Sylvia Bednarz, Managing Director of The Grierson Trust said: "Grierson DocLab seeks out aspiring factual filmmaking talent and gives them the skills to make the leap into the documentary industry. With training led by industry professionals and practical bursary-supported work placements with the UK’s leading independent production companies, DocLab sets the standard for industry training.”

DocLab trainees get a fulsome introduction to the world of factual programme-making. With continued mentoring and support from The Trust, they go on to jobs across the industry from nature documentaries to reality TV, short-form content to feature docs and everything in between. The programme’s alumni are working across the industry as producers, development APs researchers, directors, casting researchers and more.

The Grierson Trust is looking for applicants who have ideas about how they can contribute to the industry, and who can offer fresh perspectives that are not currently reflected on-screen or behind the scenes. This opportunity is for new entrants and supports a variety of entry level roles behind the camera across editorial and production management. From learning about documentary genres and the UK TV industry landscape through to pitching a factual TV concept, this is a chance to turn a documentary and factual TV passion into a tangible career.

The Trust has an established track record of supporting under-represented groups in the factual TV industry, with previous iterations of the core and Netflix-supported Grierson DocLab In Focus: Editing and Production Management programmes supporting:

• Gender: 66% female; 32% male and 2% non-binary
• Ethnic diversity: 41% of trainees describe themselves as coming from ethnic minority backgrounds
• Disability: 20% of trainees describe themselves as being disabled
• Outside of London: 65% of trainees are from outside of London.

Amongst the recent Grierson DocLab Alumni successes: Cherish Oteka (2016) was the 2022 BAFTA Best Short Film winner for their documentary, The Black Cop; Jess Gell and Leonie Rousham (2020) worked on feature film, Hostile, a BAFTA and BIFA-longlisted documentary from Galeforce Films; Eloise Millard (2018) is on the BBC Elevate scheme and Toni Arenyeka (2019) is on BBC Studios’ AP Accelerator Programme; Poppy Goodheart (2013) was selected for Sheffield Doc/Fest’s AP Archive One Minute Film Competition 2022, with her short film, Women & Girls; Joanna Suchomska (2021) had her short doc, MATKA/POLKA selected for Hastings Women's Film Festival 2022; and, Ben McGeorge-Henderson (2015), who was part of the production team behind Grierson and RTS award-winning Drowning in Plastic and Meat: A Threat to our Planet?, is now working as a Development Producer at BBC Studios Documentary Unit.

Grierson DocLab is generously supported partners, Blueberry Creatives, Clear Cut Pictures and Talented People, as well as a host of independent production companies. Examples of 2022 Grierson DocLab sponsors include BBC Studios, Blast! Films, Dragonfly TV, The Garden, Lightbox, Minnow Films, Netflix, Plimsoll Productions, Raw TV, Rogan Productions, Twenty Twenty, Wall to Wall, Wise Owl Films (All3Media) and Zinc Media.

Find out more and apply for a place on Grierson DocLab 2023.

The closing date for applications is 5pm, Friday 24 February 2022.

The Grierson DocLab In Focus schemes, run in partnership with Netflix, will open for applications in the summer of 2023.