NEW YORK --

Empire State Development (ESD) and NBCUniversal announced a new partnership designed to grow below-the-line career opportunities in the entertainment industry for New Yorkers. Graduates from programs funded by the State’s Career Readiness Entertainment Workforce (CREW) Diversity Grant Program, providing financial assistance in the form of grants for job training programs focused on geographic and economic diversity, will have an opportunity to participate in the company’s Below-the-Line Traineeship and work on NBCUniversal television productions filming in the state. This paid traineeship will give students and early career workforce an opportunity to gain the skills and hands-on experience needed to work on New York productions, strengthening the state’s film and television production industry. The partnership was announced by ESD commissioner Hope Knight at the seventh New York State Multicultural Creativity Summit.

Empire State Development president, CEO, and commissioner Knight said, “The film and television industry is more than just a contributor to New York State’s economy—it’s a driving force for future growth and innovation. By investing in workforce training programs, we’re not just creating jobs; we’re building careers and ensuring our students can seamlessly transition into positions that power this vital industry. We are proud to partner with NBCUniversal on this new effort to support these valuable programs that will support this important industry.”

Universal Studio Group chairman Pearlena Igbokwe said, “NBCUniversal has a long and successful history of cultivating talent and providing them with access to opportunities in television in front of and behind the camera. Below-the-line roles are a major focus of our training and development efforts, and we are pleased to collaborate with Empire State Development on New York State’s first partnership in the entertainment industry to grow the pool of qualified, high-potential crew members who can be hired across our productions filming in the state.”

Created in partnership with IATSE Locals, NBCUniversal’s Below-the-Line Traineeship provides entry-level talent with meaningful, paid, on-the-job production experience such as props, grip/electric and set lighting. This includes talent from various socio-economic backgrounds, geographic locations, age groups, racial and ethnic backgrounds, people with disabilities, the LGBTQ+ community and veterans, among other communities.

In this new partnership with ESD, NBCUniversal will source qualified candidates from New York State-funded programs, including The Bronx Community College (BCC) Film Production Training program, LaGuardia Community College’s (LaGCC) Film Training Program, Pathways to Production Accounting for the Entertainment Industry Program and Grip and Electrical Training Program, and Art Craft NYC. Last year, two graduates from BCC’s Film Production Training Program were selected for roles in the grip departments on NBC’s hit series Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU. Currently, five hires from New York State-funded programs, LaGCC Grip and Electrical Training Program and Art Craft NYC, are working on NBC’s Law & Order and Universal Television’s The Equalizer in the grip, set decoration and props departments.

The BCC Film Production training program served as the pilot for the State’s Entertainment Diversity Grant Program and focuses on training students in the film and television industry in IATSE Local 52 trade crafts. The LaGCC Film Training Program provides a path to employment for individuals in the film and television industry in IATSE Local 52 trade crafts such as the electrical and grip fields. The LaGCC Pathways to Production Accounting for the Entertainment Industry Program trains unemployed and underemployed New Yorkers for in-demand entertainment industry accounting jobs. The LaGCC Grip and Electrical Training Program trains underserved individuals in electrical, grip or property trades for employment in film and television. Art Craft NYC is a robust training program to help entry level individuals gain confidence on set and provide participants with the skills and support to become successful workers in the professional field.

NBCUniversal provides meaningful opportunities for people to gain hands-on experience in front of and behind the camera, and ultimately prepare them for careers in the industry, including on New York State productions. The NBCUniversal television production opportunities are managed by NBCU LAUNCH, the umbrella brand that houses the comprehensive workforce development efforts across NBCUniversal’s entertainment television portfolio. NBCU LAUNCH works with local industry partners to identify qualified candidates who are currently pursuing vocational education and training in their desired craft in preparation for a career in television. As a leading producer of content in New York, NBCUniversal works with various nonprofit organizations to source trainees for its productions.

New York State’s Film and TV production industry generates millions of dollars in investment and supports thousands of production workers, caterers, hospitality workers, and small businesses in communities every year. Additionally, unions help to ensure high wages, full benefits and robust protections in the film and TV production sector and these jobs are accessible to a wide range of New Yorkers, with 44 percent of jobs in the industry available to workers without a four-year degree. The industry is an important piece of New York State’s economy and according to the most recent independent evaluation, in 2021 and 2022, the film industry added over $18 billion in Real Gross Domestic Product and created more than 131,454 direct jobs.

The New York Career Readiness Entertainment Workforce (CREW) Diversity Grant Program is designed to incentivize job creation and training programs that support efforts to develop and train a diverse and inclusive workforce in the motion picture and television industry. The program makes 1:1 matching grants from $25,000 to $500,000 available to eligible programs in film and television development and editing. Proposed programs must address the grant program’s goals of providing opportunities for diverse workers and/or those located in economically distressed areas of New York State. The grant program is financed from a percentage of each production’s tax credit, providing grants for training programs that support efforts to recruit, hire, promote, retain, and develop a talented and inclusive workforce for New York’s film and television production and postproduction industries. Grant criteria is focused on economic and geographic diversity. Applications are being accepted here.

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