LO Workbook

1. BTEC Extended DiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
Unit 7: Understanding the Creative
Media Sector
Learning outcome 4:
Know about employment opportunities
and job roles in the media sector
Name:Robert George Trelfa
Employment opportunities and job roles in the media sector

2. BTEC Extended DiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
The purpose of this workbook is to get you to understand different job roles, different
ways of working and opportunities for professional development. You will have to
explain different terms, give opinions and source relevant additional information in
order to help you comprehensively explain employment opportunities and job roles in
the media sector with reference to elucidated examples.
This first section considers different ways of working. You should use information from
the lecture, your own experiences and further research to help you answer each
question. Wherever possible, you should use specific and detailed examples. This will
help you achieve a higher grade and also give you a deeper understanding of the
subject.
Describe the following different types of employment and some of their advantages and
disadvantages:
Full time : Working 40 hours a week, you are guaranteed a monthly payment.
Some disadvantages would be if you had to take care of a child it would be difficult. Full
time employment takes up a lot of time and you have lack of free time.
Some times businesses expect over time and wont pay you.
Part time :Working at least 1 hour a week, you get a small payment and you gain some
experience.
Downs sides would be
Freelance: Working on an as a when basis, you can choose when you want to work. A
disadvantage would be that you could have fussy clients and if your not good at
advertising they wont get a lot of work.
Voluntary: This is when people work for free for experience or for a good cause.
Disadvantage you don't get any money.
Describe shift work. What does it entail and what types of media job might require it?
Shift work happens in many industries and is usually in places that run up to 24 hours a
day. shifts are often broken up into 8 to 12 hours with 2 or 3 shifts every day. this is done
to ensure that someone is always working there.

3. BTEC Extended DiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
A permanent contract is one where: A permanent contract is normally to a single
company and where as it is not a guarantied job for life it is however mostly available
unless some thing majorly dramatic happens to you or the place your working at.
What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of such a contract?
Advantage: you always have a job
Disadvantage : you have no flexibility
A temporary contract is one where: Temporary Contracts only last for a temporary
amount of time
What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of such a contract?
Disadvantage: you only have a job for a limited amount of time
Advantage : you have flexibility
What is multiskilling and which skills could you combine together?
Multiskilling is where a company trains a single employee to have multiple skills, this is
beneficial to the company because they don't have to hire multiple people for different
jobs.
What is casual work? Who does it benefit the most? What are some of the arguments
against casual work?
Casual work is where the employer is not obligated to offer his employees work and they
don't have to take it if they do get it offered. This is good because its very flexible but it is
bad because its not a guaranteed source of income.
Explain hourly paid work. Find a job which pays by the hour to help you with your
explanation.
Hourly paid work is where the employee gets paid for the amount of hours he or she
works, an example of this is at Hazlewood Castle’s restaurant they are offering hourly
paid jobs for waiters.
What is Piecework? What do employers need to be careful about when employing
someone this way?

4. BTEC Extended DiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
Workers are paid for per task they do or piece of work they complete. Employers have to
be careful because the employe might under or over work with means not enough
moneys coming in or too much is going out.
This section is concerned with finding work. You will have an idea of the sort of job you
might like to do in the future. Keeping a specific job role or industry in mind when
completing these questions will help you provide more detailed and focussed answers.
Starting to think about a specific area of employment at this stage will help you in later
sections of the workbook.
Why would you use careers guidance? Provide the names of at least 2 organisations
which can help people plan their careers.
There are lots of places you can go to get career advise. There are people you can talk
to at most colleges. There is a website called ‘prospect.ac.uk’ that can give guidance.
The government runs a service called the ‘National Careers service’ which will also give
advise and guidance.
What is a trade fair?
A trade fair or other wise know as a trade show is when multiple people in industries get
together to show off their latest products and findings. Other business can use this time
to see what their compassion is and get ideas.
Which trade fairs could you attend to help you with your career? How could they help
you? Be specific here to help you comprehensively explain.
I could attend ASFF which is a film festival in york annually. They could help me
because I could see other peoples films and their individual ideas and I could use this as
inspiration.
What could some advantages and disadvantages be to using the national press to look
for work?
Advantage: The national press often have many job adverts
Disadvantage: There is a lot of competition

