Some of the biggest names in technical theatre met at the John Watts Memorial Forum recently to discuss the much-debated issue of training. Barbara Eifler reports on how delegates gave the idea of staff certification a cautious welcome.
The John Watts Memorial Forum, chaired by Ken Bennett-Hunter, took place on May 18 and tackled the thorny subject of technical training in theatre.
Watts was at the forefront of developing safer working practices within theatre, notably at the RSC and as health and safety officer at the Millennium Dome. Since his death in 2000 the forum (or rather a lecture in its previous incarnation) has been held annually in his memory to help push forward important issues in technical theatre.
The assembled panel debating this question included representatives from most of the different approaches to technical training that have been developed over the years. There was Geoffrey Joyce of the ABTT, originator of their popular three stage awards system - soon to be accredited by the Royal Scottish Academy - providing practical essential training for theatre technicians at all levels.
Present also was Maggie Saxon of Skillscene, which has recently launched its modular standards, aiming to provide a framework for assessing and certifying competence in the workplace. Pilot schemes in London, the north east and the south west are currently being run, with evaluation scheduled to be completed early next year.
Tony Bond was there, the inventor of Skillscene’s standards, whose great discovery was that he could create a standard for almost any job description in technical theatre by using existing modules (over 2,500), assembled patiently by him over the years into his ‘skillsbank’ from the creative industries and others.
Dewi Evans, technical resources manager for ENO, described how he tried these standards and they enabled him to measure staff competence. He could then ask for specific and structured training for his staff, resulting in a much larger dedicated training budget.
Last but not least, the drama schools were represented on the panel by Rob Young, new head of the Stage Management and Technical course at LAMDA. Most drama school courses are accredited by the National Council for Drama Training, founded in 1976 precisely in order to give employers confidence in graduates and graduates reassurance that their training is relevant to the industry.
Skillscene was the big news and the newcomer to this scenario. Though there have been smaller meetings and consultations with many theatres, this was the first time their idea was floated to a wider audience.
The floor was initially not convinced. As a freelance production manager employing many subcontractors over the course of a year, would one have to choose the person with the bit of paper over the one that was really good, but did not have it? And what about the six to eight year gap before such accreditation became sufficiently widespread to be really useful? And would insurance companies be putting pressure on the process?
In discussion it became clear, though, that however burdensome a staff certification system might be initially, it would be much better for the industry itself to design it and implement it according to its needs than having it imposed from the outside by insurance companies eager to minimise their risks, or by the Health and Safety Executive.
A lot of practical thinking remains to be done. Bectu, for instance, as well as the SMA, is concerned about access to such a system for freelance staff, and the cost element involved. There is also the issue that evaluating a lot of technical staff will require expert assessors. These are already being recruited apace, but more are needed and here again a funding issue applies.
On the whole, though, it seemed that most practitioners and employers present - in this case production managers and technical directors - appreciated the new system’s flexibility and standards with quality assurance. Cautious welcome, I think, is the appropriate phrase. And there is no reason when you look into it why it should not work for stage management or other jobs in theatre that are not specifically technical.
But the drama schools? At first glance, these two systems are incompatible and a certain amount of antagonism could develop - pre-entry versus post-entry training, vocational against formal.
But Scott Ramsay of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, who has been actively engaging with Skillscene, in summing up his view may well have spoken for other drama schools. “We are there to provide the staff the industry needs, trained to employers’ requirements. These new standards could make our technical training sharper and more focussed,” he said. In other words, let’s take them on board.
Since the forum, I know Central and the Royal Welsh College have also been in discussions with Tony Bond. So the education specialists have understood that these systems are complementary rather than mutually exclusive.
Finally, after 20 odd years and innumerable heads turned grey in interminable meetings, is everybody’s dream coming true and the wheel being reinvented for positively the last time? On this occasion, there are many, many more from the world of technical theatre with a stake in this than ever before. So let’s hope that at last technical skills in the workplace can be assessed accurately and accredited in a consistent but flexible system. Technical training and qualifications will then truly no longer be just academic in either sense, but a reality within the grasp of everyone working in technical theatre.
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