Sustainable Leadership: Shaping the Future of the Audiovisual Industry

The audiovisual industry is undergoing a period of rapid and dramatic change. Globalization and advances in production technology are unlocking new opportunities, but at the same time present significant challenges: a crisis in workplace well-being, the demands of sustainable development, and new leadership requirements. Recent studies and reports show that the future of the industry depends on the ability to combine creativity, responsibility, and strategic leadership.

According to a study conducted by the Avaus Responsibility Project (2025), nearly two out of three workers in the audiovisual industry suffer from mental health issues. Long workdays, the unpredictability of project-based work, and constant pressure from competition take a toll on employees. This is not merely an individual problem—it affects the quality of production and the sector’s overall attractiveness.

In particular, a lack of leadership skills poses a significant barrier to development, and similar conclusions have been reached internationally. A study conducted in the United Kingdom (van Raalte & Wallis, 2024) found that most individuals in supervisory or managerial roles in the audiovisual sector had practically no training or expertise in human resources management.

In their publication, Van Raalte and Wallis note that poor leadership skills, insufficient production budgets, and limited resources overall have led to a corporate culture in which the industry’s most crucial asset — the well-being of creators — is not valued. With the rise of the freelance culture, responsibility for well-being has shifted from employers to employees. Research emphasizes that, in the future, managers must master creative processes, people-centered production planning, and sustainable leadership strategies—this is essential for the industry’s future.

New Skills and a New Degree

Metropolia is responding to this recognized need in the field with a new international master’s program in sustainable leadership in the audiovisual sector. The program provides a foundation for ethical and sustainable leadership, professional development, and research. The degree program is designed specifically for professionals who hold supervisory or management positions but lack formal training in these areas.

In the audiovisual sector, many people end up in supervisory positions somewhat by coincidence or without realizing it, and they have not received any training in leadership skills.

“With this program, we aim to respond to a request that employee representatives have been making for some time. The research findings of the Avaus project, as well as international studies on the audiovisual sector, confirmed that there is both a need and a demand for this type of training right now,” says Aura Kaarivuo, Head of Degree Programmes at Metropolia.

The one-year (60 ECTS) degree program features a comprehensive curriculum that focuses on coaching-based leadership, sustainable production, and people-centered production planning. The goal is for students to apply the knowledge and skills they acquire in their development projects to their workplaces and use them to create a new, healthier, and more responsible operating culture in the audiovisual industry.

“I hope that the knowledge gained through this degree program will not be exclusive to our graduating students, but that these practices can be integrated into the day-to-day operations of the audiovisual industry and applied to actual production environments”, Aura Kaarivuo concludes.

More information

Master's programme in Sustainable Leadership in the Audiovisual Industry

Contact

Aura Kaarivuo, Head of Degree Program
aura.kaarivuo [at] metropolia.fi (aura[dot]kaarivuo[at]metropolia[dot]fi)
+358 40 179 7459

References

van Raalte, C., & Wallis, R. (2024). The good manager in TV: tales for the Twenty-first century. Creative Industries Journal, 17(2), 254–271. https://doi.org/10.1080/17510694.2024.2379728

Vanttola, P., Ansio, H. (2024) Ammattilaisten jaksaminen ja terveys riippumattomien tuotantoyhtiöiden elokuva- ja tv-tuotannoissa. Hankkeen Loppuraportti. Työterveyslaitos. URL: https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-391-195-6