Certification
A certificate that names the sessions you did, the kit you handled and who taught you.
A record of attendance and demonstrated practice, written for the gaffer or the focus puller deciding whether to take a call about you: what was covered, on what equipment, and taught by whom.
What it is
What it records.
What was covered
The named sessions and practical exercises, listed, and the equipment you handled, named. Issued on a date against a named version of the course outline.
Who taught it
The tutor named, with their grade and department, and any guild or society membership.
Demonstrated practice
Where a course involves assessed practical work, it says what you demonstrated and under what conditions. Where it does not, it says attendance, and only that.
The named sessions and practical exercises, listed, and the equipment you handled, named. Issued on a date against a named version of the course outline.
The tutor named, with their grade and department, and any guild or society membership.
Where a course involves assessed practical work, it says what you demonstrated and under what conditions. Where it does not, it says attendance, and only that.
What it is not
What it is not.
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The wider picture
Almost nothing in this industry is certified, and that is the industry, not us.
In UK film and HETV the only things genuinely certified are electrical competence, working at height, drone flying and grip. Everywhere else, competence is credits, references and who vouches for you. Apply that test to anybody selling you training, including us.
| Craft | What is certified, and by whom |
|---|---|
| Grip and rigging | Level 2 and Level 3 Diplomas in Professional Competence, built on the industry’s National Occupational Standards, recognised by Bectu’s Grips Branch and designed with ScreenSkills. Not ours to award, and we do not run a grip course. |
| Lighting and electrical | A Level 3 Screen Lighting Technician apprenticeship, plus generic electrical tickets: City & Guilds 2365, the 18th Edition, BS7909, the ECS card. Bectu states that BS7909 alone is not a standalone method of proving competence. |
| Working at height | The IPAF PAL Card and PASMA, awarded only through approved training centres. IPAF gives five years on a PAL Card. |
| Aerial and drone | The GVC and A2 Certificate of Competency, awarded only by assessment entities the Civil Aviation Authority recognises. Nobody else can issue one. |
| Camera | Nothing. The GBCT states its own training carries no accreditation and awards no recognised standard. The BSC is a post-nominal honorific whose published criteria require a body of work over at least five years and proposal by members; it runs no training. |
| Sound | Nothing. AMPS is a craft guild whose published terms ask for a minimum of six years’ experience and nomination by two existing full members. It publishes no certification scheme. |
| Art department | Nothing. The British Film Designers Guild runs membership grades, including a time-limited Newcomer route. Membership is not an award. |
| Production | Nothing. The Production Guild runs courses designed for its own members and claims no accreditation. |
| VFX and post | Nothing from any industry body. Software vendor certificates only — Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve exams are free. |
| Virtual production and AI | Nothing. |
Manufacturer certificates certify familiarity with a product, not a grade. ARRI says so itself: there is no exam behind the certificate.
Sources
Where this page comes from.
The published pages of the bodies linked above, read in September 2026. Where they change, this page changes with them.
