What made you decide to apply for your trainee position on the Northern Routes Training Scheme?
I'd been checking the Screen Yorkshire website regularly for job and training opportunities, and when I saw the Northern Routes Training Scheme I thought it would be an ideal way of getting my foot in the door as well as increasing my knowledge at the same time. I read the trainee profiles for both Location and Production Assistant roles, and decided to apply for the Trainee Production Assistant position as I had previous experience of working within the production office and a good amount of secretarial experience through temping.

Please give a brief outline of your previous experience, related to this training position.
I studied Media Technology and Production at the University of Bradford which was a very practical degree and the majority of my previous experience was gained there. I often took on the role of Producer in our projects which taught me a lot about organisation and planning. Since finishing uni I have worked on a variety of short projects in production assistant, runner and assistant producer roles. My experiences within these different roles ranged from spending a day up a ladder filling the cracks in a set to spending two weeks office based arranging voice over artists and assisting to edit a promotional DVD.

There were nearly 500 applications for 22 places across the north of England, how did it feel to be chosen?
Fantastic! I'm glad I didn't know those figures in my interview or I would have gone to pieces! I feel incredibly fortunate to have been chosen and really hope that the Production Office team are happy with the work that I am doing.

What have you been up to so far on your placement?
I've been doing a variety of tasks so far on my placement. Everyone's been really nice and they're trying hard to involve me in the day to day jobs. I've been given some daily tasks to do such as distributing call sheets, sorting out the post and filing invoices. In addition I have called hotels to discuss corporate rates, spoken to casting agents to arrange cast photos and called GNER with transport queries.

What's been the best bit(s)?
Recently I've started to get more involved in the organisation which is great, I've been making calls and helping to arrange things for the cast so I'm starting to feel like one of the team and that's really nice. The studio is the floor above and I was taken on a tour the other day to have a good look around which was really exciting. It also seems that my photograph might be used in one episode as a key part of the storyline, I can't say too much about that but it means I may get my few seconds of fame!

What are your long term career aims and how do you feel this scheme will help you achieve them?
My long term career aim is to be a drama producer. This scheme is an excellent opportunity in many ways. It is enabling me to meet people working in the TV production industry, and hopefully if I can make a good impression they will remember me for future projects. By being involved throughout the duration of the shoot I am able to witness and help with all sorts of different aspects of the organisation and planning, so I'm learning more about production office duties and the roles of different departments within the production. My hope is that this scheme will give me the experience and contacts that I need to start climbing the long ladder within the industry.