Learn @ Work case studies (2004): Sydney Opera House
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Learn @ Work activities at the Sydney Opera House
- Two Recognition Meetings are scheduled at the Sydney Opera House, involving staff who are interested in gaining a qualification.
- As the Indigenous Training program enters its fourth year of operation at the Sydney Opera House, the SOH Traineeship Network established in 2003 continues to provide support and professional development to past and current trainees. The network provides trainees opportunities to continue their professional development and other employment opportunities. Rhoda Roberts, Sydney Opera House Trustee is the patron of the network.
- Sydney Opera House is joining with other Ministry of the Arts Learning and Development professionals to launch an learning and development network where professionals responsible for supporting learning in their workplaces can share resources and ideas.
Recognition Services
In 1999, the Sydney Opera House was awarded Registered Training Organisation status and became the first performing arts centre in Australia to be able to award nationally-accredited qualifications in the Entertainment Training Package.
The Opera House has used the Package in conjunction with Recognition Services, so that qualifications can be awarded to people based on their prior learning or experience gained on the job, rather than, for instance, going on a training course. This has meant that many employees who have been in the industry for years with extensive experience but often no accredited qualifications, can gain a formal qualification in this way. Anything from a Certificate II to Advanced Diploma in Entertainment can be awarded. Staff can also see where their skill gaps might be in order to work towards a qualification.
Since 1999, the Sydney Opera House is proud to say it has issued a total of 78 qualifications in Entertainment or Workplace Assessment & Training to staff and 41 to the wider industry. The majority of the Entertainment qualifications have been issued through recognition (often also called RPL or 'Recognition of Prior Learning').
Derek, a Staging Supervisor at the Sydney Opera House, had this to say about his experiences with the Entertainment Training Package;
"I've been involved in helping to implement the Entertainment qualification here at the Opera House. We are now an RTO in our own right and we believe in training. The good thing is that for the first time we have a set of national standards to measure performance against. So we have a reference point to measure whether our people have got there. It's helping to get staff to the standards we need in the organisation".
Certificate IV in Assessment & Workplace Training has been the cornerstone of how we've been able to issue Entertainment qualifications. Many staff have undertaken this course so that they can train other staff in their area of expertise or help assess people for an Entertainment qualification. Passing on the years of knowledge they have gained on-the-job in this way has helped people hone their training and assessment skills. It also gives some consistency to what is being taught in the workplace, as people are training against national standards.
Recognition for a qualification relies on the employee getting together 'evidence' of their prior learning or work practices. The evidence typically consists of things like references from employers, thank-you letters from customers, records of past projects, job descriptions, flyers or plans from different stage productions, rosters showing involvement in a show, etc. It isn't always easy for someone to locate all of this, and the recognition assessment is focused on hearing about the person's experiences, skills, etc and often involves questions, demonstrations or observation in the workplace to supplement the evidence.
Overall, the huge benefit has been that getting a qualification doesn't just mean doing a course or obtaining new knowledge - people can have their existing knowledge and skills gained from previous experience translated into a qualification. For an industry like performing arts and entertainment, this has been ideal.
"Part of competence in this industry is problem solving and doing things 'on the fly'. That's the reality of the industry and the Certificates can be done in the workplace where the real work happens. Personally, I know what I know and what I don't and that there are some areas I need to improve on before I am assessed. The units of competency help us understand the depth of the tasks we perform and what is required both in terms of skills and knowledge and applying these in our work roles."
David, Sound Technician, Sydney Opera House.
As part of Adult Learners' Week 2004, two Recognition Meetings are scheduled at the Sydney Opera House, involving staff who are interested in gaining a qualification.
Indigenous Traineeships at Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is now in the fourth year of its Theatre Technical Traineeship Program that was initially aimed at increasing the number of indigenous people employed behind the scenes in the performing arts. The immense success of this program, and its excellent outcomes for the indigenous trainees, has resulted in the program's expansion to incorporate non-indigenous trainees from rural, remote areas. The traineeship is also open to people of all ages.
