Developing a ‘Talent Pathway’ at digital production company Badger & Combes

Badger & Combes is a digital media production company based in Salford, Greater Manchester. The company is responsible for producing and managing LancsTV, the official YouTube channel of Lancashire County Cricket Club.

The full-time staff at the company are predominantly digital natives, employed straight out of university. They are recruited as part of what the company calls its ‘Talent Pathway’.

The idea was inspired by McKevitt’s own experience as a mature student at Salford University. He picks up the story:

“I had a midlife crisis and, rather than buy a motorbike, I decided to join the media industry. I managed to secure a place at Salford University. I remember on the first day, I had to sit next to an 18-year-old. I wondered: what do I have in common with this guy? Yet within an hour or two, we were almost the same person. We had the same passion. We had the same desire to be successful.

“We give them ownership from day one. They’re not runners. They’re coordinators, editors, camera ops, producers, and directors. It changes the mindset of these students straight away. It’s proving to be very successful.”

“There were these little pockets of immense talent and passion on the course. I started to realise they could just walk into the industry. They didn’t actually have to go through a three-year degree to do it.

“I also realised that I needed work experience. I had nothing related to the media industry. I didn’t want to spend three years on a degree and come out and be a runner. Inherently, that’s something that’s really, really wrong with the media industry, by the way. We don’t call anybody a runner here at Badger & Combes. They are production coordinators.

“I got a chance with Engage Digital Partners, working on rugby output for Sky, with experienced producer Martin Cross. I was thrown in at the deep end, editing a highlights package.

“It was an immense experience for me, and I went back to the University and told other students about it. They said: Can you bring us with you next time?

“So, as more of these opportunities came around, I started taking some other students along with me. The execs we were working with were impressed and asked where these kids had come from and asked for more. I was almost like a vetting service!

“A professor at the University recognised this was happening and offered me an opportunity to be a paid consultant. He asked if I could help them engage the university’s talent with the industry. The university was struggling at the time to do that because, unfortunately, academia is just focused on academia, and they struggle to understand modern industry needs.

“We managed to get some budget from educational funding to set up a media hub. We bought cameras and other bits of equipment. And we said to these broadcasting organisations and companies: we have ten students here who know what they’re doing. We have the latest technology. We have the latest kit. Do you want some support? It’s a no-brainer for companies. It was so low risk, it’s ridiculous.

“So, we went out there and did it, bringing hundreds of students through that programme. This was the inspiration for the Talent Pathway at Badger & Combes.

“People want work experience and opportunities. But because we don’t have to please everybody, we can be really selective.

“We get these applications come in, and then every six or seven weeks, we will email a load of them back and ask them to come in for an interview chat. We ask them to put a presentation together about what they believe media consumption behaviour will look like over the next five to 10 years. This allows us to find out straight away those who think about where they want their media career to go, and those who just want to make the tea!

“You can spot the ones who are digitally creative and understand things like object-based media methodology. They understand the future impact of digital on the broadcast industry, so they know where they need to take their education to be ready to align themselves with the industry. You find out so much with those presentations.

“And then what we do from there is we then say: right, come and do some work experience with us. It’s unpaid. There’s no money in it. It’s long hours, it rains, it’s horrible. We paint the worst possible picture. But we tell them that they could then end up operating a camera for Sky Sports. They could end up directing. And they do.

“When you ask somebody to turn up at Silverstone at four o’clock in the morning for no money, in the rain, and they do it, I think they deserve to be given a chance. We don’t trust just anybody. There has to be a proven capability. That’s why the interview process is crucial.
Then we give them ownership from day one. They’re not runners. They’re coordinators, editors, camera ops, producers, and directors. It changes the mindset of these students straight away. It’s proving to be very successful.”

Read more: Finding the edge: How Badger & Combes produces live-streamed coverage of county cricket for LancsTV