5. BTEC Extended DiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
What trade press publications could you use to help you find work? Would this be a
better option than using the national press? Explain your answer using detailed
examples.
I would use ‘Reed’ because they keep their website constantly updated so if a job is
unavailable they would tell me quickly. This is a way better option than using national
press because its constantly up dated and i wouldn't be wasting my time chasing jobs
that have all ready been taken.
What would be a good way of keeping track of and in touch with your personal contacts?
How could this help you when looking for work?
You can save their contacts to your phone and social media so you will constantly be up
dated with information about the job.
What is networking and how could it be useful to you?
Network is were people get together to talk about work and job opportunities. This can
be help full because if some one has too much work and can’t do it all or their employer
is looking for more employees they can ask you to do it or some one else in the network.
Explain word of mouth as a way of getting work. Is this a reliable method for obtaining
work?
Finding jobs in an industry or business by talking to people who work there and learning
about opportunities. This can be bad because peoples word isn't always reliable.
This next section requires you to do further research in to your chosen career.
Creativeskillset.org is a fantastic resource which will help you learn about the
qualifications, skills and experience you need to gain to work in industry. It also gives
detailed overviews and case studies, to help you understand what each job really
involves.
It will help you find other useful sources of information from details on unions, trade
websites and publications to job adverts. You should investigate your chosen job role

6. BTEC Extended DiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
or sector and sum up the skills and qualifications you need to do that job as well as
fully investigating what it involves.
What job role would you like? Explain your reasons? What kind of job is it (creative,
technical, editorial etc.)?
(http://www.creativeskillset.org is a great place to start)
I would like to be a graphic designer because I like how the end result can look I also find
it fun to make and I like how creative you can be. A graphic designer is some one who
creates images and things like logos and characters for their employer .
What skills will you need for that job?
creativity and imagination
IT skills
drawing skills
an ability to find practical solutions to problems
knowledge of printing techniques and photography
the ability to manage your time, meet deadlines and work within a budget
an understanding of current trends and styles
excellent communication skills
good spelling and grammar
Summarise what is involved when doing this job.
With the rise of media the job of graphic designer has become so much more important
than it seems. Nearly every thing you see from the front cover of a magazine to the logo
of a movie has had a graphic designer behind it. Every part of media that needs creativity
or the ability to be designed will have a graphic designer behind it.
What qualifications are required for that job?
Having a degree in graphic design or any other art based courses which shows you
have a basic understanding of graphic design. A great portfolio will also help with this.
Find at least 2 courses you could do to help you get in to the industry. You should state
the name of the course, the level of qualification (level 2, level 3, Degree etc.), the
institution that you would attend and their entry requirements)

7. BTEC Extended DiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
Graphic design extended diploma el 3 and creative media level 3.
Where could you find out more information? (Investigate at least 2 other sources of
information and give a brief summary of why this resource is useful)
Reed and Creative skill set have a wide range of jobs and information of the skills
needed to acquire those jobs.
This section requires you to do some job hunting, so you can see what is required
from the perspective of employers in the industry. You should think about the
different places you could look for work. It is good to see what jobs are available,
what they pay, and what you need to do to get them.
Use at least 2 different sources to find a job that you would like to do.
Job: Graphic Design Apprentice
Source: Reed
Summarise the skills required:
Use of Photoshop.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Skills in problem solving, organisation and planning
IT Literate; proficient with Microsoft office applications proficiency, especially Word &
Excel
5 GCSE’s at grade A* to C
Is this job full time/part time/freelance?
Full Time

