It was former President Thabo Mbeki who once said “I look forward to the day when the technical crew are from Africa and not Europe” at a conference in one of South Africa’s Northern neighbours, previously either a French or German colony.
Since then many technically-skilled black South Africans continue to prove their ability in staging and production, not only on the African continent but also beyond our shores.
It begs the question – why a three-day conference on technical skills development with a bevy of international experts from UK, Germany and Australia?
The MICE industry would have difficulty in getting the message across to various types of audiences if it were not for the staging and production side whether multi-faceted with all the bells and whistles or merely a simple, yet well-orchestrated, audio-visual undertaking.
Technical services could be termed as the heartbeat of any kind of MICE event, irrespective of size.
By the same token, the MICE Academy has had many years of extensive insights into technical services hence attempting to answer the question may have some input merit for the reader.
Although on the increase, the number of productions in comparison to the international circuit are less and perhaps with more diverse challenges in nature if one ventures into the far reaches of the African continent.
At the foot of Africa the skills development for staging and production has a limited pool from which to benchmark the type of individual and up-skill accordingly. It’s serious hard graft for a learner with usually low wages, as their value is negligible in the first year, plus the hours are long and erratic.
Going forward the word indenture comes to mind.
Due to the size of the technical services industry, long-term financing with a possible high drop-out rate and low take-up by industry can be disheartening in the extreme.
The technical production private sector has been pivotal in developing some outstanding black South African technicians for the industry and indeed into decision-making positions.
The MICE industry trusts the conference deliberations will prove more effective action going forward and less rhetoric for the MICE industry’s heartbeat.
Conference details
Host: SA Roadies Association
Sponsor: Department of Arts and Culture
For further details email isabella@incredible-events.co.za
