By Jayson Taylor

Training and mentorship incentive to boost Alberta’s film and television workforce

Jun 30, 2023 | 2:20 PM

EDMONTON – Film in Alberta has become a big deal in the province over the last few years. From films and television shows like Ghostbusters: Afterlife to The Last of Us being filmed in Alberta, the industry has helped the province financially.

To encourage further growth in the industry, the provincial government’s 2023 budget provided further investments in the Film and Television Tax Credit and the Alberta Made Screen Industries Program, which supports small and medium homegrown productions that tell stories of Alberta’s past and present.

To meet a growing demand for workers, the training and mentorship incentive will support smaller Alberta-based productions that provide a training ground for emerging talent and to provide Albertans who are new to the film and television workforce to learn from seasoned professionals to further improve their skills

“With the success of big budget productions like The Last of Us, we heard the call from industry for help to meet the growing demand for workers in smaller film and television productions. From accountants to production assistants, the training and mentorship incentive will help grow and sustain the workforce for years to come,” Minister of Arts, Culture and Status of Women Tanya Fir said in a statement on Friday.

The Alberta Made Production Grant has had a strong return on investment, according to the provincial government. For every $1 invested in the grant, the program generates an additional $4 in economic impact.

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The film industry is growing exponentially in the province. Around 3,000 creative industry professionals graduate from Alberta post-secondary institutions every year. Since 2017, the production workforce has grown by 71 percent or by about 4,000 workers across all positions.

“The Alberta-based small and medium-sized production companies can only prosper and grow with competitive production incentives to support the measurable economic impacts they bring to our province. A strong Alberta Made Production Grant training and mentorship incentive is grounded in developing, educating, and guiding the eager Alberta crew base needed to ensure successes in the scripted and unscripted Alberta screen industries for many more years to come,” said Kelly Wolfert in a statement. Wolfert is the board chair of the Alberta chapter of the Documentary Organization of Canada.

From July 2-31, local productions with budgets less than $500,000 can apply for up to $35,000 per project through the Alberta Made Production Grant by offering mentorship and on-set crew development.

Full details on the incentive can be found on the Government of Alberta’s website.