In a recent Installation article pondering the future of 4K, Craig Heffernan, technical sales director, Blackmagic Design, remarked upon a significant change that is now occurring in the area of engineering recruitment. “I’m seeing more broadcast engineers taking up roles within larger AV companies and rental system companies that help facilitate [the adoption of 4K]. Their awareness and understanding of that transition has helped,” he said.
Anecdotal evidence suggests there are also more and more engineers and technicians travelling in the other direction from pro AV to broadcast. Moreover, there is every reason to suspect this will become more commonplace as the infrastructures and core technologies – IP, UHD, HDR and cloud, to name just a few – become increasingly aligned in both sectors.
ENABLING FACTORS
In this article we’ll look at some of the enabling factors behind this greater movement of skills and people: the particular reasons that broadcast may be looking to pro AV for new talent at this moment in time; the benefits that might be accruing to both sectors; and the factors, such as more flexible working patterns, that employers across the board will need to prioritise to retain staff in the future.
“Oh, absolutely, that’s definitely happening a lot more” is the emphatic response of Craig Bury, CTO of Three Media Consulting, a business transformation, software-defined and virtual operations consultancy, when asked to consider whether the broadcast-AV technology convergence is experiencing a parallel merging of skills and personnel.
In pro AV, it arguably stands to reason that the skills convergence is most apparent in those markets where the adoption of broadcast-grwade equipment has achieved the greatest maturity. Houses of worship would be an obvious example, with churches – especially, but by no means exclusively, in the US – adopting broadcast-quality cameras and streaming platforms to reach virtual congregations.
“When I think of pro AV, for better or for worse, what often comes to mind is big churches,” says Bury. “And a lot of broadcast guys – myself included at one point – would once have looked down their noses at [those in the church market], thinking ‘they’re not capable’. In fact, they might be more capable because they are more likely to have to do a lot with a lot less in the way of resources and functionality. People that have come up into senior roles tend to be very creative.”
BROADCAST QUALITY
But it is the construction of broadcast-quality infrastructures and system designs where the expertise of broadcast-trained personnel can be invaluable, he says. “The downside is pro AV folks might not be as familiar with the philosophy and approach of building systems and ensuring you have the resilience you need at all sorts of levels. So that’s a [clear basis] for people from a broadcast background to move across to pro AV.”
Bury says that in terms of shifting from an engineering or an operations role in the broadcast environment to a pro AV space, it’s practically all translatable. “You can use pretty much every skill set you’ve got. You might well be over-skilled in some of the areas, but then there is also a lot of scope to bring your understanding of networking and engineering to improve [pro AV installations].”
Conversely, Bury feels that broadcast is benefiting from the new ideas brought by pro AV exponents. “As far as migrating resources from the pro AV space, I would suggest that the broadcasters and media organisations are welcoming because they need new blood and new creative thinking.”
SKILLS CRISIS
There is also the fact that broadcast – as we shall see – is in the midst of a profound skills crisis that means many organisations are struggling to find the engineers and technicians they require. This is particularly apparent at the more senior level, where a significant number of long-serving personnel are approaching retirement age.“I would suggest that the ability to move across [from pro AV to broadcast] is pretty good at the moment,” says Bury. “There might be some organisations where that’s [not the case so much], but I can think of a couple of broadcasters off the top of my head where there are many people in the operations and technology department who have been there for 40 years.”
Although, he adds that there are still some other organisations “where if there’s anybody over 35 in the engineering team you’d be surprised”.
Bury suggests that the migration away from analogue or SDI video towards IP and digitally based environments has been a crucial enabler here. Whereas the legacy formats tended to require a great deal of specialist knowledge, the universal rise of IP across sectors means that pro AV people moving to broadcast “probably have a chance of getting involved without being [criticised] for their potential lack of experience”.
That said, it’s hardly going to be detrimental if they do have a thorough grounding in IP and IT systems development. “I think that moving systems engineers [from AV] into the broadcast environment would probably make a lot of sense if they know the way that ethernet and the IP environment works – routing, switching, security and so on. That’s more an issue of already having the practical experience than anything else,” comments Bury.
