Skills Development Plan (Tab F)

Every Section 481 — the Irish scripted tax credit and Section 487A — the Irish unscripted tax credit production with eligible expenditure above the threshold must submit a Skills Development Plan — known as Tab F in DCCS templates — to Screen Ireland for approval. The plan describes the training, mentoring and capability-building that will happen during the production.

When required

Below the threshold the plan is recommended but not formally required for SI sign-off.

Three-stage process

Final Plan deadline differs by credit

Participant floor — minimums by spend tier

S481

S487A

Has its own (lower) tier curve — see Section 487A — the Irish unscripted tax credit.

Participant categories

Compulsory artefacts per participant

• Individual Learning Plan (ILP) with measurable goals
• Reflective Learning Journal (regular updates through the shoot)

Recommended artefacts

• Task Sheets (for new entrants / juniors)
• Participant Feedback Form
• Supervisor Feedback Form
• Mentor / Shadow Placement Feedback (where applicable)

Mandatory online courses

Every production must additionally evidence:
- Senior management ≥ 2 of 3 courses completed
- All crew ≥ 80% completed all 3 courses

The three courses are: Bullying & Harassment, Bystander Intervention, Unconscious Bias. Certificates valid 3 years. See Mandatory online courses — Bullying, Bystander, Unconscious Bias.

The SDO

Each production names a Skills Development Officer (see Skills Development Officer (SDO)) — typically a freelancer carrying the role on several productions in parallel across multiple producer-clients. Distinct from HR; this is a skills-specific role.

Engagement with Screen Ireland

SI Guiding Principles set the expectation: 3 meetings + 1 set visit minimum across the project lifecycle:
1. Initial meeting (pre-application)
2. Final-submission meeting
3. Set visit during production
4. Compliance meeting (within 12 weeks post-completion)

Best-practice scaffolding

Use the SI Competency Framework as the basis for ILP goal-setting — 5 career levels × 4 competency clusters with explicit behavioural indicators per level. Map participants against the SI Priority Areas — sector skills deficits to evidence that the plan addresses sector-wide deficits.

The submission format

Screen Ireland publishes its own .xlsx template for Tab F submissions. There are two templates — one per credit:

The workbook has seven sheets — three the producer fills, four are lookups Screen Ireland reads:

The Sheet B Total Skills Development Expenditure must match the Sheet A figure. If they diverge, Screen Ireland flags it.

Submission inbox

How Togra supports this

Togra generates the Screen Ireland Tab F .xlsx directly from the Skills Development module — loading the right template per credit, pre-filling the Production Overview section (title, type, producer company, key personnel, SDO contact, county of production base for S487A, treatment synopsis, prep / shoot / post dates and weeks, the four budget figures), the participant category counts (New Entrants / Trainees / Animation Juniors / Upskillers), the training-courses summary by participant, the mentoring / shadowing relationships, and the auto-tick boxes for Section 4 Tracking (ILPs, supervisor feedback, reflective journals, sign-in sheets), Section 5 65 km Dublin GPO eligibility marker for S487A, Section 6 Sustainability initiatives from the project's Sustainability tracker, and the Intimacy Coordinator tick where one is on crew. The producer reviews the template, completes the Section 2 multi-select tick-boxes + Sheet B narrative + Signature Page on the day of submission, and sends to the credit-appropriate Screen Ireland inbox.