Manitoba’s workforce development and training organization for the film industry Film Training Manitoba (FTM) is set to carry out the first-ever large-scale advanced lighting and grip courses at Brandon, Manitoba’s Assiniboine Community College (ACC) on March 11th and 12th.
During the two-day training session, Manitoba film industry veterans Joao Holowka and Terence Fuller will be training a group of fifteen participants in a simulated work environment on film trades positions in the lighting and grip departments.
“Film Training Manitoba has had a major impact on building and growing Manitoba’s film industry. There isn’t a film set in Manitoba that doesn’t connect back to the excellent work FTM does. FTM supported me coming into the industry and it’s a major honour to give back to my community.” Said FTM instructor Joao Holowka.
This session will be the fourth training session held on ACC’s campus since the fall of 2021 and this new session will be held in ACC’s new cutting-edge Centre for Creative Media.
FTM’s participant numbers are also set to break the organization’s attendance numbers for 2021-22. FTM is set to have more than 2000 participations in over 60 individual training courses as well as a collection of eight distance education online courses. This will be the fourth year in a row FTM has set new attendance numbers, and delivering film training outside of the Winnipeg capital region is one of the reasons for FTM’s growth.
“This past year FTM has had great success with film training for residents of Gimli and Brandon and this one of the many effective strategies employed by organizations within the Province of Manitoba’s sector council program.” Said FTM’s Managing Director Adam Smoluk.
In 2019, Smoluk was promoted to FTM’s senior executive position and led the company’s restructuring and rebranding which coincide with substantial increases in Manitoba’s film industry workforce. FTM also launched new integrated partnership for post-secondary schools including Red River Polytech, the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology, and ACC.
“ACC always seeks to connect our students to hands-on partnership and unique learning experience to augment their academic learning,” said Jana Sproule, Chair of Media and Office Technology at Assiniboine. “We are so proud to work collaboratively with FTM to support the growth and develop of Manitoba’s workforce.”
In 2021, ACC launched three new diploma programs focusing on creative media and technologies within its School of Business. The Media & Communications, Digital Art & Design and Web & Interactive Development programs. These new two-year offerings will replace the college’s Interactive Media Arts (IMA) programs.
In the spring of 2021, FTM’s Smoluk was appointed as the chairperson of the college’s Program Advisory Committee for Media and Communications.
FTM was also recently named as a finalist for the CPHR Manitoba’s HR Excellence Awards 2022 for providing extensive COVID-19 training for Manitoba’s film industry workers to do their jobs safely. FTM launched three different COVID-19 courses which were held nineteen times to train over 700 film industry professionals COVID-19 best practices on film sets. FTM’s training supported Manitoba’s film industry’s productions to continue to operate throughout the pandemic.
The HR Excellence Awards is the CPHRs most prestigious event of the year and will be held on April 13, 2022.
FTM is a non-for-profit charity and member of the Province of Manitoba’s sector council program (through the Department of Economic Development and Jobs). FTM conducts workforce development and training to build a highly skilled and adaptable film industry to support the activities of Manitoba production companies. FTM collaborates with members of the film and television industry to identify the training needs within the community.