

Employment growth for VET-related occupations in Motion Picture and Sound Recording Activities industries are predicted to remain steady to 2025, with levels of growth predicted to be just under 1% for Film, Television, Radio and Stage Directors, Performing Arts Technicians, and Artistic Directors and Media Producers and Presenters.

Employment in the Broadcasting (excluding Internet) industry has been variable from 2001 to 2021, with a recent increase from 28,000 in 2019 to 39,700 in 2020. Employment levels declined by almost half (46%) in 2021, down to 21,400 but are projected to increase slightly to 26,900 by 2025.

VET-related occupations in Broadcasting (excluding Internet) industries are predicted to remain steady to 2025, with the greatest level of growth predicted to be for Graphic and Web Designers, and Illustrators by approximately 8% by 2025.

Industry insights on skills needs

The generic skills presented are for the whole Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Design sector, though they do apply to Screen and Media, include:

• Communication/Collaboration including virtual collaboration/Social intelligence
• Design mindset/Thinking critically/System thinking/Solving problems
• Entrepreneurial
• Learning agility/Information literacy/Intellectual autonomy and self-management
• Customer service/Marketing
• Technology use and application.

Job vacancy data suggests the following are key skills in demand (in no specific order) from employers across the Screen and Media sector:

• Communication Skills
• Creativity
• Detail-Orientated
• Editing.

In addition, Organisational Skills are highly sought after in the Motion Picture and Sound Recording Activities industry, and the Broadcasting [not Internet] industry area needs people with skills in Planning.

The same data indicates the top occupations in demand are: Journalists and Other Writers, Marketing Specialist, Sales and Marketing Manager, Actors, Dancers and Other Entertainers, with the top employers listed as Southern Cross Austereo, the Australian Government and Seven West Media Limited.

The Culture and Related Industries IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast highlights the value placed upon Australian screen production, with it being found that the Australian community places a non-market value on Australian screen production that is four times the actual market value of the industry.

According to FutureNow’s report Screen, quarantine measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have had a profound effect on film and television production globally, including in Australia. Social distancing made filming difficult and travel bans made it difficult or impossible to assemble a full production crew in one place. Screen sector workers cross the creative and technical divide can require high degrees of specialism or very broad skills, therefore a halt to travel had a significant effect on local industry’s capacity to work. However, while the current environment is challenging for the sector, industry sees opportunities to turn conditions to their favour and grow the size and capacity of the Western Australian screen workforce in the long term.

Reviews of the CUA Training Package are currently underway, as highlighted in the Culture and Related Industries IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast, to ensure the package is fit for purpose and provides workers in the sector with the necessary skills, including a focus on the Screen and Media Sector.

The Culture and Related Industries IRC's 2018 Skills Forecast suggests the nature of the way some art in this sector is being created may be undergoing change. This includes field such as digital design, animation, new types of editing software and other technological advancement. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure workers have the skills needed to adapt to technological and workplace changes.

For insights relevant to screen media and other related fields generally, see the Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Design cluster page.

Below is a list of industry-relevant research, organisations and associations. Hyperlinks have been included where available.

IRC and skills forecasts

Culture and Related Industries IRC

• Culture and Related Industries IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast
• Culture and Related Industries IRC’s 2018 Skills Forecast
• IRC membership
• Skills for Australia – Skills Service Organisation.

Relevant research

Screen Industries Snapshot - FutureNow Creative and Leisure Industries Training Council (WA)

Industry associations and advisory bodies

Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA)

Australian Directors' Guild (ADG)

Australia New Zealand Screen Association

Australian Writers' Guild (AWG)

Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA)

Screen Australia

Screen Producers Australia (SPA)

Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE)

Department of Employment 2021, Employment Projections, available from the Labour Market Information Portal

• by ANZSIC 2 digit Motion Picture and Sound Recording Activities and Broadcasting (except Internet) Industries, employment projections to May 2025
• by ANZSCO, selected occupations, employment projections to May 2025
  
  • Artistic Directors, and Media Producers and Presenters
  • Film, Television, Radio and Stage Directors
  • Graphic and Web Designers, and Illustrators
  • Media Professionals
  • Performing Arts Technicians.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021, 6291.0.55.001 - EQ06 - Employed persons by Industry group of main job (ANZSIC), Sex, State and Territory, November 1984 onwards, viewed 1 August 2021 https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia-detailed/may-2021

• Employed total by ANZSIC 2 digit Motion Picture and Sound Recording Activities and Broadcasting (except Internet) Industries, 2001 to 2021, May Quarter.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2017, 2016 Census – Employment, Income and Unpaid Work, TableBuilder. Findings based on use of ABS TableBuilder data.

