www.yourperformancepartners.com: Let’s say you’re a technical director at a regional theatre. You’re looking to fill an entry-level electrician position on your staff, and you receive two resumes from recent college graduates. Each of these resumes shows that the applicant has a theatre degree, and they’ve each had some hands-on experience as electricians for campus productions.
12 comments:
I think this is a great idea. It gives both new theater technician and employers a list of expectations to refer to, and set an across the board standard. It would also help with both the safety and security of these workplaces through providing a picture of what everyone know and what they need extra training in. I wonder if this standard will be widely accepted by theaters and whether or not it will become mandatory or remain optional.It would also be interesting to know through what processes both organizations have gone through to decide what should be considered an essential skill and how they plan to keep their lis up to date. So much of theater technology is constantly changing that I imagine that the standards will have to change with it.
So this is a very interesting idea and do not think it is necessarily a bad idea. Would we take the test as final exams at school, here at CMU? Would schools start to adjust the curriculum to cover the basic information? Would there be a skills past of the test? Would there be actual hours required, similar to the ETCP? Many people can pass a test but can you tie a knot when you actually need to. Will there be support form IATSE and other large organized groups? The backing USITT has that will be a good start for support and moving forward.
This I do not see hurting the industry at all, and should help. Getting it started and off the ground will be challenging but that is no reason ever not to do something.
This is a cool idea, and I can see it being really useful in hiring people right out of college, but I wonder what the extent of the list will be, and what the exam would be like. By that I mean are they just going to query about their experiences and what they can do, or will it be as in depth as making people tie knots at an interview. Also, when would the test be administered? Is it something that you do at some point, and potential employers ask to see your results, in the same way that high school students take an SAT and colleges ask to see the results (because the SAT isn't required by high schools to graduate and it is an optional exam, just most schools require you to take it to apply). If that was the case, what would happen with an industry veteran? The purpose of these exams is to help decided between recent college graduates, but would people who have been working for years be required to take them? I see a lot of issues arising not with the exam itself, but with the application of it. Also, is it the kind of thing that requires paying a large fee, such as an ETCP certification. The idea central to this is pretty solid, and if this becomes a thing it will be very beneficial to the industry, but there are plenty of issues to address.
This is quite an excellent idea, and it's actually something I have been thinking about for some time. Just because one has a degree in theatre, it doesn't really say much about what skills they possess, or what they really know. All it says is that they made it through some program of some difficulty and were handed a piece of paper. With that said, I would hope that they would make it through with some type of gained knowledge or experience but there isn't any way of telling from just a piece of paper. ESTA sounds like a good way of making sure that new workers have the required skills and safety requisites. I think that this is something that can only help the industry and make it stronger.
This is a great idea that I think will benefit the whole industry. Defining what skills any entry level tech should have will be very helpful, both for employers and also young people looking for jobs. It can be hard to find entry level positions, especially in shops with little experience because many companies require industry experience for even the lowest level positions. Hopefully having a standard for what entry level employees can be expected to know will help make the job search easier. It will also help those who have more experience set themselves apart. If you know all the essentials and then some it is easier for a potential employer to recognize those extra skill if there is a baseline for what you are expected to know. My only question would be how that list of skills is assessed. Will it be some sort of theoretical or practical exam or self-evaluation?
I think this is a solid idea, and It will be interesting to see how it is implemented by USITT in the next few months. I think, if this is successful, it can end up changing our industry in a huge way. While reading this article, I couldn't help but wonder if drama schools will even exist in the future if a test like this becomes the be all and end all of hiring drama technicians. Will technical directors, electricians, costumers, and riggers even have to go to college, or will they simply have to learn the skills and then take the test in order to get a job? It will definitely be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few years and while I do think this is a good idea, I think administering a test can backfire if not planned for and thought out carefully.
This is a great idea. I see the importance in standards and certifications in entertainment technology.
I have a few concerns about the exam that USITT hopes to develop.
How much will the exam cost? Currently the ETCP exam costs between $500-$600. I hope that this test for entry-level professionals won’t cost anywhere near that much. If it does, no professionals will want to get it. It could put a leave a lot of people out of opportunity’s for work. The exam can’t cost a lot of money.
The exam also can’t be free, or too easy. If it is, it will just be regarded as a joke (The CompTIA A+ certification comes to mind).
The ETCP exam requires a prospective test-taker to accrue a certain amount of points before than can take the exam. Will something like this be a requirement for the exam? It could be a good or bad thing. On one hand, there’s a lot that can’t be tested on paper alone, especially if they hope to develop a test for rigging, electrics, health and safety, and costuming. On the other hand, if you need the test to get work, and need work to get points, and need points to take the test…..you see how this could also be an issue. What if a waiver was issued for students that have just graduated with an associates, bachelors, or masters degree in entertainment technology, or anybody who has 2 years of on the job experience? I don’t know. What happens when somebody with only a high school diploma and the certification starts to seem more qualified on paper than a candidate with a graduate level degree in theatre technology? How will this certification affect higher education programs in entertainment technology? Why would you spend money on “theatre school” if a candidate with just the certification starts to seem as good as one with the certification and a certain level of theatre higher education?
There’s a lot to consider about this certification. I’m interested to see where this goes. I suppose we’ll find out in March.
Like others, I think this is a great idea, but it definitely needs to be more developed. Who will be required to take it? Will there be union backing? Will industry veterans be grandfathered in somehow? There are so many questions, I hope USITT has the answers. But this will definitely be helpful in guiding curriculums and what employers should look for as a baseline. I see this exam being done in advance and employers being provided with the results via USITT. I'm really curious to see where this goes.
While creating a list of essential skills is definitely something that would be advantageous to any recent graduate looking for work, I would make the argument that it is up to the hiring party to actually call for a list of working knowledge. The TD will know what skill set they are looking for in an employee, what specialty knowledge that employee might have or be able to acquire, and what working environment that potential employee would be brought in to. Creating a standardized test for theatrical knowledge may help in that process, but it certainly wouldn't replace that process entirely. No matter what you get on standardized tests, someone should interview you before they offer you a job. tests just don't always give you the entire picture.
Dang. This is a tough role to fill. There are countless amounts of random bits and nuggets of knowledge that people pick up on the job. How would it even be possible to figure out a system for deducing what applicants know or do not know. If USITT works out a reasonable system, then it would be a great step forward for hiring for our industry. I definitely agree with the opening statement that a resume that just notes "some experience" is not detailed at all.
If nothing else, I think this opens up a larger discussion on what entry level professionals are expected to know before they are hired and what they can learn on the job.
This is a very cool idea that would help both the employers and the prospective employees. A standard list of "essential skills" can work to help employers in more ways than just helping you choose a candidate. It also works in the employers favor because it deters people who are not eligible for the job from applying. In doing this you narrow the pool of applicants down and you can fill the position much quicker. For applicants this helps you by telling you which jobs you are eligible to apply for. In doing this you increase your chances of finding a job that best suits you. It can also help you know what you need to learn before you can land your dream job.
In general, I love the idea of creating a standard. This will be beneficial to the industry because it can put all labor on the same playing field. An often problem is finding people with the right skills needed, and this will remove this problem. However, there is one potential downfall to this, and thats it has to stay up to date. As the industry changes this standard needs to change with it. If they do not stay connected then it will not be successful. It would be a good idea for USITT to create a course the college students can then take at school to learn and master all of these skills. All in all, I think that this is a good idea.
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