A location runner, or location PA, is the junior member of the locations department: first on site to open unit base, last to leave after the litter sweep, and in between marshalling parking, dropping letters to residents, minding the owner's property and answering the public. You answer to the location manager, the assistant location manager and the unit manager, not the ADs. It suits people who can be friendly with strangers all day and content on their own for the rest of it. At Stage 1 you are not applying for jobs: you are getting a driving licence (without one there is no progression), the safety training, the local knowledge and the paperwork basics. Stage 2 is unpaid shorts and daily work that earn credits, references and location managers who will call you. Stage 3 is paid, consistent work across features, TV drama, commercials and stills. Work through each line and mark it done, next or later.
Read the career guide for what the job involves day to day.
Stage 1: Before your first job
31 things to do, know or be able to do
Experience 9
- First thing: get a driving licence. If you do not have one there is no progression beyond Stage 1.
- If studying, push for on-set work experience through your college or university.
- Take floor runner days to learn life on set, then seek out the locations team in the downtime and ask their advice.
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Skills 10
- Do you know how to photograph a location: on the diagonal, wide enough to show space and scale, with a note of which way it faces?
- Do you have a licence and your own car?
- Do not drive a minibus unless your licence carries D1: anyone who passed their test after 1 January 1997 has no minibus entitlement, and the car-licence exemption is for voluntary, non-commercial use only.
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Knowledge 12
- Have you read a script, and do you know how a location manager breaks one down?
- Research example CVs on MFJF to see what a good Stage 1, 2 and 3 CV looks like, then build yours in the MFJF CV Builder.
- Research location agencies to see if they would put you on their books as a runner.
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Stage 2: Experience and contacts
33 things to do, know or be able to do
Experience 11
- Work towards 5 credits on short films.
- Create a network of contacts from short films; keep in touch with the location and unit managers you work with.
- Use your contacts to find location PA positions on commercials, promos, corporate, TV drama and digital content.
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Skills 10
- Are you able to demonstrate a professional attitude on set?
- Do you own your own car?
- Can you prioritise tasks efficiently?
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Knowledge 12
- Build up a location scouting and PA kit: walkie and spare battery, notebook, torch, multitool, high-vis, wet weather gear, sun cream, rope, bin bags, phone charger.
- Make contact with the Production Guild of Great Britain (the Guild of Location Managers joined it in 2013) for locations training, and with the LMGI's UK, Europe and Africa branch.
- Do you know what is required from you as soon as you set foot on set?
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Stage 3: Paid work
22 things to do, know or be able to do
Experience 6
- Work on low budgets and whatever comes your way for 2 years; you should start to build up consistency at this stage, with gaps in a slow market.
- Gain experience in all areas of the industry that employ a locations team, stills shoots included, to maximise your chances of earning.
- Continue to work on short films as a scout.
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Skills 9
- Do you feel confident working with new people?
- Are you able to fit into an established team?
- Do you have the skills listed in the previous two stages?
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Knowledge 7
- Look for work before the job you are on finishes.
- Keep refining your CV; try to keep it to one page.
- Keep your own locations library current (photos, owners' contacts, access and parking notes); it is what a scout is hired for.
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Ways in for a location runner and PA
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
- Production Training SchemeChannel 4 (4Skills)People at the very start of a TV production career who may face barriers to getting in. You are not eligible with more than three months' industry experience in total.Not open right now
Sources and References
This is MFJF’s own three-stage career plan for a location runner and PA, written up from the career plan and the careers guide on our site. Open any of them yourself.
- MFJF career plan: Location Runner and PA (PDF) the original plan this page was written up from
- MFJF careers guide: Location Runner and PA 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.