PLUGGING SHORTFALLS
Meanwhile, even a cursory glance at some recent statistics explains why broadcast-oriented businesses might be keen to look to other sectors, including pro AV, to help plug some shortfalls in skills. A recent report by the International Trade Association for Broadcast & Media Technology (IABM) entitled Talent Shortages in MediaTech revealed a significant majority of its members are struggling to recruit people into engineering and technical roles.
Carrie Wootten has more than 20 years’ experience of building skills, equality and inclusion across the media technology industry. Having co-founded and developed the International diversity membership organisation Rise, and the Rise Up Academy, her latest project – the Global Media & Entertainment Talent Manifesto – is addressing the ongoing skills shortages in engineering and technical roles, and the lack of diversity across the sector.
“The IABM report in June 2024 showed that 80 percent of its members are still struggling to recruit people into engineering and technical roles. 80 percent is a huge figure and one that really can’t continue to be ignored,” she says.
Adding to the challenge is the phenomenal turnover of new technologies – she says today we might be discussing the skill sets around AI, but within the next year there are sure to be other priorities – and the tendency for younger employees to change roles more frequently. In short, the days when a newly qualified engineer would join a broadcast organisation after graduation and remain there for most of their career appear to be largely a thing of the past.
“There is no doubt that Gen-Y and Gen-Z are looking for places of work that have flexibility at their core, [and] have strong diversity and sustainability policies and cultures too,” says Wootten. “I think we need to reframe and adapt how we view employment and, more broadly, career paths as well, as it might be that shorter periods at each employer become the norm. However, I do believe, if the right environments are created, then Gen-Ys and Gen-Zs will stay within a company and the retention issue will dissipate. But don’t underestimate the fact they will walk if the culture isn’t right.”
The development of a more flexible education ecosystem and agile training programmes would surely benefit all sectors as skills and solutions become more transferable, albeit as the technological backdrop shifts more rapidly than at any time in living memory.
Wootten advises: “We must be more integrated within education, and from an early age, and we have to support institutions to be more agile and to adapt to the changing technology and skill sets we need. Critically, we also need to look at programmes that can support transferable skills from a vast array of communities; we are not short of amazing talent, but we are short of showcasing our industry publicly and delivering interventions that can meet the skills shortages we face as a sector.”
Picture: Getty Images
BROAD KNOWLEDGE
One reason why it might be easier for broadcast professionals to move into AV at the moment than vice versa is the broadcast industry is in the midst of such profound change. A senior industry figure recently suggested to me that it was the biggest change since the switch from analogue to digital got underway, “and maybe even bigger than that”.
That’s because not only has SDI given way to IP, we’ve also seen the emergence of ultra high definition (UHD), high dynamic range (HDR), virtual production (VP) and immersive audio, to name just a few seismic developments. It’s also likely AI will reach maturity in broadcast applications such as localisation, which involves repurposing content for different regions and languages, and basic video editing, before it achieves traction in other sectors, such is broadcast’s propensity for early adoption.
But whilst this shift is still going on – and many broadcasters and vendors are effectively supporting hybrid environments in which legacy and next-generation technologies co-exist – a breadth of knowledge can be hugely advantageous. Paula Bier Mercader, head of HR at Lawo, which designs IP-based video and audio technology for broadcast production, live performance and theatre applications, highlights some of the issues emerging at this important juncture.
“One major challenge is the rapid evolution of technology, which requires people not only to know the latest tools and methods, but also to possess the big-picture thinking that comes with years of experience,” she explains. “Additionally, many younger workers tend to specialise in specific areas, so finding those with the broader skill set required for senior roles can take time. At Lawo, we address this by pairing younger engineers with senior staff before they retire, helping to transfer knowledge while preparing the next generation for leadership roles.”
Meanwhile, many of the generational expectations of the Gen-Y and Gen-Z people coming into broadcast now, and in the immediate future, also apply to countless other industries. They bring a comparable set of challenges in terms of retention. Mercader says: “These generations tend to prioritise flexibility, personal growth, and a sense of purpose in their work over long-term loyalty to a single company. As a result, shorter tenures are becoming more common compared to older generations who valued stability and long-term employment.”
