Fostering Dreams of Studio Jobs

Getting a job in the entertainment industry often depends more on whom you know than on what you know. The right connections and skills usually aren’t available to minority and low-income students, even those who live or work in the shadows of major studios. But more doors might open with DreamWorks SKG’s $5-million commitment to job training.

Future growth is predicted in such entertainment jobs as computer graphics, animation and special effects. Finding qualified workers will become even more difficult for studios that fail to train potential employees in their own backyard.

The DreamWorks deal came about after Los Angeles City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter pressured the studio to include a job training component in its ambitious plan to build a publicly subsidized film studio in Playa Vista. Though the organization has abandoned that plan, the philanthropic commitment, $1 million a year for five years, remains.

In the first phase, DreamWorks executives are working with community colleges to develop an entertainment industry curriculum. Studio execs are speaking to classes, explaining the skills that students will need to develop careers in the industry.

The next step will involve creation of JobLink, a vehicle to invest in existing programs and form new ones for elementary, high school and community college students.

The DreamWorks contribution is significant because the entertainment industry has been slow to give to such causes. Its pledge challenges other industry heavyweights to follow.