Life Change and Progression Award Winner

Changing careers at the age of 38 from a comfortable job-for-life in the world of retail to the uncertainty of the film industry may seem foolhardy, but Dan Morgan says it is the wisest move he has ever made.  

In a matter of weeks, Gorseinon-based Dan went from managing multi-million-pound budgets and overseeing staff in a Tesco management role, to taking lunch orders on production sets from professionals 15 years his junior, but he hasn’t regretted a single day.  

The fluent Welsh speaker’s journey started with a BA in Professional Media Practice from Swansea Institute in 2007, followed by establishing his own photography business for three years.  

He then made the painful decision to step out of the creative world and into retail, moving up to management within 18 months and spending the next 11 years building a reputation for being motivated, resilient and collaborative, gaining experience in leading and engaging teams.  

But the burning desire to make a career from his artistic appetite nagged from within.  

He said: “I believed that the opportunity to follow my lifelong passion of working in the film industry had long since gone. I had the comfort of job security, pension and fixed holidays with Tesco, but it just wasn’t what I wanted from my life, so I started to look at what was available.”  

Dan thought that age was against him as he sought to develop a career in the film industry. 

Sgil Cymru’s CRIW Apprenticeship did not have any age barriers, this led to his life-changing decision in February 2022.  

Nadine Roberts, Sgil Cymru’s Head of Training, recalls: “The risks involved in changing career at 38 were enormous, but we’re so proud of Dan in proving that it is possible.”  

His first taste of production on the Creative and Digital Media Apprenticeship was a three-month placement as a runner with Gorilla, Wales’ largest post production company.  

A placement followed as a sound trainee on Channel 4’s On the Edge, before Dan flourished on the Disney/ Hulu HETV £84 million drama Black Cake, working as a production assistant to learn how the show was brought to the starting line.  

His last placement with CRIW was as a production runner on the ITV drama Until I Kill You and, on completing his apprenticeship, he worked as production manager assistant on BBC’s Casualty, production secretary on Channel 4’s new zombie drama Generation Z, BBC’s Dr Who and then assistant production co-ordinator on Craig Roberts’ new feature film, The Scurry. 

Nominated by:
Sgil Cymru

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