An employee-owned TV company has clinched a deal to launch a pioneering training programme for its staff and freelancers with the “world’s best film school”. Caernarfon-based Cwmni Da has signed a three-year agreement with the National Film and Television School’s (NFTS) recently established Cardiff hub, NFTS Cymru Wales to boost its team’s skills.
The company has always invested heavily in training but what’s new is that from now on the tutors travel to Caernarfon instead of the other way round, with previous courses being held in places like Cardiff, London, Liverpool and Birmingham. The upshot is that it reduces costs and staff time which means they can stage more courses and train even more people.
It’s now just over two years since Cwmni Da made broadcast history by becoming an Employee-Owned Trust which employs over 50 people and pumps £5 million a year into the local economy. Cwmni Da was founded in 1996 and has a long and successful track record making factual, entertainment, drama and children’s programmes, in the Welsh language for S4C but also for UK network channels and international markets.
