A costume trainee is the most junior member of the costume department. You set up the workroom and keep it clean and stocked, press and repair, log costumes in and out, hand out the keep-warm coats with standby, keep the continuity photographs and run the errands. A supervisor will test whether you can hand sew, machine sew, press a delicate fabric and lay out a costume in the order it goes on. Stage 1 is what you learn before any paid day: the sewing and garment skills, how the department is run, and the rules on pay and safety. Stage 2 is unpaid experience and references: student and no-budget shorts, theatre dressing, costume-house placements and a first Trainee Finder application. Stage 3 is paid trainee weeks on features and high-end TV, a credit list, and designers and supervisors who ring you. Mark each line done, next or later, and be honest about the sewing.
Read the career guide for what the job involves day to day.
Stage 1: Before your first job
34 things to do, know or be able to do
Experience 10
- If you are studying, ask for work experience placements, and if a guest lecturer works in the industry ask them for advice.
- Look for work experience placements in theatre, television or fashion.
- Work towards 5 credits as a costume assistant on short films, choosing student and properly run no-budget shorts where nobody is paid.
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Skills 12
- Take your driving test if you do not have a licence; ScreenSkills offers bursaries for driving lessons.
- If you do not already know, get some practice with a sewing machine; a supervisor will expect you to machine stitch and hand sew.
- Be able to create and cut patterns; Metric Pattern Cutting for Women's Wear by Winifred Aldrich (6th edition) is the standard UK text.
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Knowledge 12
- Research the example CVs on MFJF to see what a great first CV looks like.
- Use the MFJF CV Builder to write a one-page Stage 1 CV titled Costume Trainee.
- Research costume designers and costume supervisors to ask for work experience or a chat.
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Stage 2: Experience and contacts
28 things to do, know or be able to do
Experience 10
- Create a network of contacts from short films; you never know who you will meet.
- Continue to work on short films as an assistant.
- Apply to the ScreenSkills Trainee Finder (costume is one of its 11 departments) in the autumn application window for the programme year that starts on 1 April.
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Skills 8
- If finances allow, take courses in millinery, embellishment, working with vintage material, corset making and age dyeing.
- Are you able to demonstrate a professional attitude on set?
- Can you adapt to working on different productions?
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Knowledge 10
- Continue to look at the resources section for training opportunities.
- Do you know what is required from you as soon as you set foot on set?
- Do you know all the terms for set amenities and the general film lingo?
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Stage 3: Paid work
19 things to do, know or be able to do
Experience 6
- Most new entrants work as trainees for two years before they progress within the department on feature films; in the current market allow longer.
- Gain credits on feature films as a trainee.
- Look for work throughout the industry and gain relevant experience in all areas to increase your chance of finding regular paying work.
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Skills 5
- Skills listed in the previous two stages plus a hearty work ethic and drive.
- Can you run a crowd fitting under supervision: measure, dress, photograph and log forty supporting artists before the call?
- Can you pack, label and ship costumes to another unit or location and get them all back?
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Knowledge 8
- Know to look for work before the job you are on finishes.
- Do you have a network of designers and supervisors that know who you are and what you can do?
- Keep refining your CV, try and keep it down to one page, and rebuild it in the MFJF CV Builder each time your title changes.
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Ways in for a costume trainee
Real schemes, checked on the organiser’s own page. A shut one is still here with when it comes back, because half the big schemes are closed at any one time and that is worth knowing.
- Trainee FinderScreenSkillsPeople over 18 who live in the UK and have less than 12 months of paid production experience in their chosen department. No on-set experience is needed, and there is no upper age limit.Final deadline 28 October 2026
- Sara Putt Associates Trainee SchemeSara Putt AssociatesTwo professional credits but under three years' cumulative experience, in Camera, Sound, Edit, Production Office, Art, Costume, AD, Script Supervisor, Locations, or Hair and Make-Up.Final deadline 24 January 2027
- Waterloo Road Production Development Trainee SchemeWall to Wall North and Rope Ladder Fiction, with Screen ManchesterPeople aged 18 or over who live in Greater Manchester and want to work in scripted drama production.Not open right now
Sources and References
This is MFJF’s own three-stage career plan for a costume trainee, written up from the career plan and the careers guide on our site. Open any of them yourself.
- MFJF career plan: Costume Trainee (PDF) the original plan this page was written up from
- MFJF careers guide: Costume Trainee what the job involves day to day
- The Three Career Stages the framework all three stages follow
Every link checked 19 September 2026. The plan itself was last revised September 2026.
