Behind the Screens: TV Tech for Teens

Access to tech and creative industry employment

Central LA East LA South LA

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

The LA County “California Jobs First” (CJF) consortium has found that Video Production and Distribution (which includes the television industry) is one of our leading job sectors, concentrated over 14 times more here than in the US as a whole. The consortium’s report noted that film and television include a diverse range of well-paid jobs–including many that do not necessarily require university degrees. Many television jobs also utilize cutting-edge technologies, making them potentially attractive to young people who are drawn to technological experimentation and skill-building.
However, the entertainment industry is also often a “black box,” with hiring insights remaining internal and opportunities linked to “who you know.” This is a roadblock, particularly for lower-income young people. One core CJF recommendation is to connect more people interested in television careers with “mentors who can offer guidance and insights in navigating the complexities of the industry.”

The Television Academy Foundation (TVAF) is eager to explore the creation of an after-school curriculum for high school juniors and seniors and hopes to pilot the program in the coming year. Lessons will be designed in consultation with top experts in the field who are members of TVAF’s affiliate, the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences (producers of the EMMYS). With their guidance–alongside input from high school teachers, curriculum experts and students–TVAF will create a program that provides students with practical knowledge, skills and hands-on experience in technologies actually in use today, alongside project-based learning about how a television program develops from an initial idea to a finished onscreen product.
TVAF’s unique access to the Academy’s extensive network of production companies and working professionals has enabled TVAF to build programs like a flagship Internship Program for college students that has launched many television careers. Behind the Screens: TV Tech for Teens will be TVAF’s first project for high schoolers, and TVAF is determined to bring the same kind of high-quality, meaningful experience to these younger students that can actually give them a jump start on careers in the field. TVAF staff mentors will continue to support students after they complete the program, helping them to apply for summer internships or pursue college media programs or work-based pathways for high school graduates.

In an industry that is all about “connections,” TVAF wants to be a connector for high schoolers of all backgrounds. If this program succeeds, we will be one step closer to an LA County where rewarding and well-paid career opportunities in our world-famous entertainment industry are available to any young person who wants to pursue them.
TVAF is in communication with an existing technology center operator within LA County to pilot this program, but there are many in-school and community-based media classrooms that could utilize this curriculum. TVAF employs a full-time education staff that would help scale up the model, including organizing a corps of Academy member volunteers to serve as guest presenters. Hundreds of Academy volunteers already work with TVAF each year, and they are eager to support emerging creators. As California recently became one of the first states to require media literacy education, LA high schools may also be motivated to replicate or adapt this program.