Work Experience – What goes around comes around

Kate Lewis looks ahead to the re-opening of The Roundhouse and highlights the range of on-the-job training opportunities that will be made available to young people.

The Roundhouse in Camden will re-open in June 2006 following a £29.7m refurbishment. The Roundhouse Studios lie at the heart of the project and comprise state-of-the-art facilities in professionally equipped multi-purpose studios, digital media, broadcast and edit suites, and practice rooms. Companies that have invested in The Roundhouse Studios include EMI and Bloomberg. The financial support of corporate sponsors is grounded in philanthropy, but also demonstrates a commitment to collaborate with The Roundhouse in nurturing talent. Within five years of re-opening, The Roundhouse will have the capacity to offer creative projects for up to 10,000 1325 year-olds annually. For many young people, participation in these projects will mirror real work situations and provide both job-specific skills and transferable skills that could result in meaningful future employment.

A dynamic link is being forged between The Roundhouse Studios and visiting and commissioned artists scheduled to appear in the main performance space. Young people, professional performers and production teams will work together on a range of opportunities including artistic collaboration, vocational seminars, work placements, and training and education projects. It is anticipated that many of the participants will emerge as artists, artist-tutors, producers and event managers in their own right, having gained valuable on-the-job experience across a raft of activities.

At present, the lions share of internships and work placements are supported by The Roundhouse Studios team, with projects that have been run in the community since 2000. The groundwork for implementing new work placement and internship opportunities for young people has already been done. The Roundhouse Youth Advisory Board and Peer Motivators, a taskforce of young, school-age volunteers, are regularly engaged on project-specific, work experience placements to support the existing workforce and assist with the organisation of Roundhouse creative projects in community settings, contributing creative, technical, marketing and administrative support as required.

Requests from individuals seeking internships are also met positively: many are graduates wishing to gain experience in an arts organisation. Lucy Bramley, a 23 year-old history graduate, is an intern responsible for co-ordinating Buzz, a unique opportunity for 16 young people to work with media professionals on a real-life PR and marketing campaign to relaunch The Roundhouse: Work experience is an excellent way to orientate yourself professionally. After three months at The Roundhouse co-ordinating a major creative project, I can safely say it has been one of the most stimulating and rewarding experiences I have undertaken since graduating. Being part of The Roundhouse Studios team, and the Roundhouse as a whole, has challenged me and inspired me to take myself seriously in my pursuit of a career in the arts. The Roundhouse Studios Teams approach is unique in the sense that they give you the freedom to take ownership for the project you are responsible for and really make it your own.

When The Roundhouse opens, opportunities for work-based training will multiply and extend to arts administration, technical support, marketing, front of house, fundraising, events, catering and more. Roundhouse Studios Director, Elizabeth Lynch, says, It is important that all individuals seeking work placements at the Roundhouse are interviewed and that mutually agreed conditions are laid out. Formal supervision, personal feedback and mentoring from industry professionals must all form part of the experience. Potential problem areas such as managing expectations or supporting pastoral needs can be addressed if effective communication with recruits is regular and ongoing.

At the end of the day, it is the work provider that must bear the risk and tailor each and every opportunity to the individual. No one should ever be put in a position where the nature of the work placement exceeds ability. Yes, on-the-job training should be challenging  but not defeating, and it is important that young people feel that they are making a real contribution to the actual running of the organisation and that their contribution and feedback is valued.

Kate Lewis is PR & Events Manager at The Roundhouse.
t: 020 7424 6774;
e: kate.lewis@roundhouse.org.uk.
For more information about work placement opportunities w: http://www.roundhouse.org.uk.