United Kingdom · Grips and Crane Technicians
Junior grip
Here is the whole job, in plain words. What it is, a real day, what you decide, how you're judged, how people get here and where they go next. Then the part no course gives you: twelve AI tutors who learn your work.
- UK framework levelUsually someone starting out, or keeping a process running
Also advertised as Grip
Ten quick questions, one per Future Fluency, asked against this role rather than a generic one. About five minutes, and no card.
1What this role really is
This occupation is found in the film and TV sectors and work can be carried out either on set or on location. Depending on the production requirements, conditions on location can be demanding and include extreme terrain, climates or weather conditions. Employers can be large or small equipment rental houses - that rent out equipment to the film and TV industry, film or TV production companies or film or TV studios. However, the vast majority of the sector is freelance – employed for the duration of specific productions. The broad purpose of the occupation is to build, maintain and move grip equipment during productions, so that the position and movement required by cameras are achievable. This can include equipment such as track, dollies, cranes and jib arms. This is a specialised role which involves constructing and operating bespoke machinery. A grip will select and obtain suitable equipment, materials and consumables. They will also lay track and install rigging mounts, dollies, platforms, cranes, jib arms and remote-controlled heads before filming commences. During filming this involves tracking cameras, dollies, cranes and jib arms so that desired shots are obtained. After filming it involves dismantling, cleaning and returning equipment. All work is carried out as part of a team. As grips need to set things up before filming can commence, it can involve working long and irregular hours. It involves working at height and working outdoors. It may also involve working away from home for periods of time. Driving is typically required as part of this role but is not an entry requirement for the apprenticeship. In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with other grips and other members of the camera department. They report to the key grip, who is in charge of their work. In addition, they need to interact with members of stunt, lighting and art departments on productions, as well as cast members, equipment hire ordering companies and delivery staff. An employee in this occupation will be responsible for the health and safety of every aspect of their work. This is particularly important given the high-risk nature of the role as grip equipment and its operation has the potential to be very dangerous. A high level of professionalism is expected, and they are responsible for the quality of their work and completing their work to production timescales. Problem-solving is a key part of the role as is engineering knowledge as they may be required to lay track in complex and extreme situations. Communication and team-working is essential to the role. Grips will typically report to the key grip for each job. They work in teams and may refer to team members who have more experience than them or give support to those with less experience. Teams are supervised by the key grip. They will be responsible for the grip or crane equipment and the tools they use for assembly and dismantling it. They will be responsible for keeping the kit in go
- Select appropriate equipment for productions.
- Choose materials/consumables that meet grip requirements.
- Keep equipment selections within budget.
- Use all equipment within design limits during productions.
- Proactively manage and resolve equipment issues to prevent production delays.
- Check that equipment performs to required standards.
- Record safety certificate details in required formats.
- Follow procedures for the safe return of equipment to suppliers.
- Obtain scripts, previsualisations, technical visualisations, and shooting schedules before planning grip activity.
- Break down scripts and shooting schedules to identify requirements for grip activity.
- Use information from location visits and visualisations to assess technical demands and limitations.
- Clarify uncertainties in grip requirements with relevant personnel.
- List and specify the resources needed for grip activity to meet production expectations.
- Record grip activity plans in a format that aligns with production standards.
- Document risk management aspects related to grip work and provide it to others as needed.
- Notify relevant department heads of any risks or hazards associated with grip activity.
- Confirm that planned grip activities comply with health and safety legislation.
- Check the suitability of the supporting surface or track for the camera dolly.
Built for Junior grip
6 units that map to this job, from the qualifications that cover it.
- Obtain, prepare and return camera equipmentLevel 3
- Controlling and Transferring Loads - Slinger/SignallerLevel 2
- Rig and manage cables for television and video productionLevel 3
- Monitor the Use of Camera Equipment and Accessories During ShootingLevel 2
- Maintain Film CamerasLevel 3
- Rig and De-Rig Lifting Equipment on Masts and TowersLevel 2
The pathway
Getting in, in the UK
Ways in
- Apprenticeship: Junior grip (Level 2) — Skills England standard ST1318
Pay & demand
Pay and demand for this role will appear here, each figure traced to a named authoritative source (e.g. the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, under the Open Government Licence). We don’t show numbers we can’t attribute.