The Sydney Opera House Theatre Technical Traineeship Program provides an excellent education in theatre and technical services areas such as staging, lighting and sound. The traineeship program also offers opportunities for further skills development, entry-level employment & career opportunities and a solid career foundation in the Performing Arts and Entertainment Industry for people of an indigenous background or who are from regional Australia.
This year the trainees are Frank McLeod and Kurtis Saunders, both of whom are indigenous, and Tim Shoard, who is from Cootamundra in New South Wales. They will work with professional theatre technical services teams on some of the industry's leading music, dance, drama and opera productions. Upon their successful completion of their traineeships they will be awarded the nationally recognised Certificate II or III in Entertainment by the Sydney Opera House Registered Training Organisation and will have developed skills that are highly valued by both the Sydney Opera House and employers in the Entertainment Industry.
Last years trainees were Tanya Ellis, Troy Murphy, and Andrew Dowding. All three successfully completed their 12 month Theatre Technical Services Traineeships and each achieved their Certificate III in Entertainment. Upon their completion they applied for meritorious selection, and though they received no special consideration, were successfully employed as casual employees in staging, lighting and sound at the Sydney Opera House. These three highly valued and respected ex-trainees are still working there.
Adult Learners' Week highlight - Traineeship Network
In 2003, the trainees established the Sydney Opera House Traineeship Network which enables people who have completed their traineeship and who are still working in the industry, to support the new trainees and also to involve people from other parts of the industry. By networking in this way, members learn about other aspects of the entertainment industry, are strongly supported and are linked with opportunities to continue their professional development and network other employment prospects. Rhoda Roberts, Sydney Opera House Trustee, is the patron of the network that was launched in last year's Adult Learners' Week.
From Arnhem Land to the Opera House: Traineeships changing lives
In 2003, then 23 year-old Andrew Dowding left Arnhem Land where he was working as a skipper on a pearling boat, to pursue a career in the music industry. Shortly after arriving in Sydney, he began a traineeship at Sydney Opera House, which combined practical on-the-job training and theoretical study for a Certificate III in Entertainment.
Andrew, who was a finalist for the Indigenous Trainee of the Year Award at the 2004 NSW Group Training Awards, completed his traineeship in May 2004 and was then employed as a casual Audio Technician at Sydney Opera House.
The Way Ahead for Aboriginal People is a new Department of Education and Training New Apprenticeship Centres initiative which was launched to increase the number of Aboriginal trainees and apprentices. Andrew believes that this is very important in creating training and employment opportunities for Aboriginal people. "It will help to introduce Aboriginal people into a diverse range of industries that they may otherwise not have had the opportunity to enter," said Andrew. "My experience shows how you can be heading in one direction and then, with one chance, change everything. In the space of two years I've completely changed my life and now I'm set for life with the skills I've learnt here," said Andrew.
Andrew sees the main benefits of participating in a traineeship as getting real, hands-on experience and learning from highly-skilled industry people, at the same time as receiving a steady income while learning.
Sydney Opera House established its Indigenous Traineeship Program in 2000 to increase the involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the entertainment industry.
In conjunction with Group Training Company, Property Services Training, DETNAC's ensured that Andrew's traineeship was kept on track by assisting Sydney Opera House manage the program effectively.
Sally Davis, Manager of Organisation Development and Learning for Sydney Opera House, said "Indigenous people are reasonably well represented as performers and artists but not 'behind the scenes' in technical and production roles," said Ms. Davis. "Our Indigenous Traineeship Program is helping to improve Indigenous participation in the industry."
Neil Davies, Aboriginal Training Coordinator for DETNAC, commends the approach and commitment of the Sydney Opera House to providing significant training opportunities for Aboriginal people and sees the program and Andrew as important role models for any business or individual considering participating in an apprenticeship or traineeship.
"Andrew and the Sydney Opera House should be very proud of their achievements. Andrew is a very committed young man and is a real role model for other young Aboriginal people," said Mr. Davies.
"The new DETNAC initiative has been designed to increase the participation of Aboriginal people in all types of apprenticeships and traineeships, so that more people like Andrew will have the opportunity to achieve their dreams."