ETNZ Level 3 & 4 Workshops – one year on

More professional development opportunities ahead

Entertainment Technology New Zealand (ETNZ) ran a series of workshops across New Zealand in 2020 to support people across the country undertaking their NZ Certificate in Entertainment & Event Technology Operations (Level 3). We catch up with some of the attendees from a one-off workshop targeted at young people in the Bay of Plenty region. We also share what is happening in the ‘workshop’ space, with more Level 3 and 4 workshops coming soon.

Back in winter 2020, in amongst the many who were out of work or with vastly reduced workloads, were students struggling to access on-the-job training and mentoring which their qualifications required. Meanwhile assessors, mentors, and managers who would normally be guiding them through the process had time on their hands.

One such generous individual was Rob Peters, known to many in the industry for his work with Theatre Systems providing rigging and flying systems. A previous president of Entertainment Technology NZ (ETNZ), Rob had helped develop the Level 3 programme, a process that began with NZQA’s Targeted Review of Qualifications in 2012, and he remains a passionate advocate of on-the-job training. Rob approached ETNZ about developing a Level 3 workshop to roll out across the country during COVID Level 2, “Lots of people were sitting at home and desperately wanting to connect with the rest of the industry. This seemed like a really worthwhile way of getting people together.” Rob’s idea married perfectly with a proposal for Level 3 scholarships that Kathryn Osborne and Vicki Cooksley, current members of the ETNZ Executive, had just pitched to the organisation.

ETNZ and Rob agreed this was a perfect synergy with the scholarship proposal. Rob and others donated their time and designed the programme in consultation with other invested parties. The result was a two-day workshop which included the practical and theoretical content required to assist in achieving the Level 3 qualification, leaving the attendees to acquire five attestations to complete the requirements.

Twelve workshops were held with one hundred and fifty two participants, including the scholarship recipients. Support was strong in Christchurch and provincial towns. Nineteen industry practitioners acted as workshop facilitators and twelve venues generously donated space and support. The attendees were a real mix of volunteers and paid staff. Rob estimates that almost half of the attendees went onto achieve their qualification.

Rob was particularly keen to open the series of workshops up to young people (13 to 18) and approximately fifteen per cent of attendees across the country came from this target group. In Tauranga, Rob organised a workshop specifically for the under eighteens. Well attended, five from this single workshop went onto complete or are in the process of achieving their Level 3 qualification.

Rose Mayhead, eighteen, whose passion for dancing had been scuppered by injury saw the workshop advertised at school, “The two days were so enlightening and made me really excited by the possibilities for backstage work in the industry.” The course gave Rose the confidence to approach her old dance school and she achieved her first attestation working on their production at Baycourt Theatre. Since then she has helped with Otumoetai College’s School of Rock production and is about to support Tauranga Musical Theatre with Les Misérables, “I have done different things but I am mostly focussing on flying. I am staying local for university, so I hope to continue to build my experience here in Tauranga.”

Malachi Moroney, also a student at Otumoetai College, had been working front of house and volunteering as Assistant Tech at Baycourt Theatre. His manager Dale Henderson offered him the opportunity to undertake the Level 3 qualification. He had done much of the practical side of the things – lifting, moving, rigging and maintenance – but needed to complete the theory, “The workshop made it easy. By the end of the two days I only had to sign a few things. I also enjoyed being with other young people who shared my interests. We all had some input into the workshop.” Two weeks after completing the course Malachi was appointed Head of Tech for his school production, “The workshop and having the qualification gave me the confidence to apply.”

Rob who is also a Skills Active assessor adds, “People in this age group are incredibly committed. I’ve recently passed four students and I can honestly say that they have done some of the best work I have seen. One young person from Oamaru produced the most amazing assessment workbook.”

Rob believes more face to face workshops should be a priority going forward, “Everyone did the workshops free of charge during the Level 2 lockdown but that model isn’t sustainable. We need funding, but it isn’t hugely expensive as venues will come to the party because they want their staff to get qualified. Twenty presenters are already familiar with the material so we are good to go.”

The good news is that the funding has been secured. A six month extension has been obtained to spend the remaining monies from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage and the Te Tahua Whakakaha Cultural Sector Capability Fund. Secured by ETNZ for the 2021 conference, part of this funding was initially earmarked for professional development as part of the conference. This has now been re-allocated to run several professional development sessions over the next six months.

As part of this programme, Vicki Cooksley is currently working on scheduling further workshops in four regions before the end of the year, “They will be two day workshops designed to cover content for both Level 3 and Level 4 qualifications along with covering content from some of our conference sessions – rigging maths and health and safety. We want to support people doing Level 4 as well as Level 3. It is a new qualification and everyone is just getting up to speed. It is important to back up the on-the-job training, and the opportunity for industry members to connect is just as significant now as it was post-lockdown last year. Everyone thinks things are back to normal but they aren’t really. People still want to come together to share their experiences.”

To keep up to date on the upcoming workshops, join ETNZ to receive the regular industry newsletters.

For more information on the Level 3 and Level 4 qualifications contact Skills Active. For information on pathways into the industry for young people contact ETNZ.