2The team that's yours
No two people are taught the same way. This is one-to-one, not one-to-many.
Zavmo is a hyper-personalised AI learning platform. Twelve virtual tutors, each with a different way of teaching, and one orchestration agent that picks the right one for the moment. So every single lesson is shaped around you, your role, and the way you learn. Not a course everyone sits through. A conversation built for you, and no one else.
…and nine more, matched to you after your first chat. Meet all twelve
3What it feels like
A conversation, not a course
Because your tutor knows your role, your projects and your last session, learning sounds like this. And it's different for every single person:
Applied to your work in Junior grip
By completing this unit, learners will be able to obtain, prepare, and return camera equipment, ensuring it is ready for use and properly maintained.
- Remember
- Understand
- Apply
- Analyse
- Evaluate
- Create
One to one, not one to many
No two people run this the same way
A course is written once and handed to everyone. This is assembled around you, and keeps changing as it learns you. Five things it reads, and what each one changes.
- Your actual work Every lesson is taught against a live piece of your own work, not a worked example from a textbook.
- What you already know The first conversation finds your starting point, so you skip what you can already do and spend the time on what you cannot.
- The conditions you learn under Not a learning-styles quiz. The evidence does not support those. The dimensions the research does back, read once and used to shape the plan.
- How far you got last time It picks up mid-thought. The tutor knows what you said, what you struggled with, and what it asked you to try.
- Which tutor suits the moment Twelve of them, each for a different kind of thinking. The one who walks you through a first idea is not the one who stress-tests it.
See how you learn, free. Eight questions, no sign-up. A directional taster; the diagnostic inside Zavmo goes deeper and keeps adapting.
Your passport
This isn't a certificate you file away. It's a passport to the life you're designing.
Every credit you earn and every fluency you build adds up: evidence where it counts, carried with you. Zavmo keeps the map: where you are, where you're heading, and the next step, at your pace, around your life.
The honest bit
You’ve started things before
Most of them were built for a room full of people who aren’t you. A cohort moves on whether or not your week allowed it, and by the third week the thing you’re behind on becomes the reason you stop opening it.
There’s no cohort here, and no timetable to fall behind. Before anything starts, Zavmo asks when you’re sharpest and how long you can realistically sit down for, then builds the sessions around those answers. A bad fortnight changes your pace. It doesn’t put you behind.
And you only pay once you start learning. Searching and planning are free, and you can cancel any time — so the cost of finding out is an afternoon, not a year.
What it costs
Less than one coaching session. Every month.
A single career-coaching hour costs more than a month of this, and it ends when the hour does. Zavmo doesn't. It's £70 a month, about £2.30 a day, for a companion that knows a Junior grip, works on the job you actually do, and keeps going at your pace rather than a timetable's.
- Searching and planning stay free. You only pay when you start learning.
- Your credits are yours. Regulated, and they don't vanish when a subscription ends.
- Cancel any time and billing stops. No notice period, no minimum term.
Your path, personalised
You have the map. Walking it is the part we do together.
This route runs to 15 national skill standards. That is a real journey.
Zavmo shapes a learning experience as unique as you are. It fits how you learn, your pace and the work you already do. Every step stays benchmarked to recognised national standards. That’s the plan for becoming a Junior grip: personal to you, and it still counts. The first steps are free.
Independent research finds well-designed intelligent tutoring performs nearly as well as one-to-one human tutoring: VanLehn (2011), Educational Psychologist.
A private tutor in the UK averages £35–40 an hour . Zavmo is £70/month.
4Where to go from here
Same depth of qualification, different job. Useful if the work appeals but this particular role does not.
Other roles in Grips and Crane TechniciansStay in the field you know and move sideways rather than up.
Not sure this is the right direction?Work out what you actually want from work first, then come back and see which roles fit it. Takes about ten minutes.
This role profile is © 2026Growth Engineering Technologies Ltd. Built from UK occupational standards and regulated qualification data, and written for Zavmo.