Creative Pathways aims to boost diversity in BC entertainment industry

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Vancouver has earned its title as Hollywood North for a lot of good reasons, and the entertainment business in B.C. just keeps on expanding.

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Industry resource Creative B.C. estimates 450 productions spent $3.5 billion across the province last year as the sector rebounds from the pandemic.

Over the past couple of decades, B.C. talent and crews have built long-lasting relationships and reputations with all sizes of TV, film and animation studios and production companies. Local expertise in animation and VFX (visual effects) is especially industry-leading; that sector continues to grow by leaps and bounds.

But not everyone is getting into the game.

A 2019 labour market study conducted for Creative B.C. showed barely more than a third of below-the-line workers — that is, the artists, technicians, craftspeople, designers, drivers, performers and business managers who make up two-thirds of the workforce — were women, and just 15 per cent were visible minorities.

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Those figures compare unfavourably with the overall workforce in the province, where 48 per cent are women and 29 per cent are visible minorities.

That’s why Creative B.C. has launched a one-stop resource for those trying to get their foot in the door.

Called Creative Pathways, it offers up knowledge and networks to those seeking entry into TV, film and animation jobs, with a specific goal of greater equity for historically underrepresented communities.

“To be sustainable, competitive and to meet future growth needs, the film industry’s workforce must attract diverse, next-generation talent,” said Creative B.C. in a release launching the new resource.

“A retiring workforce and strong levels of production activity across the entire province are creating high demand for talent from tech, trade, business and the arts,” said Creative B.C. CEO and committee chair Prem Gill. “Creative Pathways supports recruitment and helps to ensure equitable access to exciting careers in film and television.”

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The online hub was developed using the expertise of 10 local and national industry leaders, with input from all six unions and guilds and all four industry associations in the province.

It will invite industry partners to host or join workshops and hiring meet-ups with qualified people looking to get into the business.

It outlines more than 300 job descriptions in 39 departments and disciplines in the entertainment industry, from entry-level to management. The information is “built by industry for industry.”

“B.C. is a major production hub for WarnerMedia in Canada,”says Karen Horne, senior vice-president for equity and inclusion at the studio, which is one of the new website’s industry partners.

“The creation of Creative Pathways is a game changer for people seeking careers in the motion picture industry, and will serve as a premier partner for our Access to Action Canada program,” which offers production assistant opportunities with the studio behind local shows like Batwoman, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash and Riverdale.

WarnerMedia contributed $100,000 in seed funding for Creative Pathways, while a federal-provincial labour market partnership put up $500,000 for the launch.