This week in Birmingham, industry body Create Central celebrated the success of Sunset+Vine’s Commonwealth Games Host Broadcast Training Initiative by holding a Careers Day for the wealth of local talent who participated in the scheme.

Sunset+Vine’s Host Broadcast Training Initiative tapped into the richly diverse talent pool in the West Midlands and delivered training to over 200 people to prepare them for employment opportunities on the Host Broadcast production of the Games.  61% of those employed at Games Time were from underrepresented groups.

The Careers Day was attended by many of the regions employers and designed to give the trainees a chance to network and learn more about industry opportunities with one-to-one interviews and a series of masterclasses.

Industry attendees included BBC Studios, BBC Sport, Shine, Optomen, North One, Sunset+Vine, Spark Media, Nine Lives Media, Banijay, Yamination, Streamland Media and ISG Productions. 

The creative sector in the West Midlands now offers more opportunities than ever before due to the investment being made in the region. 

Emma Riley, HBTI Director, Sunset+Vine commented: “It’s a measure of the success of the HBTI, combined with the breadth of talent in the region that so many of those attending the Create Central Careers Day have already secured work in the industry.  We’re immensely proud of all of the trainees for their dedication, determination and drive and we’ll be following their career progression closely, continuing to mentor and guide them towards opportunities. 

Ruth Hayman, Host Broadcast COO, Sunset+Vine added: “Three women in particular made such an impression on our OB Suppliers that they’ve been offered employment in a sector that is historically male dominated - Deepali Mistry for Timeline, Aniyah Butt for Cloudbass and Mariana Galego for Gravity Media.  A special mention too for Preetcharan Singh who progressed to operating a live RF camera at Northampton on BT Sport’s Rugby output last weekend and Karum Cheema who is now working with Optomen as a Camera Assistant on the Great British Menu.  Suffice to say this was the Legacy that we’d hoped for, and these people are the future of live broadcasting and we’re immensely proud to have played a part in getting their careers started”

Jeff Foulser, Chairman Sunset+Vine said: “We couldn’t have achieved our ambition for the HBTI without the support of our partners - Create Central, The West Midlands Combined Authority, Birmingham 2022’s Legacy team, Solihull College, Birmingham City University and University Centre.  We’re now looking to develop future partnerships to continue the positive momentum of the HBTI”