How do I become an education / learning and participation officer?

Karlene is in her final year at university studying performing arts and would like to become an education / learning and participation officer at a theatre...

I would really like to become an education / learning and participation officer at a theatre. How do I do this? PGCE? Internships? Contacts? 

I am in my final year at university studying performing arts.

Christina Birt, Head of Creative Learning - This is a tricky one...there isn't one answer....

I would say...
  • complete your performing arts degree and if possible pick up some modules in arts in education and/or community
  • volunteer to work within an education team
  • Norfolk & Norwich Festival require volunteers for its May Festival each year and you can request to support the Participation and Engagement team.
  • Sign up to Arts Jobs (via the Arts Council) and check the Guardian on line jobs pages and apply for jobs.  You will probably first need to gain office admin experience so before getting an officer role should think about applying for assistant/admin roles within an arts organisation and ideally with an education/participation team.
Hope this helps.
 
Sarah Stephenson, Education Officer, Nottingham Playhouse - Congratulations on choosing this role as your chosen career. I've been Education officer now at my theatre for over six years and I love every day I come to work! My colleague has been here for eight years and the Director of Education for over ten. I think that's an indication of firstly how rewarding the job is and secondly how difficult it is to break into this type of work as a new graduate. It is a very competitive. You will need a lot of work experience, build up your contacts, take on freelance jobs to begin with, in order to eventually be able to apply for this type of post. 
 
Our department has three members of staff and we've all got PGCEs and I personally feel that my job would be difficult if I didn't have this qualification. You need to have a working awareness of the National Curriculum and understand teacher's daily pressures and the working mechanisms of a school. Not all Education Officers have PGCEs though but you might find it helps.
 
The first port of call is to contact your local theatre and offer to assist with their Youth Theatre group or any other education initiatives they may have to offer. Is there others arts organisations or companies in your area that  you could volunteer with? Go on courses when you see them come up- we sometimes look for freelancers with skills in areas like puppetry, clowning, stage fighting or Early Years, areas that we are not specialists in ourselves so where you get the chance to train yourself in a specialist area then do so.
 
Good Luck
 
Emrys Green, Freelance Arts Consultant - Participation and learning officers in theatre's will often come through a route of practice first.  If you can get to know the teams of your local venues and become a workshop assistant, or initially perhaps a volunteer, then this will give you invaluable experience of the delivery side.  Then getting some work experience or internship in a department to show you more about how things work from a co-ordination or strategic perspective this will also help.
 
When people are recruiting they will often be looking for your experience, and how you relate to others.  If you have studied for a theatre related degree already then making contacts for the experience with non-venue organisation would be worthwhile.  Otherwise you might consider 'Theatre in the community' type degrees such as those offered by central school of speech and drama and many others.
 
Good luck, and if you have any more information about what you have already done in your career I'm sure we can help with advice on next steps.

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