It’s that time of the week again, welcome to #traineetuesday! Meet this week’s former trainee, Mike.

Mike moved to Cardiff to study Physics at Cardiff University. However, it was during his time here that he joined the Cardiff University Film Society and discovered his passion for the Film and TV Industry. He had never thought of Film and TV as a viable career before but he made the bold decision to move away from science and to pursue TV after graduating. Whilst working at a local supermarket, in his spare time, Mike emailed anyone and everyone asking about trainee schemes, entry level jobs, unpaid work, just trying to get a hint of an opening into the industry and, eventually, Screen Alliance Wales replied!

SAW replied to an email he had sent to Bad Wolf, asking if he was interested in doing work shadowing for two weeks in the Production Office on His Dark Materials Season 1. He jumped at the chance and said he was very interested. During his Work Shadowing placement, Mike met with many people including a production runner who helped him a lot by showing him the ropes and taking him under her wing.  When a paid traineeship came up on `His Dark Materials’ Season 2, Mike had made such a good impression on SAW that he was the first person they recommended!  He ended up getting the job and so had his first paid job in the industry.

Mike did so well on his Traineeship, that when some of the team moved to work on `The Witcher’, he went with them as a Production Assistant.  He is continuing to do amazingly well with his career, currently working as a Production Secretary on an upcoming Netflix Drama! Good luck with it all Mike - we are thrilled to see you are doing so well and very proud of you – as always!    

For people looking to start out in the industry, Mike recommends looking out for trainee schemes, work experience, the odd daily job here and there, whilst making sure that you try and listen and learn as much as you can, and just trust your gut.

“SAW were incredibly supportive throughout my work experience and time on His Dark Materials S2, they always had time to talk to me and ask me how I was getting on. They still regularly contact me to check in and see what I'm up to. I couldn't be more thankful!” - Mike.

Same time, same place for next week’s #traineetuesday.