The California Film Commission‘s first production accounting course participants recently graduated.
During the seven-week course, students were prepared for entry-level jobs as accounting clerks, payroll clerks and digital liaisons, according to a release from the commission.
The course is part of the commission’s career pathways program, which helps jobseekers from underserved communities gain skills and access they need for a range of careers in the film and television production industry, the release said.
The program is overseen by commission Deputy Director Nancy Rae Stone and the accounting program curriculum was created by industry veteran Ida Lee Henderson, who has more than three decades of experience as a production accountant and studio executive.
“While the need for production accountants and staff workers has never been higher, those who want to get into the field have few options for entry-level training,” Stone said in a statement. “Our new course helps individuals with limited access to production industry employment prepare for jobs with an opportunity for advancement.”
“The industry needs more production accountants, and the course we have developed provides the skills needed for success to many more Californians, regardless of their financial status, where they are located or who they know,” Henderson.
Netflix Inc. provided its Hollywood campus to host a recent celebration for students who completed the inaugural course. The event included a networking breakfast, graduation ceremony and hiring fair with industry partners A24, Cast & Crew, The Walt Disney Co., Fifth Season, Netflix, Trevanna Post and Warner Bros. Entertainment, the commission release said.