8. BTEC Extended DiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
What do you need to do to apply?
You can apply on the website
Job: Junior Design
Source: Reed
Summarise the skills required:
InDesign - Illustrator - Photoshop - Powerpoint - Basic HTML - Basic Video Editing
Skills - Adeptness with leading design software packages - The ability to meet deadlines
in a high pressure environment.
Is this job full time/part time/freelance?
Full Time
What do you need to do to apply?
You can apply on the website
Work experience can be a good way to test out working in industry and can be a way
to get a foot in the door. If you perform well during your work experience or
internship, you will put yourself in a good position if a bigger role becomes available.
There are lots of media organisations that have work experience and intern
programs as well as other companies who specialise in getting placements for their
clients. Be specific when answering the questions below. Give website addresses
and discuss what you have found. The more detail, the better your grade.
Work experience:
What are some of the benefits of work experience?
You can learn more about your desired job and get used to having to work and get used
to what its like in a work environment

9. BTEC Extended DiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
Where could you look for work experience?
You can look at adds in newspapers or mostly online at websites like V-inspired.
Where would you like to do work experience? How would you go about applying?
Probably as a graphics I can find and apply for this job on the web site V-inspired
As well as looking at your industry skills, employers want people who are able to
work efficiently and communicate effectively. In this section, you should evaluate
your own functional skills level and consider what action, if any, you need to take to
improve your skills in this area.
What grades do employers normally like to see people have for GCSE Maths and English?
C and above
Why is it important to have good functional skills?
So you can talk to your colleagues at work and ask for help or be able to give help, also so you
can work with people and feel comfortable.
Are there any areas of Maths, English or basic I.T skills that you need to work on?
No
This final section requires you to think about your own skills for employment. You will
be assessed on this as you progress throughout the course. This helps formalise
your ideas on these key skills. Some questions are very similar to those you might
see on a detailed job application or are questions you may be asked in an interview.
Thinking of examples of when you have used these key skills before an interview is a
good way to prepare.

10. BTEC Extended DiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
How reliable, committed and efficient are you? Give examples when you have
demonstrated some of these qualities. Do you need to improve any of these areas?
I am reliable and committed at work. I have only done 2 months of work experience so
far but that is at a restaurant, this isn't really anything to do with graphic design but it is
helping me get used to the work time table, the environment and working with others. I
could work on my time management and handing things in on time
Attendance and punctuality are very important. What was your attendance and
punctuality like at school? If your figures were good, how will you maintain them? If your
figures need to improve, what steps do you need to take to improve those figures? Be
specific in your answers.
I have very good punctuality, I have never been late to work or school if it was in my
power.I am working on my attendance but now I can drive and it is in my hands it is
improving.
How important do you think self presentation is during an interview?
I think self preservation is very important because it is the first thing the employer sees
about you and it can say a lot about your look on life and how hard you work to do the
best. It is not always the case because you cant judge a book by its cover but employers
don't have time to mess around and learn who you are and how you actually act so it is
best just to make sure you present your self well.
Can you think of a time when you contributed to a group project? What was the project?
What role did you take and how successful do you think you were?
I used to do drama back in high school and in sixth form and many times we had to think
of a song or an extra bit to the dance we were working on or even adding bits to a scene
and more often than not I was throwing my ideas into the pot. Even if we ended up not
doing them I still tried to contribute and I think thats important because then you mingle
and its better than not saying anything at all.
Give an example of when you have had to manage your time carefully and how you went
about it?
On Thursdays I don’t have to be in college until 12:50, At work a morning shift normally
ends at 12 So I spoke with my manager and he changed it so I can do a 7-11 shift in the
morning. This gives me just enough time to get home showered and changed before I
have to leave for college. I normally arrive with about 20 minutes to spare.
Give an example of when you had to take personal responsibility for something. What
was the scenario and what was the outcome?

11. BTEC Extended DiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
I recently just learnt how to drive and my father has given me a car but whenever it gets
damaged or needs anything replacing I have to pay for it. I also have to pay for the petrol
and things like that (not complaining). Recently I had a puncture and I had to organise
and pay for it myself and I got it repaired even before my dad knew about it. ( I couldn't
think of any other times i had to take personal Responsibility)