April 7, 2021
Oklahoma CareerTech and the Film Education Institute of Oklahoma are working together to promote the state’s film industry.
The two entities recently signed a memorandum of understanding to work together and with other industry partners to provide training and curriculum to meet the film industry’s employment demands in Oklahoma.
“This partnership is another example of how Oklahoma CareerTech is helping overcome the skills gap facing Oklahoma industries,” said Marcie Mack, CareerTech state director. “We are excited to add these training programs to our repertoire.”
CareerTech’s network of school districts, technology centers and skills centers will offer career training for photographers, set designers, hair and makeup artists, grips, gaffers and other film and television production professionals. Training programs are already being developed, and more will be offered under the agreement.
Production companies are increasingly choosing to film in Oklahoma, thanks to tax rebates, unique locations and workers looking for opportunity. Recent movies filmed in the state include “Minari,” which has been nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won a Golden Globe for best foreign language film.
Continued growth in the film industry in Oklahoma, however, may depend on the state’s ability to provide a trained workforce, one reason CareerTech and FEIO are working together.
FEIO’s mission is to connect students from across the state with the film and television industry, said Trevor Rogers, FEIO executive director.
“Oklahoma’s CareerTech System has served as a golden standard for education and workforce development in our state for many years,” he said. “That is why our growing film industry saw it as imperative to form a partnership and take this exciting new venture to the next level.”
The Oklahoma Film and Music Office estimates more than 10,000 Oklahoma jobs borne from 33 film and television projects using the state’s incentive program will directly pump more than $161 million into the state’s economy in fiscal 2021, which ends June 30. More than 150 additional projects are not part of the incentive program.
About Oklahoma CareerTech
The Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education provides leadership and resources and assures standards of excellence for a comprehensive statewide system of career and technology education. The system offers programs and services in 29 technology center districts operating on 58 campuses, 399 PK-12 school districts, 13 Skills Centers campuses that include three juvenile facilities and 32 adult basic education service providers.
The agency is governed by the State Board of Career and Technology Education and works closely with the State Department of Education and the State Regents for Higher Education to provide a seamless educational system for all Oklahomans.
