"After doing a 13 weeks paid placement as part of the partnership between Procam and MAMA Youth Project, we are pleased to say that both trainees Jack & Callum have been offered permanent roles with us. They have both worked very hard and will be great assets to Procam . We look forward to carrying on our partnership with MAMA Youth Project, supporting keen young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into employment in the broadcast media industry." -Procam

Jack Lucas. 22 year old from Harrow.

"Well it was the summer of 2014 and having spent the majority of my education studying music, I had become disillusioned by it and the trouble was that finding any job with the stability and a wage I could live off was proving difficult.

After a few months spent at the job centre, my advisor gave me a flyer for the MAMA Youth Project and let me know that they were interviewing for trainee sound recordists, after a couple of interviews I was fortunate enough to be taken on.

Despite there being obvious similarities to recording music in a studio, this was a step into the unknown for me. On my first day at MYP I met Nick Way, the sound supervisor at Procam, who was delivering training at MYP and taught me how to use the kit and appropriate TV etiquette.

After a couple weeks of training, I was thrown into the deep end as What’s Up went into production. When working in crew, you are under pressure to do the job right first time, every time, so as not to let down all the people who have worked so hard to make the shoot happen, which can get stressful. However, the whole experience is a learning curve with ups and downs and teaches you an awful lot about the nature of the TV industry. You will work long hours, you will be let down by last minute flaky guests and (as a sound recordist) encounter noisy air con systems, but you will also get to work with lots of interesting and driven people and go to some really cool locations/events.

Thanks to one of the many industry links that MYP have, after completing the training, I moved onto a 13 week placement with the kit hire company Procam. It wasn't until I started there and spoke with more experienced colleagues that I realised what an unique opportunity MYP gives its trainees: trusting relatively inexperienced people to take a production from nothing to the screen of Sky 1 in 3 months. I recently completed my placement with Procam and have been offered a full time in the equipment warehouse, with a clear job path towards making the company crew pool as a sound recordist.

My advice to anyone starting with MYP is that you get out what you put in. There will be days where you've had little sleep, everything that could go wrong does and you feel like people are being unfair, but stick with and always try to do the best you can because at the end of the day that is all they’re really asking for." - March 2015

Callum Tunmore. 18 year old from Norwich.

"Just last year, I was sat back at home doing my A-levels in my hometown of Norwich. My experience of creative film work consisted of small independent works, projects with local production companies and videos for small business', but after hearing the success story of an older colleague I decided to apply for a trainee camera operator role at MAMA Youth Project. After a couple of interviews and a tense wait, I found out I had the job, which reinforced my decision to just get stuck into the industry.

To sum up my time at MYP, it was filled with a very real representation of the television industry and the challenges it faces. It consisted of long days, physically tiring work and a high responsibility to deliver on a day to day basis. Whilst this was the case, I wouldn't ever change it at all. I gained my first broadcast TV credit to add to my CV, I learnt new equipment including cameras, lighting and grip, and I met a lot of fantastic people along the way. It gave me the chance to master a lot from industry professionals, and in turn be one myself for the show. All the training and motivation did pay off as we created a fantastic show, with a lot of big names and fantastic content.

After the training I was given an opportunity to do a work placement at one of the UK's biggest kit hire and crew company, Procam. Everything I had worked with at MYP meant I was both familiar with a large amount of kit and also geared up to work in a place where hard work and motivation is absolutely key. I have just recently been taken on at Procam as a Warehouse Technician, which means in 6 months I have gone from education to full time employment at a respectable role in the industry at the age of 18, without a degree. I have been able to use kit such as Arri Alexa's, F55's, C300's, and too many more things to name, just on a daily basis. I've assisted on several shoots with high end clients, and already been given experience people wouldn't be able to get for years.

So my advice to another young person wanting to take the dive into the industry? A degree is not necessarily your ticket into the industry. If you know what you want to do and you're motivated and wanting to put 110% in, then do it. People have told me time and time again that hard work and dedication will get you further than any academic knowledge will, and it's worked great for me so far". - March 2015