Matt Lawson is a graduate of APATS, the Production Guild's Assistant Accountants scheme for new entrants. It is a ten month programme of short courses and attachments to UK features films and television drama, mapped against the Skillset National Occupational Standards in Production Accounting.

APATS was one of the first schemes that the Skills Investment Fund supported and was launched in response to the previous Film Policy Review report A Bigger Picture in 1998, which had specifically identified a shortage of Production Accountants in the UK, to support the level of production. 

Here's Matt's story:

 "I am one of six graduates of the sixth Assistant Production Accountant Training Scheme (APATS), which started in January 2009. Before successfully gaining a place on the course I was working where I grew up in Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands as an accounts assistant in various private practice accountancy firms studying towards the ACCA professional qualification.

The format of the programme was four weeks of formal classroom style tuition at the Production Guild office at Pinewood, followed by four placements in the industry. These placements included the BBC costume drama Emma and the film Cemetery Junction, directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.

I really enjoyed the course because I felt for the first time that I was fairly rewarded for my hard work and soon realised that I was in total control of my career. It was very challenging to make the change from a standard 9 to 5 job to the typically long hours of the film industry, but I would always think back to the days of working in an accounts firm and realise I was happy where I was now.

Upon graduating from the scheme, I worked on the film The Kings Speech. Following that, I had an incredible run of work for 2010, working for all but 2 weeks. I feel like I can't fully attribute that to me, as I think quite a lot of it was luck. At the beginning of January 2011, I started on a costume drama called Downton Abbey and I'm currently working on the third series after they asked me back.

I'm in contact with the majority of people that I did the training with and that I studied under while I was on the course. One in particular is a great man, a Production Accountant called Denis Wray. We have done a number of productions together and have a fantastic working relationship.

Looking back, I was very glad that I made the decision to leave, a decision which has brought new beginnings. It opened up a world that I never imagined I would work in and now I'm here I can't imagine working in a different one.

Since working in the film industry, a creative desire has been ignited in me, culminating in me producing a short film in 2011 called Girl In Motion. This eye-opening experience was very enjoyable, and sometime in the future I would like to use my experience gained as an assistant accountant and production accountant to move into the more creative side of the industry as a producer.

We are all never sure of what our future holds, however, I do know that I have a solid foundation to develop further which is wholly and exclusively down to the Production Guild, Skillset and the film industry for its investment in the scheme, so thank you very much!"