Monday 25 November 2019

NEWS: Manchester's newest venue The Factory opens applications for apprenticeships


APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR NEW FACTORY ACADEMY APPRENTICESHIPS
Local people looking to work in the arts and culture industries can now apply for four new Creative Venue Technician apprenticeships at arts organisations across the city in a new scheme launched as part of The Factory Academy

Manchester International Festival are working with organisations across the city - HOME, Royal Exchange, The Lowry and Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) - to provide budding arts professionals with the opportunity to train alongside some of the best in their field as a technician within the performing arts industry. The two year Creative Venue Technician apprenticeships, which begin in January 2020, will feature on-the-job training alongside development and skills training, delivered by The Factory Academy.
  
Successful candidates will play an active part in the technical operation of the venue – working on elements, such as lighting, audio and scene changes, and using a variety of tools to make, install and maintain scenery and other equipment.
  
The new Factory Academy is a key part of the vision to put skills and training opportunities at the heart of The Factory, the landmark cultural arts space that MIF will operate when it opens in 2021. Working in partnership with training providers and arts organisations in the region, The Factory Academy will deliver a range of apprenticeships and training opportunities over the next few years with the aim of diversifying the workforce in an increasingly important sector – annually, the creative industries are worth more than £100 billion to the economy. Key targets for recruitment are people who are not in education or employment.
  
Recent activity has included a pilot Creative Traineeship Programme, which involved seven local young people working in roles such as IT, Digital, Production, Ticketing and Development, leading up to and during MIF19. Subsequently, one of the trainees has been directly employed by MIF, another is working with a Manchester-based arts organisation, whilst one has been recruited locally to a prestigious charity and another has landed a role at a high-profile arts organisation in London.
  
This month, 24 young people (aged 19-24) from Manchester, have been enrolled in two eight-week traineeships where they have been learning a variety of practical and development skills delivered by The Factory Academy team to equip them to apply for opportunities such as the CVT apprenticeships as well as attending a three-week work placement hosted by a network of cultural organisations in the city.

About Manchester International Festival
Manchester International Festival (MIF) is the world’s first festival of original, new work and special events, staged every two years in Manchester, UK. MIF launched in 2007 as an artist-led festival presenting new works from across the spectrum of performing arts, visual arts and popular culture.

MIF has commissioned, produced and presented world premieres by artists including Marina Abramović, Damon Albarn, Björk, Boris Charmatz, Jeremy Deller, Elbow, Wayne McGregor, Steve McQueen, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Thomas Ostermeier, Maxine Peake, Punchdrunk, The xx, Robert Wilson and Zaha Hadid Architects. 

These and other world-renowned artists from different art forms and backgrounds create dynamic, innovative and forward-thinking new work, staged in venues across Greater Manchester – from theatres, galleries and concert halls to railway depots, churches and car parks. MIF works closely with venues, festivals and other cultural organisations globally, whose financial and creative input helps to make many of these projects possible and ensures that work made at MIF goes on to be seen around the world.

MIF supports a year-round Creative Engagement programme, bringing opportunities for people from all backgrounds, ages and from all corners of the city to get involved during the Festival and year-round, as volunteers, as participants in shows, through skills development workshops and a host of creative activities, such as Festival in My House.

MIF will also be the operator for The Factory, the new world-class cultural space being developed in the heart of Manchester, designed by internationally-renowned architects Rem Koolhaas’ OMA. Due to open in 2021, The Factory will commission, present and produce a year-round programme, featuring new work from the world’s greatest artists and offering a space to make, explore and experiment. Attracting up to 850,000 visitors, The Factory will add £1.1 billion to the economy and create 1,500 jobs. Its pioneering programme of skills, training and engagement will benefit local people and the next generation of creative talent from across the city, whilst apprenticeships and trainee schemes are already underway during the construction phase.

MIF’s Artistic Director and Chief Executive is John McGrath.
  
MIF is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee. mif.co.uk

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