When Glasgow stepped in to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games in 2024, the idea of creating a lasting legacy for the city was central to the organising company’s plans. A key part of this is the Commonwealth Games Host Broadcaster Training Initiative (HBTI), organised by host broadcaster Actua with support from Glasgow-based production company QTV.

“We’d worked with QTV previously and we saw them growing in knowledge, capacities and resources. So from the early stage, we worked with them to onboard them as much as we could, and also to build this initiative, which is very important to us,” explains Franck Choquard, director at Actua Sport. 

Both companies also understood the needs of the broadcast industry, now and in the future, and agreed on a two-pronged approach to offer training and upskilling programmes that create long-term opportunities for people to enter and progress in the industry.

“The OC wanted to make this legacy Scotland specific, and we know what we need in broadcast,” explains Lucy Lake, director of people and purpose, QTV. “It’s not just giving people a job now, it needs to be meaningful, it needs to be sustainable, and they need to be able to work afterwards.”

The two-pronged approach involved a 10-month Accelerator Programme giving six participants already working in the industry the chance to upskill and progress their careers. In addition, an entry-level Workshops Programme was established to offer a training route into careers in outside broadcast and live sports production to 20 people. All participants would also benefit from paid roles at the Commonwealth Games.

The Accelerator Programme started in December 2025 and offered participants a 10-month contract with QTV alongside training and networking opportunities.

“It was called an Accelerator Programme because we were really specific about not just wanting to open the eyes of new entrants. We wanted to address the issue of how hard it can be for freelancers in this industry to progress their careers,” she adds. “So if you came in as a tech assist, you would leave as a broadcast engineer, a vision engineer or an audio engineer, whichever one you wanted. If you started as an audio engineer or a vision engineer, you would end up as a guarantee. We also had one quite senior person who came out of this as an EM.

“Not only did they have 10 months as QTV staff, but they would also be at the games doing those roles and so when the project finishes in September they should be more freelanceable around the UK and globally in that higher bracket.”

The project is an extension of traineeship work QTV has been undertaking for a number of years, which like the HBTI is part-funded by Screen Scotland and aims to boost the freelance market in Scotland in technical roles within outside broadcast.

“Our argument when we started six years ago was that it’s impossible to do this just with shadowing opportunities,” Lake continues. “You can’t keep asking someone to shadow because they’re not learning and the second they do something, you’ve got to pay them the full rate, which just isn’t practical. So we knew we needed to house them, it needed to be between 10 and 12 months, and that they would largely become part of our staff.”

Lake says it’s roughly 50:50 as to those who stay as QTV staff and those who return to freelance work but stay on the company’s books.

Alongside this, the Workshops Programme aimed to attract people finishing college and university and introduce them to the world of outside broadcast. Twenty candidates were selected from 200 applicants to attend workshops devised by Julie Robinson, head of engineering at QTV who was appointed training manager by Actua. The programme was supported by companies including Calrec, EVS, Ross Video and Sony who took part in two-day workshops focused on areas including audio, directing and replay, routers and vision mixers. The companies showcased their kit while senior QTV team members delivered more hands-on training.

Participants came from a wide range of backgrounds. “We were really keen to look for any diversity, so we have people from socioeconomically challenging areas, neurodiverse people and people of ethnic diversity.”

Speaking during the games, she adds: “We’re right in the middle now. They’re all in roles, they’re all attached to people for guidance. No one’s sinking. It has been really interesting and complex, but I’m really pleased that we’ve done it. We’re working with multiple different providers here – Actua, QTV, Timeline, AMP Visual and FilmNova – so you’ve got language difficulties, you’ve got cultural differences, but everyone’s really committed, and no one’s been left behind.”

While there will be roles available within QTV for the participants, the networking opportunities arranged as part of the programmes mean they have also been able to develop and widen their own networks across the UK.

“We’re not particularly interested in just hoarding talent. We want to keep it within Scotland, but in order to keep it within Scotland, they’ve got to be able to have work down south and travel. So we try and get them those connections and we’ll continue to mentor them in that sense and try to get them opportunities where we can,” Lake explains.

While QTV’s input into the programmes has been invaluable, the relationships the company have with Screen Scotland and Actua have also had a huge impact, making it possible to fully fund both programmes, including having a dedicated training manager and programme coordinator.

“We’re very grateful to Actua – they really put their money where their mouth is in that respect – and Screen Scotland, who had a huge part to play in this. It’s Scottish government money because it’s jobs for Scotland, and they want these people to stay in Scotland afterwards. It’s that utilisation of local infrastructure and ecosystem whenever you’re doing anything legacy that’s so important, or it won’t stick.”

Choquard concludes: “To leave a real legacy, not having trainees for having trainees’ sake, but really being able to build almost a one-year mentorship programme, is so important. Participants have been able to work, to learn, and also to work together with our partners, and see different ways of operating. We all work together, we are one team and we have a great team spirit.”