Entrepreneurial and Business Skills for the Performing Arts
LEAD ORGANISATION
PROJECT SUMMARY
This one-day event set out to provide students hoping to work in the Performing Arts industry with the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills within the areas of finance, marketing and business planning. The aim was for the students to develop a basic level of understanding of finance, marketing and business skills which could later be applied either to further training at HE level or to the workplace, or towards becoming self-employed within the industry. The day featured three lecture/workshop sessions focusing on training, finance and freelance work, led by professionals from within the industry.
The day aimed to provide access to work-based learning opportunities and to support progression into higher education and the workplace, and to provide access to contacts from within the creative industries to support possible mentoring, work placements and employment opportunities.
Students were studying a range of AS-level, A-level and BTEC courses in creative subjects. As Strode's is a Sixth Form College, students were young, ranging in age from 16 to 18, with the majority being aged 16 at the time of the event.
IMPACT
32 students provided feedback on their experiences of the day. All three workshops were highly rated by the students. All but two of the students said that they had learned something new about how they could progress to HE, and almost as many said that they had learned new things that could help them achieve their career goals. All but one of the students rated the day 'Excellent' or 'Good' overall.
The numbers of students who felt well prepared to make applications to HE increased following the day's event. Before the event, only 6% of the students indicated before the event that they felt well prepared to make applications to HE, whereas this had risen to 22% after the event.
The aspects of the day that students found most useful were:
- Getting information about courses and colleges - this included clarification of the different between drama schools and university
- 'Reality of the industry' - one student commented that it had been valuable to know that "it is hard work ahead of me and I need to be dedicated"
- The chance to talk to people and hear their experiences
Strode's College have commented that both this event and the later event held in July 2009 "have been a great opportunity for our students to explore career options and experience working with practitioners from the industry".