The live event technical and production industry is one that often goes overlooked when it comes to education and skills training. Most of the time the focus is on the event itself and the technical elements are seen as add-ons.
However, this industry possesses a gold mine of knowledge and the men and women who work behind the scenes have valuable information that can benefit and improve anyone within the industry.
The South African Roadies Association (SARA) has identified the need for education and skills training in this industry and launched Africa’s first annual Live Event Technical & Production Conference (LETPC 2015) held at Sunnyside Park Hotel.
The purpose of this conference is:
- To gather the technical, production and education sectors, together with international market leaders from across the same sector , Government, SETA’s, suppliers and independent skills.
- To address the critically urgent need to upgrade technical and production skill qualifications and standards in South Africa.
- To discuss the enhancement of technical and production vocational training and education with the aim of formulating a sector plan for the future.
- To consider and validate the need for a technical and production sector skills needs analysis forecast.
The conference started on Thursday 14 May with the keynote address delivered by Nathi Mthethwa, Minister of Arts and Culture.
“It is only through education and skills development that the youth can take their rightful place.
“It has always been our desire for artists, including behind the scenes members, to take leadership roles in order to move South Africa forward. For this sector, the sky is the limit,” says Mthethwa.
The conference features several international speakers such as Rashid Lombard from Rashid Lombard Inc, Randell Greenlee from VLPT, the German Event Technology Association and Dr Adrian Brooks from Backstage Academy in the UK to name a few.
“The people who have the power need to provide the opportunities, so that young people can grow and blossom.
“The live events is a creative industry. It’s all about marketing and selling this industry to young people so that they are desperate to get in there,” said first speaker John Botham OBE, owner of Semperior LTD in the UK.