• Employment level by 2 digit Motion Picture and Sound Recording Activities and Broadcasting (except Internet) Industries, and 4 digit level occupations to identify the relevant VET-related occupations in the industry as a proportion of the total workforce.

Training data has been extracted from the National VET Provider Collection, Total VET Student and Courses from the following training packages or qualifications:

• CUA Creative Arts and Culture, CUV Arts and Culture, CUF Screen and Media and Entertainment Training Packages.
• Interactive Digital Media
  
  • CUF40207 - Certificate IV in Interactive Digital Media
  • CUF50207 - Diploma of Interactive Digital Media.
• Make-Up Services
  
  • CUF40203 - Certificate IV in Make-up
  • CUF40407 - Certificate IV in Make-up
  • CUF50407 - Diploma of Specialist Make-up Services.
• Screen and Media - Certificate II, III and IV
  
  • CUA30815 - Certificate III in Broadcast Technology
  • CUA31015 - Certificate III in Screen and Media
  • CUA31020 - Certificate III in Screen and Media
  • CUA41015 - Certificate IV in Broadcast Technology
  • CUA41215 - Certificate IV in Screen and Media
  • CUA41220 - Certificate IV in Screen and Media
  • CUF20107 - Certificate II in Creative Industries (Media)
  • CUF20401 - Certificate II in Broadcasting (radio)
  • CUF30107 - Certificate III in Media
  • CUF30207 - Certificate III in Broadcast Technology
  • CUF40107 - Certificate IV in Screen and Media.
• Screen and Media - Diploma and Advanced Diploma
  
  • CUA51015 - Diploma of Screen and Media
  • CUA51020 - Diploma of Screen and Media
  • CUA60615 - Advanced Diploma of Screen and Media
  • CUA60620 - Advanced Diploma of Screen and Media
  • CUF50107 - Diploma of Screen and Media
  • CUF50701 - Diploma of Multimedia
  • CUF60107 - Advanced Diploma of Screen and Media
  • CUF60501 - Advanced Diploma of Multimedia.

This includes superseded qualifications and training packages.

Data covers a range of selected student and training characteristics in the following categories and years:

• 2016 to 2020 program enrolments
• 2016 to 2020 program completions.

Total VET students and courses data is reported for the calendar year. Program enrolments are the qualifications, courses and skill-sets in which students are enrolled in a given period. For students enrolled in multiple programs, all programs are counted. Program completion indicates that a student has completed a structured and integrated program of education or training. Subject enrolment is the registration of a student at a training delivery location for the purpose of undertaking a module, unit of competency or subject. For more information on the terms and definitions, please refer to the Total VET students and courses: terms and definitions document.

Low counts (less than five) are not reported to protect client confidentiality.

Creative Arts and Culture, Arts and Culture, Screen and Media and Entertainment Training Packages apprentice and trainee data has been extracted from the National Apprentice and Trainee Collection, including:

• 2011 to 2020 commencements
• 2011 to 2020 completions
• apprentices and trainees in-training October to December 2020 collection, by qualification and State and Territory of data submitter.

Job vacancy data have been extracted from Burning Glass Technologies 2021, Labour Insight Real-time Labour Market Information Tool, Burning Glass Technologies, Boston, viewed July 2021, https://www.burning-glass.com.

Data shown represent most requested generic skills, occupations and employers according to internet job postings in Australia between July 2018 and June 2021 filtered by ANZSIC and ANZSCO classification levels listed below.

Broadcasting (excluding Internet)

• Generic skills / Occupations
  
  • ANZSCO major groups excluding Sales Workers
  • 56 Broadcasting (except Internet).
• Employers
  
  • 212499 Journalists and Other Writers
  • 225113 Marketing Specialist
  • 131112 Sales and Marketing Manager
  • 212112 Media Producer (excluding Video)
  • 211199 Actors, Dancers and Other Entertainers
  • 56 Broadcasting (except Internet).

Motion Picture and Sound Recording

• Generic skills / Occupations
  
  • ANZSCO major groups excluding Sales Workers
  • 55 Motion Picture and Sound Recording Activities.
• Employers
  
  • 212112 Media Producer (excluding Video)
  • 225113 Marketing Specialist
  • 263111 Computer Network and Systems Engineer
  • 133512 Production Manager (Manufacturing)
  • 541211 Information Officer
  • 55 Motion Picture and Sound Recording Activities.