Ten young people are being given the opportunity to develop their technical theatre experience and skills as part of Welsh Government’s Shared Apprenticeship Scheme.
Delivered by Cardiff and Vale College and coordinated by Wales Millennium Centre as the employing organisation, the Shared Apprenticeship Scheme offers paid year-long full-time apprenticeships in backstage technical theatre in venues across Wales. Seven technical apprentices clocked-up over 450 days in the last academic year at five major arts venues across Wales including Wales Millennium Centre, Welsh National Opera, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Theatr Brycheiniog and Theatr Clwyd.
Open to anyone aged 16 years and over, the scheme enables emerging talent to enter the industry by allowing them to earn while learning in a highly competitive field. Technical apprentices graduate with a Level 3 accreditation in Technical Theatre along with confidence, workplace skills, and the industry connections necessary to pursue a successful career in technical theatre.
The latest cohort of ten apprentices will spend time with venues across Wales including Welsh National Opera, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Theatr Clywd, Theatrau Sir Gâr, Galeri/Bara Claws, ICC Wales, Arad Goch, and Venue Cymru. Those without a grade C or above at GCSE level in Maths and English will also have the opportunity to obtain an equivalent qualification through workshops with Cardiff and Vale College.
Sharon James Evans is Principal of Cardiff and Vale College. She said:
“This is a fantastic immersive experience that is making a real difference to the arts and culture industry in Wales.
“We are working with Welsh Government and our delivery partners to create skilled and employable people and respond to an identified lack of qualified theatre technicians across the UK. The mix of hands-on training really is changing lives; helping young people to develop the skills that they need to pursue their chosen careers. It’s another great example of how we’re building a talent pipeline with the right skills for the future.”
Graeme Farrow, Creative Director of Wales Millennium Centre is proud to be the employing organisation for the Shared Apprenticeship Scheme.
He said:
“Across all of our programmes we are focused on creating opportunities for young people to develop skills for work and skills for life. The success of our alumni, working in roles across the sector and across the world only underlines the benefits of this type of high quality, work based learning. Further support and investment in schemes like this is vital if Wales is to retain and develop talent and truly leverage the power of arts and culture for future generations.”