Nonetheless, there is actually a great deal that companies can do to alleviate the impact of this trend and encourage employees to stay for longer periods. “I don’t think this is an inevitable problem if companies evolve alongside these trends,” adds Mercader. “At Lawo, we actively work to create an environment that is adaptive and offers continuous growth opportunities. For example, we focus on providing clear career progression paths, prioritising work-life balance, and fostering a strong sense of belonging and purpose. I’m optimistic that, by taking this approach, we can still retain top talent even in this changing landscape. While retention may become more challenging, I believe it’s about adapting to meet the expectations of these generations, rather than accepting shorter tenures as unavoidable.”
DEEP UNDERSTANDING
One reasonable extrapolation from the myriad of developments in the broadcast world is engineers or technicians steeped in knowledge from that sector, especially if they have a deep understanding of both old and new technologies, could find that the pro AV world is their oyster, so to speak.
For instance, a thorough grounding in UHD video will stand them in very good stead. Broadcast was in the vanguard of deployment here, whilst adoption in pro AV has been more variable and led by sectors – such as conferencing and worship – where the advantages of going beyond HD are more apparent. But as education and other sectors begin to utilise UHD (and, increasingly, HDR) more frequently, there will be even more demand for facilities managers and chief technicians who have broadcast-grade skills.
Stuart Ashton, director of Blackmagic Design, provides a concise summary of current trends: “AV designs are increasingly incorporating broadcast technology to meet the demand for HD and ultra HD 4K formats. The driving force behind this trend is the desire to enhance production quality with ‘broadcast quality’ digital video and audio content. Beyond this, we are seeing the same technologies move into fixed installations for education and corporate solutions, where image quality is moving away from analogue connectivity or standard definition PAL video, and digital HD is the expected entry level.”
He adds: “Meanwhile, colleges or universities are looking to future proof their AV for lecture capture solutions and auditoriums are utilising broadcast equipment to replace dated analogue systems. Corporate clients are looking for solutions for video conferencing where the demand for clarity and resolution in video services is critical, or in staged AGMs, or keynotes, where the image and professionalism of the brand are represented in the quality and ‘seriousness’ of their video content.”
The migration towards IP is also pretty advanced in many areas of pro AV, although it there could be that there is a role here for broadcast professionals to help smooth the pathway and provide reassurance, especially among end-users still harbouring concerns about how they can incorporate IP in a (relatively) painless manner. To pick a hypothetical example out of the air: if you’ve helped design or implement an IP infrastructure in a broadcast centre, it’s unlikely you’ll find too much to faze you in doing the same for a conference facility or house of worship.
There is one other factor that could also inform the desire of engineers to remain in pro AV, or those in broadcast to move across: the sustained growth of pro AV set against an open-ended period of uncertainty for broadcast. As we’ve heard, career security might not be the universal priority it once was, but if you’re just embarking upon your career it would not be unreasonable on the basis of current evidence to conclude that pro AV seems a safer bet.
EXISTENTIAL CHALLENGES
Public sector broadcasting is facing no end of existential challenges, while its commercial equivalent is suffering from greatly increased competition and a long-term decline in revenue potential that’s particularly impacting linear channels. By contrast, there are arguably fewer external variables in pro AV, where AVIXA’s 2024 Industry Outlook and Trends Analysis (IOTA) report recently predicted that pro AV revenue will rise from $306.4bn in 2023 to $325bn in 2024, a healthy growth rate of 6.1 percent. Looking ahead, the market is expected to add $98bn over the next five years, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.35 percent, to reach $422bn by 2029.
The report notes that this trajectory is having an impact on personnel requirements: “Globally, professional AV market challenges are shifting from supply issues to labour constraints, similar to pre-pandemic. Salary increases show continued labour market tightness and more workers are staying in jobs at higher rates.”
In short, those coming into pro AV with a solid base of skills and expertise could find themselves in high demand and, consequently, well-remunerated. Either way, it’s clear that the convergence of technologies between broadcast and AV means that the demarcation between personnel and skills is increasingly redundant.
No one can confidently predict what the impact of AI will be long-term, although it’s likely there will be a fresh requirement for ‘AI managers’ or ‘AI overseers’ across sectors. It also seems likely that an understanding of a standard baseline of technologies will translate into the most talented recruits from both broadcast and pro AV having more opportunities to shape their own roles.
So along with all the understandable trepidation and uncertainty we might feel about the future of work in technology, there is also plenty of reason for excitement, too.
