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SFCC, Santa Fe County, Stagecoach Foundation, Inc., and Santa Fe Film Office announce applications now open for free training program to become a film and television production assistant
PROTEC will offer free training on weekends, February 11 – 26

Applications due by January 31, 2023. Qualified applicants
will get up to 160 hours paid work experience.

SANTA FE, NM – Santa Fe Community College in partnership with Santa Fe County, Stagecoach Foundation, Inc., and Santa Fe Film Office announce applications are open for a free training program to become a film and television production assistant. Qualified applicants will get up to 160 hours paid work experience.

The Professional Readiness for Technical Careers (PROTEC) program will run on weekends and begins on Saturday, February 11 and continues through Sunday, February 26 at Santa Fe Community College. Applications are due on Jan. 31. More information and applications are available at protecsantafe.com.

The partners have teamed up to provide a multilevel, detailed Production Assistant (PA) training program. This program will provide participants with training in on-set safety, on-set etiquette, production office skills, OSHA-10 certification, interview and résumé building skills, exposure to industry standard equipment, effective communication skills and more.

Elizabeth Kianu Stahmer of Stagecoach Foundation, Inc. said, “This is an amazing opportunity and pathway into the rapidly expanding film industry here in New Mexico. It’s been an honor to work with so many wonderful folks across so many institutions to make this dream into a reality.”   

Classes will begin the weekend of February 11 and continue for three weekends concluding on February 26. There will be a mix of in-person at Santa Fe Community College and online classes. Instructors are industry professionals who will bring current experience to their classes. See the class schedule at protecsantafe.com.     

The Production Assistant program offers an on-the-job training component for Santa Fe County residents. The program serves to incentivize productions to provide Production Assistant opportunities to participants who complete the Production Assistant training. Santa Fe County will provide 50 percent reimbursement of the qualifying participants’ $15 an hour wages for up to 160 hours physically worked by the participant. Production companies are approved by Stagecoach Foundation, Inc., Santa Fe County, and SFCC.

Milton Riess, co-chair of the SFCC film program said, “Working as a Production Assistant is one of the best ways to gain experience on film and television sets. Being a PA allows you to be exposed to every craft in this industry and see exactly what may interest you and how to move into these specific fields. A PA is a demanding job, and this training program is a great way to prepare yourself for this exciting industry and an even more rewarding career.”

Participant requirements: No prior workforce training is required. Participants must be a high school graduate or equivalent, aged 18 years old or older, have a valid driver’s license, and be a Santa Fe County resident. For applications visit protecsantafe.com.

PROTEC offers preparatory training for entry-level employment in a variety of industries and is designed for individuals who are currently unemployed, underemployed, or looking to increase their hire-ability in Santa Fe County.

For more information about the PROTEC program, contact SFCC Continuing Education program at 505-428-1676 or ce@sfcc.edu. For details about the production assistant training, contact SFCC Film Co-chair Milton Riess at milton.riess@sfcc.edu or 505-428-1421. Santa Fe Film Office Executive Director Jennifer LaBar-Tapia at jlabar@sffo.film or 505-986-6293.
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For more information, contact Jennifer LaBar-Tapia, Santa Fe Film Office Executive Director, at jlabar@sffo.film or 505-986-6293.