News and Events
PRESS RELEASE: Declare Your Interest! ABTT Launches Support for Creative Apprenticeships
12th Jun 2013
New industry-backed scheme announced at ABTT Show
The
Association of British Theatre Technicians today announces its new ABTT
Training Package for Creative Apprenticeships with the call, "Declare
your interest!" The Association is asking �anyone
- would be apprentices, as well as �employers interested in hosting
apprenticeships- to declare their interest in being part of the new
scheme.
The catalyst for ABTT�s Training Package has been the apprenticeship
programme of entertainment lighting supplier White Light. The company
has grown its programme from the ground up over the past few years and
recently shared its expertise with members of Skillscene,
the industry forum for strategic consultation and initiative. The
resulting discussions led to collaboration with the ABTT, who�s well
established and widely recognised training courses form the industry
standard. Combining skills based training and the resources
of the ABTT with work experiences of apprenticeship is the best way for
the industry to benefit from the interest and enthusiasm of the next
generation of technical theatre practitioners
The ABTT Training Package will provide a standardised and industry
recognised training element for apprentices. With the inclusion of this
new training element, apprenticeships in the entertainment technology
industry will provide both formal qualifications
and a wide variety of real-world experiences.
Each one year apprenticeship will comprise of working for an employer in
the industry, work experiences elsewhere in the industry, and training
courses. Courses will cover stage lighting, stage sound, automation,
rigging, pyrotechnics, health and safety, access
equipment, CAD and video, with many of the courses taught by
experienced industry practitioners who are based in or work with the
host employers.
In addition to EDI Level 2 NVQ plus non-industry qualifications such as
City & Guilds, apprentices will now be able to take courses that
form the ABTT Bronze and Silver awards. This allows them to share a
common path through ABTT training with many of the established
technicians in the industry, providing invaluable contacts and
experiences.
The ABTT seeks to administer the scheme and will appoint a new
Apprenticeships Administrator to oversee all aspects of the Training
Package. Apprentices will be recruited in conjunction with Creative and
Cultural Skills and the associated colleges as is already
the practice. Those employers taking on apprentices may also qualify
for a grant to support the apprentice�s work.
�We�ve had some great apprentices at White Light, who have not only
learnt a lot themselves but have been invaluable to us,� explains Bryan
Raven, Managing Director of White Light and Chairman of Skillscene, the
industry forum which has hosted and led the discussions
behind the creation of the new collaboration. �We were aware, though,
that there was no 'standardisation' in the way different organisations
were using or training their apprentices. This new scheme is a great
solution, giving apprentices a fantastic foundation
for their careers. It is also a great way for employers to judge the
level of training and experience that potential future employees will
have obtained during their apprenticeship.�
�This new Training Package promises to be a further chapter in the long,
proud history of ABTT Training,� comments ABTT Chairman Mark White. �It
will see the Association not just supporting the work of existing
technicians, as it has always done, but fostering
and nurturing a whole new generation of backstage practitioners as they
learn from hands-on experience, from the experience of their co-workers
and from some of the most respected practitioners in the various fields
of entertainment technology. We believe
this is the best way to ensure we continue to attract talented
individuals into the industry who will be essential in maintaining the
UK at the forefront of the technical art of theatre"
Plans for the ABTT Training Package are firmly in place, but to be
finalised �the Association needs to know which employers - theatres,
manufacturers, suppliers or other industry organisations - are
interested in hosting apprenticeships, and how many people
are interested in becoming apprentices. To that end, the ABTT are
asking all those interested to find out more and sign up to become part
of the scheme at the ABTT�s stand (stand 83 in the Green Hall) at this
year�s ABTT Theatre Show, which takes place on
Wednesday and Thursday this week (June 12th and 13th) at the Old Truman
Brewery in London�s Brick Lane. Further information about the show can
be found at www.abtttheatreshow.org.uk.
�We hope that this scheme will allow the industry to do even more to
help itself,� comments Bryan Raven, �creating the next generation of
highly skilled technicians that the world�s increasingly complex
productions demand.� For anyone interested in either being
an apprentice or taking on apprentices (or simply offering work
experience for the next generation) please contact the ABTT via
[email protected]
